National test scores show Texas students still lag in math and reading

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Texas’ fourth- and eighth-grade students’ overall reading and math scores dropped in 2024, though Texas children learning English and Black fourth-graders ranked near the top of the country in some of those areas, according to national test results released on Wednesday.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, tests a sample of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students every two years, measuring how children across different states perform in core subjects. Nearly 240,000 students took the exam nationwide, with Texas students making up roughly 5% of the test takers.

Unlike the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, better known as the STAAR test, the NAEP exam — often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card — does not track student progress on subject standards set by the Texas State Board of Education.

A decline in math scores continued for many Texas students who took the NAEP test last year. Texas’ lower-income students scored worse than their wealthier peers in reading and math. The state’s Black and Hispanic students also lagged behind white students.

Texas’ overall eighth-grade math scores plummeted by 4 points, continuing a decline dating back to 2011, according to a Texas Tribune data analysis. Math scores nationwide have also collapsed over a similar period. Texas’ fourth-grade math scores, on the other hand, climbed by 2 points and rose six spots in national rankings.

In reading, fourth-grade students in Texas experienced a 2-point drop in scores compared to 2022, while eighth-grade reading scores decreased by 3 points. No state in the country saw gains on the reading exam in either grade compared to the 2022 results, according to the exam’s governing board.

“These results highlight the continued challenges our students face in literacy and numeracy and should sound the alarm for school leaders and policymakers alike,” Gabe Grantham, an education policy adviser for Texas 2036, said in a statement. “While we are encouraged by slight gains in fourth-grade math, the overall picture is clear — Texas students need more support from both schools and the state to build strong reading and math foundations.”

The nationwide test results have raised significant worries among public education advocates across the country about the profound difficulty in helping students rebound from learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the picture wasn’t completely bleak in Texas.

Texas students learning English ranked among the top five in the nation in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math, respectively, compared to their peers, according to a snapshot of data from the Texas Education Agency.

In addition, Black fourth graders in Texas led the way in math scores when compared to other Black students in the same grade across the country. Asian students who took the fourth-grade math exam ranked second among their counterparts, as did low-income fourth-grade students.

Disclosure: Texas 2036 has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.