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Nation’s Report Card reveals reading scores continue to decline: ‘A heartbreaking reality’

By
Published  January 31, 2025 4:11pm MST
Education
FOX TV Stations

What Trump dismantling Education Dept. would mean

Throughout his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump heaped scorn on the federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by " radicals, zealots and Marxists." He has picked Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, to lead the department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Trump has called for dismantling the department altogether — a cumbersome task that likely would require action from Congress. Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, joined LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.

The Brief

    • In 2024, the percentage of eighth-graders’ reading below basic level was the largest in the assessment’s history, and the percentage of fourth-graders who scored below basic was the largest in 20 years.
    • According to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, President Trump said the findings were "completely unacceptable," adding that he recently signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding for "radical gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom."

New data from the Nation’s Report Card reveals that despite some signs of improvement, many American students continue to struggle in both reading and math. In addition, the gap between the highest- and lowest-performing kids is widening to historic levels.

The latest data comes from a biennial national test, known as the Nation’s Report Card, that is administered to fourth and eighth graders. 

Reading, math scores drop

By the numbers:

The results, published earlier this week by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), show that while fourth-grade math scores saw a slight increase, both math and reading scores in other areas remain below pre-pandemic levels.

Compared to 2019, fourth graders dropped three points in math and five points in reading. Eighth graders dropped eight points in math and five points in reading. The lone exception was a slight uptick in fourth grade math results compared to 2022.

Empty classroom at Walnut Street Elementary on Apr. 3, 2024 in Uniondale, New York. (Credit: Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

The data also showed widening gaps since 2022 between higher- and lower-performing students as higher performers regained ground lost and their lower-performing peers continued to decline or show no notable progress. In eighth-grade mathematics, this widening gap was most pronounced. 

What they're saying:

"Today’s NAEP results reveal a heartbreaking reality for American students and confirm our worst fears: not only did most students not recover from pandemic-related learning loss, but those students who were the most behind and needed the most support have fallen even further behind," the U.S. Department of Education said in a statement. "Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government invests in K-12 education annually, and the approximately $190 billion in federal pandemic funds, our education system continues to fail students across the nation." 

Will the Department of Education be eliminated?

President-elect Donald Trump mentioned getting rid of the US Department of Education numerous times on the campaign trail. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall discusses if this is possible, and if so, what would happen next with Arman Jaffer, CEO and Founder of Brisk Teaching.

The department continued, "We must do better for our students. The Trump Administration is committed to reorienting our education system to fully empower states, to prioritize meaningful learning, and provide universal access to high-quality instruction. Change must happen, and it must happen now." 

Trump calls results ‘completely unacceptable’

What they're saying:

During Friday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the findings, "completely unacceptable to the president, and he continues to take aggressive actions to address this education problem in our country." 

Leavitt then noted Trump’s recent signing of the executive order "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling," suggesting that the order would potentially improve students’ reading and math scores. 

The backstory:

On January 29, Trump signed an executive order "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling" in an effort to prohibit federal funding of the indoctrination of students "including radical gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom."

RELATED: EXPLAINED: Critical Race Theory

In the executive order, Trump claimed that parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in "radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight" and that his administration would enforce the law to ensure that recipients of federal funds providing K-12 education comply.

The Source

  • The information for this story was provided by the U.S. Department of Education, 2024’s Nation’s Report Card and WhiteHouse.Gov. This story was reported from Los Angeles.

EducationU.S.NewsPoliticsU.S.News