The halls are lined with lockers and portraits of elders at the Anna Tobeluk Memorial School in Nunapitchuk, Alaska. October 12, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska public school students are continuing to struggle in math and reading proficiency, as measured by a national standardized test known as the “The Nation’s Report Card.”
The National Assessment of Education Progress is a congressionally mandated test which evaluates students’ proficiency in reading, math, science and writing. Students are selected at random for the test, as a representative sample for their state. Tests are conducted every two years and administered to fourth, eighth and twelfth grade students. The latest test score report was released on Jan. 29.
In 2024, Alaska’s fourth and eighth grade students showed no significant progress from two years ago in reading and math, continuing a general downward trend over the last 20 years.
For fourth grade reading, almost half, or 47% of students scored at or above the NAEP basic reading level in 2024. Twenty-two percent of students scored at or above the NAEP proficient level.
The average score for fourth graders’ reading was 202, lower than the national average of 214 out of 500, putting Alaska below most of the nation at 51st of 52 U.S. jurisdictions, which include the 50 states as well the District of Columbia and Department of Defense operated schools. Students in Puerto Rico are assessed in some NAEP tests, but not included in the fourth grade reading comparison. New Mexico was the only jurisdiction with a lower score.
For 8th grade reading, 57% of students score at or above basic level, a decline from two years ago, when 63% of students scored at or above basic. Twenty-two percent scored at or above proficient level, also a decline from 26% scoring at a proficient level in 2022.
Alaska eighth graders’ average reading score was 246, below the national average of 257, also ranking 51st in the nation, ahead of New Mexico.
For math, fourth grade students scored slightly better, with 64% scoring at or above the NAEP basic level, and 30% at or above proficient level. Scores were not significantly different from two years ago. The average score was 226, below the national average score of 237, ranking 51st of 53 in the nation, ahead of New Mexico and Puerto Rico.
For 8th grade math, 54% of students scored at or above the NAEP basic level, and 22% scored at or above proficient levels. Scores declined since 2022, when 59% of students scored at or above basic levels, and 23% scored at or above proficient. The average score for math was 264, below the national average of 272, a decline since 2022 of 270. Alaska ranked 43rd out of 53 nationwide.
Results for student groups and gaps in Alaska
In 2024, male students had lower scores than female students in reading among fourth and eighth grade students — by 7 percentage points among fourth graders and 12 points among eighth graders.
Vice versa for math, female students scored lower than male students among fourth and eighth graders — by 7 percentage points among fourth graders and by just 1 point among eighth graders.
Students who identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged had an average score that was 25 points lower than those who did not, for fourth grade reading. For eighth graders, those students had an average score that was 22 points lower for reading.
For math, the gap was wider. Students who identified as belonging to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups scored 25 points lower among fourth graders, and 29 points lower among eighth graders.
“Our nation’s struggling readers continue to decline the most”
Nationally, reading scores continued to decline between 2022 and 2024 in both fourth and eighth grades. Math scores showed no measurable difference in eighth grade.
“The Nation’s Report Card is out and the news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, on a news conference call last week to discuss the 2024 results. The center is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Education that collects and analyzes education statistics.
“We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic,” Carr said.
Low reading proficiency is particularly concerning, she said.
Carr emphasized the lower performance level is not just due to lapses during the COVID-19 pandemic – reading scores have declined beginning in 2017. Reading performance continued to drop for both fourth and eighth grades through the pandemic to 2022. The lowest performers are struggling the most, she added.
“In 2024, the percentage of eighth graders reading below NAEP basic was the highest in the assessment history, at 33%, and the percentage of fourth graders scoring below NAEP basic was the highest in 20 years: 40%. This is a major concern,” she said.
The reasons why reading performance is dropping are complex, she said, and varies across the country. Carr pointed to student absenteeism, as well as a decline in students pursuing reading for enjoyment.
“Our students, for the most part, continue to perform below pre-pandemic levels, and our children’s reading skills continue to slide in both grades and subjects, and most notably, our nation’s struggling readers continue to decline the most,” Carr said.
The nation’s math scores show a mixed picture.
“Where we are seeing signs of the recovery, they’re mostly in math and largely driven by higher performing students,” she added. “Lower performing students are struggling.”
Scores increased in the 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles, and a higher percentage of students scored at or above proficiency levels.
“Math performance has increased, but only among fourth graders and higher performing eighth graders,” Carr said. “There’s a widening achievement gap in this country, and it has worsened since the pandemic, especially for grade eight.”
While national scores have trended upward over the last 30 years, the overall average scores last year dropped below 2019 scores. Carr called for attention to student learning, especially to those struggling the most.
“We all need to come together as partners to catch these students up and improve achievement,” she said. “And these results, as sobering as they are, show that once you unpack them, there is hope.”
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