WASHINGTON – Denise Forte, interim CEO of The Education Trust, released the following statement regarding the release of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend results for 9-year-olds.

“The data released today by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in the long-term trend assessment is deeply disturbing. As a nation, we are witnessing some of the largest declines in learning in the half-century since this assessment was implemented. Due to inequitable and unjust school systems, students who are the most underserved continue to struggle academically both before and during the pandemic.

“Decision-makers at all levels have not done nearly enough to address the long-standing resource inequities that prohibit Black, Latino, and students from low-income backgrounds from reaching their full academic potential. And while there are decision-makers that are rightly pushing for equity and justice in schools, they are far too often met with fierce opposition from those who want to maintain the status quo.

“Policymakers and advocates must push for change to ensure that America lives up to its ideals. Fortunately, our nation’s historic investment through both ARP and ESSER can make sure that every student has increased access to experienced and certified teachers, quality tutoring and extended learning time programs, and high-quality and challenging curricula. We encourage decision-makers to invest now in proven strategies that can accelerate learning and start to remedy the long-lasting inequities that the NAEP report highlights.”

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