Last week, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the gold standard of educational testing, released its 2024 12th-grade results for reading and math. The NAEP results should be a serious wake-up call about the state of the country’s K-12 education system.

It is not hyperbole to say that the data suggests we are becoming the world’s D student.

Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, called the results “a stark decline,” while Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said that they “ confirm a devastating trend .” Former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings warned , “It’s an economic emergency that threatens our workforce and national competitiveness.”

NAEP defines three achievement levels: Basic, Proficient and Advanced. Bu

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