Vermont students are still performing below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math, according to results released Wednesday from a national assessment of test scores from fourth and eighth graders.
While students’ math scores appear to be improving from where they were in 2022, reading scores have experienced continued decline from well before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vermont’s scores are slightly lower than the national average for the first time in more than two decades, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress data. Across the country, most other states are still seeing test scores below 2019 levels.
“The NAEP results highlight a sense of urgency to promote student outcomes,” Vermont Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders said in a Wednesday press release. “We are committed to elevating outcomes through initiatives like Read Vermont, identifying areas for improvement, reversing the downward trend, and building a future where every student can thrive.”
The assessment, known as “the nation’s report card,” compiles fourth and eighth grade students’ math and reading test scores every two years.
In 2024, 36% of fourth graders in the state were found to be proficient or better in math, compared with 34% of fourth graders who were considered proficient or better in 2022 and 39% in 2019.
Similar trends hold for eighth graders. In 2024, 29% were proficient while 27% of eighth graders in 2022 were proficient in math. In 2019, the proficient cohort was 38% of students.
In reading, however, students continued pre-pandemic declines. In 2024, 31% of Vermont fourth graders demonstrated proficiency or better, while two years before, 34% were proficient or better. In 2019, that group was 37% of fourth graders.
Eighth graders in the state saw similar declines. In 2024, 29% of students were proficient or better in reading, compared with 34% of eighth graders in 2022 and 40% in 2019 reading at a proficient or better level.
The latest data illustrates a broader long-term trend in the state, as Vermont students’ test scores have been declining over the past decade. For comparison, in 2013, 63% of fourth graders were proficient or better in math and 45% were proficient or better in reading.
The assessment does not report results by student, classroom or school, so the Agency of Education cautioned against making individualized inferences from the statewide results.
Additionally, students who are not considered economically disadvantaged widely outperformed those who were considered as such. In fourth grade math, economically disadvantaged students’ scores lag by 28 points. In reading they are behind by 24 points. These differences track through eighth grade.
The data also shows significant gender gaps in performance. In fourth grade reading, Vermont’s female students outscored males by 12 points — one of the largest gender gaps in the country. In eighth grade, these gender differences persist, with female readers outscoring males by 9 points.
In fourth grade math, male students out-paced females by 6 points. By eighth grade, the gap in math scores appears to close, with females behind by 1.5 points.
The Agency of Education did not immediately respond to further requests for comment.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont students show slow recovery from pandemic learning lags.