The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card was released during the last week of January with disturbing results. The NAEP is given every two years to a sample of children in the United States and is “considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system.” (Collin Binkley, Associated Press). Sorry to start with disturbing news, but this is not a rainbows and butterflies information session. (To view the full press release, please visit: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ ) There are pockets of good news, here is the summation:
Reading Scores:
- Reading proficiency has dropped for both fourth and eighth graders since the last assessment.
- In 2024, the percentage of eighth-graders’ reading below NAEP Basic was the largest in the assessment’s history, and the percentage of fourth-graders who scored below NAEP Basic was the largest in 20 years. - https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/.
Math Scores: Those pockets of good news.
- Fourth-grade math scores showed a slight improvement compared to 2022.
- It is a two-point gain that followed a 5-point decline from 2019 to 2022.
- Eighth-grade math scores remained largely unchanged; they did not go down.
Overall:
- The gap continues to show growing inequality with widening gaps between low and high-performing students.
- Lower-performing students continue to decline while higher-performing students improve.
I mentioned NAEP Basic above. Those below Basic are missing fundamental skills. Please note the second bullet under Reading. A large percentage of our students go to school each and every day with reading gaps. These gaps continue to widen and are not filled without intervention, as shown by the NAEP results. Math skills show little to “slight” improvement.
As I said above, I do not have rainbows and butterflies to share with you, but that is enough of the disturbing news for now. Please read the full press release at https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ for more information regarding the results.
Even in high-performing districts, the data from the NAEP report card applies. This gets me fired up. With two Huntington Learning Centers in the southeast, Fort Mill, SC and Weddington, NC, I do a lot of research on the school districts where those centers operate and see, in-person, the gaps students live with in the classroom every day. According to US News World and Report, South Carolina is ranked 42nd of 50 states for overall education and North Carolina, better, ranked 21st. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/education There are great school districts within lower-performing states, but I digress, that is not the issue.
OUR STUDENTS ARE BEHIND. Many lower-performing districts/students do not have financial access to outside services. We know schools are underfunded and great teachers are leaving districts in droves. I know I can be sarcastic, but this is a serious question: “How do we fix this?” In my position as Executive Director of two Huntington Learning Centers, we take it student by student. Without getting political and I absolutely will not, this is a national crisis, managed, ultimately on a state and county level. I know things, but that would be “getting political.” Please, please consider giving back to schools. Look for opportunities to be a reading buddy or tutor. Research local Education Foundations that give directly back to teachers and students and ask how to get involved. Sign up for duty-free lunch. Sponsor. Write a note of gratitude. I could go on and on and there is no word limit, but I will not.
I would be remiss if I did not include a list of what you can do at home:
- READ. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY
- If your child is a nonreader, read TO him or her.
- If your child is a struggling reader, read WITH him or her and point out words you know he or she knows.
- If your child is a reader, but does not like to read, choose a series with read ALONG with him or her.
- For older students, find a magazine subscription that interests them to encourage reading.
- Most importantly, children should read and learn on a level that is independent, not frustrating.
- DO NOT WAIT for your child’s teacher to contact you with a learning concern, ask. Then ask, what can we do at home?
- REINFORCE both BIG and SMALL gains. It is amazing when a child gets 100% on a test. It is also amazing when he or she has small lightbulb learning moments!!!
- We talk much about too much screen time. Yes, video games, TV, social media can be too much! Fortunately, those screens can be used for learning. Here is a list of apps for all ages, both free and paid.
- RAZKids
- Dreambox
- Reading Eggs
- ABCMouse
- iReady
- Khan Academy
- Kahoot!
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Huntington Learning Center:
Huntington has been the nation’s recognized leader in educational services since 1977. Our mission is to give every student the best education possible. At Huntington Learning Center - Weddington, we offer children, ages 5 to 17, tutoring in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Study Skills, Phonics, Vocabulary, Science, and SAT and ACT Preparation. Our individualized instruction is developed from comprehensive academic evaluations completed at the center. We are committed to the success of each student through this personalized instruction with our certified teachers. Each program is uniquely designed to develop the skills, confidence, and motivation for the student. We are seeing great strides every day!
Huntington Learning Center - Weddington is located at 5945 Weddington Road, Suite 104 | Matthews, NC. You can reach them by phone at: (704) 243-5784 or find them on Facebook and Instagram.
You can visit https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ to view these reports more in depth.
Test scores show schools further behind in reading, math | AP News – Collin Binkley
