The kids are not doing so alright. New federal data out this week suggests that high school seniors’ math and reading skills have sunk dramatically in the wake of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—the first collected in the post-pandemic era. It found that 12th graders’ average math and reading scores in 2024 were the lowest on record, while 8th graders’ science scores also dropped since the last measure.

“These results are sobering,” NCES Acting Commissioner Matthew Soldner said in a statement from the organization.

The “Nation’s Report Card”

The NAEP is a project run by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education, and it’s commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card.

The organi

See Full Page