High Country Times

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg has expressed concern following the release of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. The results indicate a continued decline in performance for math and reading among 4th and 8th graders across the United States.

Walberg stated, "When we fail our children, we fail our nation’s future. Today’s NAEP scores continue the concerning trend of declining performance nationwide. This is clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow."

He added his support for current efforts by the administration to address these issues, saying, "I’m thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course, and I look forward to helping reform our education system to better serve our youth."

The NAEP, often referred to as the Nation's Report Card, is a program mandated by Congress that assesses U.S. students' proficiency in subjects such as math, reading, writing, science, U.S. history, and civics. The recent scores showed a 2-point drop in both 4th and 8th grade reading levels. In contrast, there was a slight improvement with a 2-point increase in 4th grade math scores while 8th grade math remained unchanged since its last assessment in 2022. Compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, all areas show significant declines.