Results of the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are in, and the picture is not pretty when it comes to either 12th grade reading or fourth grade reading scores.
Mississippi was the only state to show significant improvement between 2017 and 2019 in fourth grade reading. Many other states lost ground. The national gap between White and Black has widened across all grades, with children of color, English learners, and poor children occupying the “below basic” realm in even greater numbers. From the high school level to the early elementary years, we are failing our kids.
