Massachusetts is back on top when it comes to educating children.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), or so-called Nation’s Report Card, found students here are outperforming their counterparts around the country in math and reading.
Massachusetts has always done well on these tests, but this year’s results represent a sweep, despite lingering issues like the pandemic and equity.
Gov. Maura Healey and others touted the new scores that indicate our fourth and eighth graders scored best in the nation when it comes to math and reading.
”There is more work to do. Obviously. but where other states have continued to see a decline in Massachusetts. The good news is we’ve halted that decline,” Healey said at a press conference Wednesday.
The NAEP found that in reading, fourth graders scored 246 and eighth graders 283. In math, the younger kids finished with 225, the older ones 268.
The test is scored from 0 to 500.
The high scores are an accomplishment, but issues remain with scores still below what they were before the pandemic. The latest MCAS data from 2023-2024 period showed English language arts scores down across all levels compared to the previous year.
”The road back, it’s not going to be short. We’re talking about adaptive challenges. We’re talking about working with students directly who experienced major disruption in their learnings,” Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler said.
Equity in school districts across the commonwealth remains a problem and is reflected in the test results.
”We know that unfortunately a student’s ZIP code, which means their family income and education levels, has a real impact on their ability to reach the highest potential,” explained Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Everyone seems to agree that high scores are good, but more needs to be done.
The rest of the nation didn’t do as well as the Bay State. The Department of Education under President Trump said in a statement:
“Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government invests in K-12 education annually, and the approximately $190 billion in federal pandemic funds, our education system continues to fail students across the nation.”
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