NASBE Statement on 2022 NAEP Results

Alexandria, VA — Paolo DeMaria, president and CEO of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), issued the following statement on the latest release of The Nation’s Report Card.

Today’s release of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores reveals notable declines in reading and math achievement between 2019 and 2022 among students in fourth and eighth grades. These results are as disheartening as the long-term NAEP trends released just two months ago. I noted then and I reiterate now that we must hold fast to the longstanding goal of ensuring that all students are prepared with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in future learning, careers, and life. It is not enough to think in terms of returning to pre-pandemic levels. The fact is that even at those levels, many students were not achieving at the levels needed for success.

NASBE is committed to helping state boards of education take action to support school improvement in math and reading. Several states are engaged in NASBE’s Early Literacy Work Group to promote learning and action among states to increase young children’s reading success. Early reading success can have a tremendous impact as students advance into elementary grades. State board members are also engaged in studying ways to improve math outcomes for all students through NASBE’s State Mathematics Improvement Study Group. We also know partnering with families to support students’ social, emotional, and academic progress will be critical to closing achievement gaps and ensuring students’ long-term success. NASBE will be engaging in such work with state board members in the year ahead.

As we head to Phoenix later this week for NASBE’s Annual Conference, I encourage members to reaffirm their commitment to acting based on data and evidence. The 2022 state NAEP results offer a robust and nuanced dataset to inform state action. We acknowledge that even though the national story is challenging, there are schools and districts that are beating the odds. State boards should ask, “How can we create the conditions for our education system to work more effectively and educate all students to higher levels of achievement and close achievement gaps?”