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Massachusetts students ranked No. 1 in "Nation's Report Card." But it's not all good news.

"Nation's Report Card" finds students falling short on math and reading scores
"Nation's Report Card" finds students falling short on math and reading scores 00:40

BOSTON - An educational assessment known as "the Nation's Report Card" has Massachusetts students scoring higher than their peers on math and reading tests given to fourth and eighth graders nationwide in 2024. But a closer look at the data shows concerning trends in the state and across the country when it comes to post-pandemic learning.

The National Assessment of Education Progress says there is a "troubling trend of declining reading achievement that started before the pandemic" among eighth graders. Fourth grade reading scores also declined nationally from 2022, with 40% of those students scoring below the "basic achievement level."

Lost ground during pandemic

High-performing students are starting to make up ground after the pandemic disrupted classroom time, but lower-performing students are falling even further behind.

"The news is not good," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. "We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic."

Massachusetts leads Nation's Report Card

Gov. Maura Healey celebrated the fact that Massachusetts students rank first in all four reading and math categories for the first time since 2017. The governor said her administration has started early literacy and tutoring programs to address learning gaps, and cited initiatives like free meals in schools to help students. 

"While national scores continue to decline after the pandemic, what we've seen here in Massachusetts is that we importantly have begun to halt that slide," Healey said. "There is more work to do, obviously."

The percentage of Massachusetts fourth-grade students who performed at "basic" level or above on reading tests last year was 68%. In 2019, it was 76%. 

In math, 68% of eighth graders performed at the basic level in 2024. In 2019, it was 78%. 

Fourth grade math scores are back to pre-pandemic levels, Education Sec. Patrick Tutwiler said. 

The report also highlighted achievement gaps based on race and wealth. For example, eighth grade Black students had an average math test score that was 37 points lower than White students in 2024, and economically disadvantaged students tested 39 points lower than their peers. 

"While today's results are not quite where we want them to be, we want to be No. 1 for all students," Tutwiler said. "This is not a quick fix, it's going to take time."

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