The Intersection

What the 2024 NAEP Results Reveal About Education in the United States

January 29, 2025

Authors: Dr. Jaalil Hart, Director of K-12, The Hunt Institute; Kathleen Arney, M.Ed., Senior Policy Analyst, The Hunt Institute

 

The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results are out, and they paint a complex picture of student achievement across the United States. Often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” NAEP provides a critical benchmark for understanding how students are performing in reading and math at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels. 

 

The 74/NCES

 

This year’s data confirms what many educators and policymakers have feared: while there are some signs of progress, academic recovery remains uneven, and achievement gaps persist—or, in some cases, have widened. The release of these scores is not just an opportunity to analyze trends; it should serve as a wake-up call for federal and state policymakers, researchers, district leaders, and families to take decisive action. 

 

Key Takeaways from the Latest NAEP Results 

The 2022 NAEP scores showed historic declines in reading and math, largely due to pandemic-related disruptions. The big question for this year’s results was whether students had started to rebound or whether these setbacks had become entrenched. 

Based on today’s data, here’s what the data shows: 

  • Overall performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. While there are some pockets of improvement, students are still struggling to fully recover in key subject areas. 
  • Reading scores remain stagnant or have slightly declined in some areas. Despite increased attention to literacy instruction, the data suggests that improvements are slow and uneven. 
  • Achievement gaps persist. Black, Latino, and low-income students continue to score significantly lower than their white and higher-income peers, highlighting ongoing disparities in education access and quality. 

The big takeaway? Education progress is not moving fast enough to close gaps and accelerate student learning. 

 

What Policymakers Should Do Next 

This NAEP release should not just be a rearview mirror for education—it should serve as a steering wheel for smarter, equity-driven policymaking. 

For federal and state policymakers, this data should drive a reassessment of current education investments. If certain states demonstrate improvement, it’s worth analyzing their strategies—whether through targeted literacy efforts, high-dosage tutoring, or teacher development initiatives—to determine what should be expanded. 

Key policy questions that must be addressed include: 

  • How do schools sustain effective recovery efforts as pandemic-era federal funding expires? 
  • Why are some states and districts seeing progress while others remain stagnant? 
  • Are schools and educators implementing evidence-based instructional methods with fidelity, especially in literacy and math? 
  • How do education leaders ensure that teacher shortages and working conditions aren’t further impeding progress? 

NAEP should inform policy action, not just reporting. States and districts must use this data to allocate resources strategically and improve instruction at scale. 

NAEP is a goldmine of data, but it requires rigorous analysis to translate into actionable strategies. Now is the time for researchers to lead the charge in making sense of these trends. 

 

What Practitioners—District and School Leaders—Can Do 

For district and school leaders, the NAEP results should be a tool for reflection and action. While NAEP does not provide district-level results outside of TUDA (Trial Urban District Assessment) schools, it offers critical benchmarking data to compare student performance against national trends. 

Here’s what district and school leaders must do now: 

  • Examine instructional gaps and adjust professional development efforts accordingly. Are teachers receiving the support they need to implement research-backed strategies? 
  • Ensure that literacy and math initiatives are being implemented effectively, not just adopted on paper. 
  • Reallocate resources toward strategies that are working. If high-dosage tutoring is driving gains in some states, how can districts scale it effectively? 
  • Foster a data-informed culture. School leaders should use NAEP as a guidepost, not a punitive measure, to refine instructional strategies. 

The NAEP results should not be seen as a judgment on educators, but rather as an opportunity to double down on what works and adjust what doesn’t. 

Final Thoughts: NAEP as a Call to Action 

Ultimately, NAEP is more than just a set of numbers—it reflects the experiences of millions of students across the country. These scores are not just data points; they are a mirror held up to our education system, showing us where the country are making progress and where we are still falling short. While headlines will focus on rankings and national trends, the real takeaway should be how leaders use this data to drive meaningful change in classrooms, districts, and state education systems. 

If scores improved, stakeholders must ask: What worked? Did certain instructional strategies, funding allocations, or interventions drive success? If so, how do leaders scale those efforts equitably so that more students benefit? It’s not enough to celebrate gains in isolation—educators must ensure that progress reaches every student, especially those who have historically been underserved. 

If scores remained flat or declined, leaders, schools, and communities must ask: What’s missing? Where are the gaps in our approach? Are we fully investing in evidence-based practices, or are implementation challenges standing in the way? Are teacher shortages, outdated curricula, or ineffective interventions limiting student progress? Identifying these barriers and addressing them with urgency is essential. 

This moment demands action, not just analysis—from policymakers, researchers, educators, and families alike. 

  • Policymakers must take these results seriously, using them to guide funding, instructional mandates, and targeted interventions that move the needle. 
  • Researchers must dig into the data, uncovering the deeper causes behind student performance trends and ensuring that education policy decisions are grounded in solid evidence. 
  • Practitioners—district and school leaders—must take stock of what’s happening in their schools, identifying instructional gaps and ensuring that resources are aligned with proven strategies. 
  • Parents and families must remain engaged, advocating for high-quality instruction, strong teacher support, and policies that prioritize student success. 

What’s Next? 

As we digest these results, we’ll be diving deeper into what the data tells us, where improvements are happening, and what challenges remain. Over the coming days, we’ll break down key trends, highlight promising practices from states that saw gains, and explore the policy needed to accelerate recovery. 

But the real question is: What do we as a country do now? Will we use this data as a catalyst for bold action, or will we let another NAEP cycle pass without meaningful change? 

The numbers tell a story—but it’s up to us to decide what happens next. 

 

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