Education report card

Nationally, student scores plunged nine points in math and four points in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed the nation’s report card. California’s scores were lower, too.

The scores reflect testing in fall 2022, comparing it to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. The average math score is now the same as it was in 1990, while the average reading score is the same as it was in 2004. The lowest-performing students declined the most. In math, their scores fell by 12 to 14 points, while their highest-performing peers declined six points. Reading results were similar, with low performers seeing twice the decline.

You can see how California compares to every state here.

Newest national study

The National Center for Education Statistics administered the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments to 13-year-old students from October to December of the 2022–23 school year. The average scores for 13-year-olds declined four points in reading and nine points in mathematics compared to the previous assessment administered during the 2019–20 school year. Compared to a decade ago, the average scores declined seven points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.

Missing more school

Students who took the 2023 long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments were asked how many days of school they had missed in the last month. Responses to the survey question for both subjects indicate a decrease in the percentages of 13-year-old students reporting having missed none to two days in the past month compared to 2020. Conversely, there were increases in the percentages of 13-year-old students who reported missing three or four days and students who reported missing five or more days in the last month. The percentage of students who reported missing five or more days doubled from 5% in 2020 to 10% in 2023.

Sources: Department of Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress, The Associated Press, Edsource.org