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The Nation’s Report Card this week released another sobering report on student achievement.

The reading skills of 12th graders are the worst in three decades. Seniors’ average math scores dropped below 2005 results. A third scored below basic in reading, and 45% were below basic in math.

Nationwide scores dropped 4 points in science for 8th graders, with 38% falling below basic, the most since 2009.

Gaps widened between the highest and lowest performing students in 12th grade math and 8th grade science. The gender gap in science, previously considered closed, re-emerged in 2024.

The results are from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which are given to representative samples of students across the country in fourth and eighth grades every two years and in twelfth grade every four years.

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— Jennifer Palmer

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