The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) has released the 2024 results for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), revealing mixed outcomes in student performance across the United States. The data indicates a nationwide decline in reading scores by two points in both fourth and eighth grades from 2022 to 2024, with no state recording gains in this area. Conversely, while fourth-grade math scores saw an improvement of two points on average, eighth-grade math scores remained stagnant over the same period.
Despite efforts to return to pre-pandemic levels, overall student performance has not yet rebounded to match 2019 standards. Furthermore, disparities that had been narrowing up until 2010 have since widened.
Focusing on Nevada's specific results, there is a mixed outcome: fourth-grade math scores increased by four points from 2022 to 2024, placing Nevada among the 13 states that showed improvements in this category. However, eighth-grade math scores declined by four points statewide during the same period. Reading scores for fourth grade remained unchanged, whereas eighth-grade reading experienced a six-point decline.
Jhone Ebert, Superintendent of Public Instruction, commented on these findings: “We note that Nevada is one of 13 states to post higher average student scores in grade 4 math in 2024 (when compared to 2022). While that is encouraging, at the same time, these results are sobering. They point to the importance of maintaining an unflinching focus on how we ensure our time with our students and our resources are aligned to research-based practices to achieve student success.”
The NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics and serves as a comprehensive measure of what students across public and private schools know and can do across various subjects. The recent assessment involved nearly 8,000 students from approximately 200 schools throughout Nevada between January and March of last year.
Looking forward, changes will be introduced with the implementation of the new NAEP Reading Framework starting in 2026. This framework builds upon its predecessor used for the current assessments and incorporates digital innovations alongside three additional research-based concepts.
The report card measures student performance using average scale scores within a range from zero to five hundred across demographic samples. Achievement levels such as NAEP Basic, Proficient, and Advanced indicate varying degrees of mastery over subject matter. Additionally, percentiles reflect scale score distributions showing comparative performance levels among students.