Teachers see declining NAEP scores as a wake-up call.

Plummeting NAEP scores prompt debate, discussion and calls to action from educators. 

  • “The math ain’t mathing!!!!! The latest NAEP results are a raw reminder of the work ahead. Only 22% of high school seniors are proficient in math, while nearly half scored below basic, the highest ever recorded. What??? These aren’t just numbers. Behind every data point is a student losing confidence and teachers being asked to shoulder it all without enough support. It makes me sad. And it makes me concerned for the young children in my own community, who deserve joy in math instead of fear of it. Here’s what I plan to do: 
  1. Help the children in my immediate reach see math as joyful, not intimidating.
  2. Support a teacher in my community, because teachers deserve confidence and connection too.
  3. Continue aligning my work with getting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and high-quality professional learning (HQPL) into the hands, hearts, and minds of teachers.

 

The results are discouraging, but they are also a call to action, and I’m committed to doing my part.” —Math Leader in Louisiana 

  • “The press is full of explanations for the decline in scores. Pandemic, cell phones, social media. The drop in numbers of teachers prepared nationally is not part of the discussion. But maybe it should be. In Texas, where more detailed data are available than we have nationally, the decline in well-prepared teachers led to an explosion of uncertified teachers one could show led to low student learning, and very recently to legislative action trying to reverse this trend. The country as a whole has not come to grips with the drop in teacher production, nor do we have a good handle on what is happening as a result. Here I show the decline in US STEM teachers and a (linear) projection into the future using US Title 2 data.” —Professor in Texas
  • “NAEP test scores show drops in science, math and reading for 8th and 12th grades. Hard not to comment on this. I retired early in 2018. One reason I left was technology, cell phones, smart boards, and iPads. A daily battle to keep students on task and off sites. Moms/dads would text during class.” —Retired teacher in FL
  • “Only 3 in 10 U.S. 12th graders are prepared for a first-year college reading course. As an educator, these NAEP results — the Nation’s Report Card — are deeply troubling. Reading and math scores are now at their lowest levels ever recorded.” —Educator in Wisconsin
  • “Panicking about math, reading, and science scores while diverting resources to ‘AI in schools’ is nonsensical, but here we are. The declines in scores began a decade ago with the influx of devices and edtech software into K-12 schools. It’s not the only factor, but it is important.” —Retired English Teacher in Connecticut
  • “I’m expecting a fresh wave of attacks on our nation’s public school teachers due to the release of NAEP scores. Please remember that teachers do not have control over curriculum or policies. Take that energy to your local school boards & legislators.” —Educator in the United States
    • “Oh we’re already feeling it. The amount of administrative work I’ve done just in these first 3 weeks is insane and I’m fully overwhelmed. All because folks at the top don’t care how their decisions affect us, while we continue to lose resources and our class sizes are larger than ever.” —High School Teacher in Maryland