Young Students Show Reading and Math Gains, but Older Students Stagnate, Federal Tests Show
The National Assessment of Educational Progress released results showing 9-year-old students made gains in reading and math from 2022 to 2025, reversing years of decline. However, 13-year-olds showed no significant improvement, with reading scores remaining below pre-pandemic levels and math gains from decades of progress largely erased. The divergence highlights the lasting impact of pandemic school disruptions on older students who lost critical learning time in elementary school.
Federal test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend report, released Wednesday and based on more than 30,000 students tested between October 2024 and March 2025, reveal a mixed picture of student achievement. Nine-year-olds demonstrated solid gains in both reading and math, with improvements across all performance levels, potentially because they were only 4 when the pandemic began and did not experience significant school disruptions during critical early literacy and math instruction. In contrast, 13-year-olds showed no significant progress in either subject, with reading scores remaining below pre-pandemic levels across demographic groups and math performance erasing most of the 21-point gains accumulated between 1978 and 2012. The report also found that reading for pleasure has declined sharply, with only 14% of 13-year-olds reading daily for fun in 2025, down from 35% in 1984. Education officials attributed the stagnation in older students partly to pandemic disruptions during their second and third grade years, when foundational skills are critical.
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After years of declines, young students show gains in reading and math
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