NAEP Results Highlight Need For Continued Investment in Public Education

Today marks the release of results from the 2024 administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Nation’s Report Card, as it is also referred to, provides a biennial opportunity to track and compare academic proficiency across states, as well as a select group of large urban school districts that includes Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and Austin ISDs.

"The data provided through NAEP gives us a clear and consistent way to compare student achievement across states and regions," says Commit State Impact Officer Bridget Worley. "As Texas continues to set job creation records, learning from these results will be crucial to ensuring we are preparing the workforce of tomorrow right here, rather than continuing to rely on talent from out of state."

Here are some initial takeaways based on Commit Partnership’s analysis of the data:

It is clear students in Texas and across the country need more support in foundational academics. Nationally and statewide, average scores in 8th grade math, as well as 4th and 8th grade reading, have trended downward since 2019. The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic likely played a role in these reductions. The 4th graders taking the NAEP in 2024 were Kindergarteners in 2020 when in-person instruction was disrupted by the global health crisis – a key age for early literacy development. The 8th grade test takers were likewise in 4th grade at that time – and potentially missed out on foundational math skills needed to grasp advanced concepts later. But this is also an unmistakable signal that we need to significantly improve learning acceleration for struggling students.

4th grade math saw improvement, both nationally and for Texas. This was the only core subject to see growth from the previous release, both nationally as well as for the state of Texas, which continues to outperform the national average. But our average score is still down 3 points from 2019, suggesting more targeted support is necessary.

Large urban school districts in Texas face significant challenges. Similar to statewide trends, average 4th grade math scores were higher for students in Austin, Dallas and Houston than the average across all large cities with populations of 250,000 and above. But, except for Austin, each of Texas’ “Trial Urban District Assessment” (TUDA) participants are lower than state and countrywide averages, reflecting the unique difficulties of serving large student populations predominantly experiencing economic disadvantage and learning the English language. It is worth noting that both Dallas and Houston ISD increased the percentage of students considered proficient on all four assessments.

Texas remains a national leader in closing gaps in proficiency between students of different demographic backgrounds. While our absolute ranking among states in 4th and 8th grade reading and math varies from 8th to 44th depending on the grade/subject combination, our rankings for students within various demographic groups is notably higher in several grades and subjects.

Texas ranks fourth in the nation in 4th grade math for students experiencing economic disadvantage, growing from sixth in 2022, and first in the nation in the same subject for Black students. We also lead the nation in the achievement of English language learners in 8th grade math and reading – though given overall trends in these subjects across the country, our relative standing is due as much to declines elsewhere as it is our own student achievement.

Dallas ISD is also a national leader in educating students learning the English language. Of the 26 participating TUDA districts across the country, Dallas’ English language learners ranked first in 4th grade math, 8th grade math and 8th grade reading, and second in 4th grade reading.

Regular assessments are critical for better serving students – and Texas’ state test continues to provide valuable information. Trends in reading and math achievement on the NAEP continue to closely mirror those seen in results on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).

The STAAR assessment provides an annual snapshot of achievement across grades – not just 4th and 8th – so local and state lawmakers don’t have to wait every other year to understand how students are performing. Unfortunately, this data demonstrates that only 1-in-5 students who fall behind in 3rd grade recover by 6th grade, reinforcing the need to create strong academic foundations for our youngest learners. Thankfully, this data also demonstrates the policies that can drive that improvement and address the negative trends we see in our NAEP scores.

By identifying and intervening with students struggling to read early on, we can reverse troubling trends in our reading outcomes in later grades. By broadening access to increased instructional time by expanding the Additional Days School Year to more campuses including middle schools, we can strengthen the core academic skills this data demonstrate we must reinforce. And by continuing to not only study the results of these assessments but hold our school and state leaders accountable for the outcomes, we can ensure our students ultimately benefit.

‍