Young Students Show Reading and Math Gains, but Older Students Stagnate, Federal Tests Show
New federal test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show 9-year-olds made meaningful gains in reading and math between 2022 and 2025, while 13-year-olds showed no significant improvement, with reading scores effectively unchanged from when the test began in 1971. The divergence reflects the different pandemic experiences of each age group: younger students entered school after the worst disruptions, while today's 13-year-olds were in second or third grade when closures hit their foundational learning years. The results raise urgent concerns about middle schoolers who will soon age out of the K-12 system still academically behind, and come as federal cuts have canceled the next iteration of this assessment until 2033.
The latest long-term trend report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, released Wednesday and based on tests taken by roughly 31,000 students between October 2024 and March 2025, reveals a sharp divergence in academic recovery across age groups. Nine-year-olds rebounded to pre-pandemic reading levels and showed gains in math, with 71% reaching the reading benchmark and 84% reaching the math benchmark — both up several percentage points from 2022 — recovering much of the pandemic-era loss visible in earlier data. Officials attributed this progress partly to the fact that these students were too young to have experienced school closures during their critical early literacy years. By contrast, 13-year-olds showed no statistically significant improvement in either subject since the last assessment, with only 58% meeting the reading benchmark and 70% the math benchmark; their average reading score is statistically indistinguishable from 1971, and math gains accumulated between 1978 and 2012 have been largely erased. Acting NCES Commissioner Matthew Soldner emphasized that academic decline predates the pandemic, with scores peaking around 2012, calling it a deeper structural challenge. Compounding the concern, the share of students reading for pleasure has fallen to historic lows — only 14% of 13-year-olds report reading for fun daily, down from 37% in 1992, a trend researchers link to rising social media use. The report's release is also notable for its finality: federal budget cuts have eliminated the next scheduled administration of this assessment, meaning comparable data will not be available until 2033.
Data: Washington Post
What's missing
The sources note a correlation between declining reading-for-pleasure rates and rising social media use but do not present causal evidence for this link. Additionally, while the cancellation of future assessments through 2032 is mentioned, no source details what alternative data collection, if any, will be used to track student progress in the interim.
How coverage differed
NPR framed the story with cautious optimism, leading with gains among younger students and describing the results as an 'optimistic release,' while The Independent's headline emphasized crisis and decline, foregrounding the teen reading collapse. Both outlets covered the same facts, but their framing differed in emphasis: NPR balanced positive and negative findings more evenly, whereas The Independent and PBS NewsHour gave greater prominence to the stagnation and urgency around 13-year-olds.
What different sources said
- NPR NewsLeft
After years of declines, young students show gains in reading and math
- The IndependentLeft
Education crisis deepens as teen reading scores plummet to levels not seen since 1971
- NYT USLeft
NAEP Test Shows Younger Students Recovering From Pandemic
- PBS NewsHourLeft
Teens' reading and math scores have stagnated, US test results show
Related
CIS Study: Non-Citizen Households Use Welfare at Higher Rates Than U.S.-Born Households in Nearly Every State
A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 47% of non-citizen-headed households used at least one means-tested welfare program, compared to 28% of U.S.-born-headed households. The study drew on five years of Census Bureau data and found the gap persisted across nearly every state, with the largest disparities in New York, Massachusetts, and California. The findings reignite a long-running debate over immigration and public benefit usage, though the methodology has been contested by other researchers.
Pilot Killed in Small Plane Crash Near Twin Oaks Airpark in Washington County, Oregon
A small two-seater experimental plane crashed into a grassy field near Twin Oaks Airpark in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday afternoon, killing its sole occupant. The crash occurred during takeoff and sparked a grass fire that spread to a nearby field before firefighters contained it. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause, and flights at the airpark were canceled for the remainder of the day.
Ohio Police Chief Arrested in Florida on 70-Count Child Sex Indictment
Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was arrested Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, following a Clermont County grand jury indictment on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The alleged offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010, when Essert was an instructor with the Young Marines program and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio. If convicted on all counts, Essert faces a maximum of 280 years in prison, and authorities are urging any additional potential victims to come forward.