Governor’s Office: Massachusetts Ranks #1 in National Education Assessment

BOSTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that Massachusetts students ranked number one among states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — often called the Nation’s Report Card — last year. Massachusetts students received the highest numeric score of any state on all four assessments – fourth and eighth grade math and reading – and continues to rank first in the nation overall. Scores across the country, including Massachusetts, continue to lag pre-pandemic levels, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration has put in place nation-leading early literacy and tutoring programs to address those gaps.

The NAEP is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of America’s students’ knowledge in subjects such as math, reading, science and writing. The assessment tests representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade students in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Department of Defense Education Activity. The tests are generally administered every two years.

“Massachusetts is #1 in education because of our incredible students, families, educators and school officials,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These are more than just test scores – they represent our commitment to making sure that every student graduates our schools with the skills they need to succeed in the future. We know there is much work left to do build back from the pandemic and support every child. Our administration is going to keep investing in our schools, promoting early literacy and tutoring, reducing chronic absenteeism, and helping our students and educators every step of the way.”

“These nation-leading results are the product of hard work and investment, and we will continue to focus on early literacy and other foundational skills that set students up for success,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Congratulations to all of the students and educators who hustled to make sure they had the knowledge and skills to perform well on these tests and in the future.”

The ability for students to read and read well has been a priority for the Healey-Driscoll Administration, which created the nation-leading, multi-year strategy Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3. Literacy Launch makes sure schools, educators and students have access to high-quality, evidence-based reading instruction through literacy materials, technical support, coaching and professional development for educators. The administration secured $20 million for the first year, with the first grants going out to schools earlier this week. Governor Healey’s FY26 budget includes $25 million for the second year of Literacy Launch and $25 million for a literacy high dosage tutoring initiative to address pandemic learning loss and accelerate literacy growth for students.

The administration has also been focused on reducing chronic absenteeism and supporting students getting back into the classroom where they can learn and access supports like universal school meals and mental health services. This year, the administration launched the ‘Your Presence is Powerful’ campaign to emphasize the importance of attending school and delivered golden basketballs donated by the Celtics and signed by the 2024 World Champion team to the Massachusetts schools that had the greatest drop in chronic absenteeism. The statewide chronic absenteeism rate has decreased 2.5 percentage points from 22.2 percent at the end of the of the 2022-23 school year to 19.7 percent at the end of the 2023-24 school year. That is also an 8 percentage point decrease from the end of the 2021-22 school year.

“Two years ago, this administration hit the ground running to stabilize and heal our education system as we recover from the pandemic. We have been focused on accelerating student learning, including through high-dosage math tutoring and investing in early literacy,” said Education Secretary Patrick A. Tutwiler. “We also know that there remain achievement gaps that must be addressed across the board, and we are going to keep working to see to it that we are #1 for all students in our state.”

“These results, combined with our MCAS results, show us that we have strong schools but that much remains to be done, both to recover from the pandemic and to address student achievement,” said Russell D. Johnston, acting commissioner of elementary and secondary education. “I’m grateful to all the educators, families and students who have improved attendance and strengthened student supports. This shared focus on a strong foundation will help make early literacy initiatives and other efforts more successful.”

Massachusetts’ 2024 NAEP results were as follows:

The test is scored on a scale from 0 to 500, and the four achievement levels on the test are below NAEP Basic, NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced.

The scores released today were from tests given to a sample of fourth and eighth grade students in reading and math in January through March 2024. In Massachusetts, approximately 2,600 students in fourth grade were selected to take a NAEP reading assessment, and 2,700 were selected to take a math test. In eighth grade, 2,300 students were selected to take reading, and 2,400 were selected to take math.

Nationally, scores remained lower than pre-pandemic levels. Compared to 2022, national average scores were higher in fourth grade math and lower in fourth and eighth grade reading. The national average score in eighth grade math remained level with 2022.