The latest National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results, often called the Nation’s Report Card, were released on January 29. While we celebrate positive movement among our fourth-grade students, the data reveal that students nationwide and in Nevada are still behind pre-pandemic levels of achievement – representing a narrowing window of opportunity for our current students, as well as future generations.
In Nevada, here are the top headlines:
- Fourth graders’ performance improved in math and reading, bringing their scores closer the national average.
- Eighth graders experienced declines, especially in math, where NAEP scores dropped to their lowest levels in over 20 years.
- The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing students, which cuts across racial and socioeconomic lines, continues to widen.
With the latest data, as well as the historical look NAEP provides, we have a clear story of where we are, where we have been, and where we need to focus our resources to ensure kids are reaching these critical benchmarks. Access to evidence-based interventions (like high-dosage tutoring and high-quality instructional materials, like Louisiana implemented to help advance multiple-point gains over the last several years) and strong accountability efforts can support Nevada students in reaching these milestones.
Why do NAEP results matter?
- It is the most extensive assessment of how American students perform over time on critical skills necessary to compete in the global economy.
- For this most recent test, it is an indicator of how post-pandemic recovery efforts and investments have fared.
- NAEP doesn’t propose solutions; it tells the story of where we are and have been.
Here are the Nevada results, with scores highlighted for 2019 (pre-pandemic levels), 2022 (first results after the pandemic), and 2024 (with two years of recovery efforts and investments underway).
Fourth Grade:
Source: NAEP Data Explorer
Fourth-grade reading and math increased over 2022 scores, in reading by one point and in math by four points. Compared to our scores in 2019, our fourth graders observed a three-point decrease in math and a five-point decrease in reading – demonstrating that while we are heading in the right direction, we still have ground to make up AND even more room to grow.
In fourth-grade reading, we are one point behind the national average and four points behind in math. Unlike 2022, Nevada fourth graders no longer demonstrate scores that are significantly lower than the national average. While this is a sign of the impact of recovery efforts, it also underscores the need for continued interventions to ensure kids are meeting the critical benchmark of reading at grade level by third grade, a major predictor of future academic success and life outcomes. These interventions can include evidence-based practices like high-dosage tutoring, educator preparation in the science of reading, and access to high-quality instructional materials – as well as strong accountability efforts across the board that are tied directly to student results.
Eighth Grade:
Unlike our fourth graders, Nevada’s eighth-grade reading and math scores decreased compared to 2022, indicating that students are falling further behind pre-pandemic levels of achievement. Being at or above grade level in eighth-grade math is associated with income rises, improved educational attainment, and declines in teen motherhood, incarceration, and arrest rates.
Nevada’s eighth-grade math scores have been steadily declining, reaching their lowest performance since 2000. This decline highlights the urgent need for targeted, evidence-based interventions for our middle school students, and for those who have already progressed into high school. As an example, only 16% of Nevada families took advantage of tutoring services, and only 27% participated in summer programming. By expanding access to these services, places like Washington, DC and Ohio have been able to leverage technology, resources, and data to increase access to critical educational support.
Source: NAEP Data Explorer
Gaps are widening between high-performing students and students who have been historically underserved at school.
While high-performing students are demonstrating positive trends, students from historically underperforming demographic profiles show drastic declines compared to their peers.
On average (across both fourth and eighth-grade reading and math), Nevada students who identified as Black on the NAEP assessment demonstrated performing 29 points lower than their White peers. Similarly, Hispanic students were 22 points lower than their White peers.
Further, economically disadvantaged students scored 21 points lower than students who did not identify as economically disadvantaged. While similar outcomes are reported at the national level, the diverse makeup of Nevada students, particularly in southern Nevada, should raise concern for these ongoing disparities.
Source: NAEP Data Explorer
Next Steps & Charting the Course for Improving Outcomes
Nationally, the latest NAEP results show that fourth and eighth graders are struggling with declines compared to 2019. These results continue a long-term trend — overall academic growth has stalled, and the gap between high and low performers is growing. The highest-scoring students are either improving or staying consistent, while students who have historically underperformed are falling further behind. For example, in fourth-grade reading, only students who previously scored in the top 10% maintained their scores, while the students scoring in the lowest 10% dropped the most significantly. The same trend holds in eighth-grade math. In Nevada, we can celebrate the progress of our fourth-grade students, and recognize that we have a tremendous opportunity NOW to set the foundation for every student to succeed, especially those who continue to fall further behind their peers. We can look to paths that have been forged in other states:
- Louisiana focusing on high-dosage tutoring and literacy instruction, as well as the implementation of a new literacy screener, to improve their fourth-grade reading by six points over 2022, to the highest it has been since 2015
- Tennessee improving its standing over 15 years, moving from 47th in 2011 to 23rd in 2024, focusing on accountability, teacher and principal evaluation, school turnaround, high-quality instructional materials, science of reading, high-dosage tutoring, and open and auto-enrollment policies
- Rhode Island and Mississippi increasing access to high-quality instructional materials to see increases in fourth-grade outcomes, with Mississippi’s average reading score advancing four points ahead of the national average, and Rhode Island increasing its fourth-grade math performance by three points, aligning with national averages
These actions encompass broad, sweeping interventions for students, from tutoring to educator training to accountability efforts that are directly tied to student outcomes. Nevada can look to these success stories and best practices to chart a course for every student to succeed. And collectively, we can advance outcomes-focused policies, practices, and reforms that address the immediate and long-term needs of our students to ensure their ability to participate in the State’s long-term economic plans.
As NAEP results illustrate, our students can’t afford to wait.
Learn More!
- Explore Nevada’s NAEP data
- Clark County School District snapshot
- The 74: New NAEP Scores Dash Hope of Post-COVID Learning Recovery
- 50CAN: The New Reality Round-Up Special Edition
Note: Data, and fourth and eighth-grade reading and math graphs are courtesy of the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
