U.S. NAEP Scores, Results and Trends
The National Assessment of Educational Progress measures U.S. student performance across subjects, grades, jurisdictions and student groups. The latest main NAEP results include 2024 mathematics, reading and science assessments, while the separate 2025 long-term trend assessment reports age-based reading and mathematics results.
Latest National NAEP Scores
The 2024 mathematics and reading assessments provide the latest main NAEP results for grades 4 and 8. Average scores below represent the nation, including eligible public and private school students in the national sample.
NAEP Mathematics and Reading Score Trends: 2019–2024
National average scores for grades 4 and 8 across the three most recent comparable assessment years.
Mathematics and reading scales are developed separately, and grade 4 and grade 8 scales are also derived separately. Each line should be read as its own within-subject, within-grade trend rather than as a comparison of score levels between lines.
Official data: National Center for Education Statistics, 2019–2024 NAEP mathematics and reading assessments.
National Mathematics and Reading Score Data
| 2019 | 241 | 282 | 220 | 263 |
| 2022 | 236 | 274 | 217 | 260 |
| 2024 | 237 | 274 | 215 | 258 |
Published scale scores are rounded to whole points. NCES comparisons use unrounded estimates, so the reported change between two years can differ from subtraction of the displayed rounded scores.
2024 Results Moved Differently Across Grades and Subjects
- Mathematics did not follow one pattern between 2022 and 2024. Grade 4 improved, while the grade 8 national average was not statistically different from 2022. Reading moved downward at both grades over the same interval.
- The longer comparison remains less favorable across all four series. The 2024 grade 4 and grade 8 mathematics and reading averages were each below their corresponding 2019 results.
- An unchanged average can conceal movement within the score distribution. In grade 8 mathematics, the 2024 score at the 90th percentile rose from 325 to 328 compared with 2022, while the 10th percentile fell from 224 to 219. The national mean remained 274.
- NAEP scores should be interpreted within the same subject and grade. A grade 8 mathematics score cannot be treated as directly higher achievement than a grade 4 mathematics score, and mathematics scores cannot be compared directly with reading scores.
Achievement Levels Add a Second View of NAEP Performance
NAEP also reports the percentages of students reaching NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient and NAEP Advanced. These standards provide distribution information that an average score alone does not show.
| Comparison | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 4 | 76% | 39% | Proficient share was 3 percentage points above 2022. |
| Mathematics | 8 | 61% | 28% | Proficient share was 2 percentage points above 2022. |
| Reading | 4 | 60% | 31% | Proficient share was 2 percentage points below 2022. |
| Science | 8 | 62% | 31% | Proficient share was 4 percentage points below 2019. |
| Mathematics | 12 | 55% | 22% | Proficient share was 2 percentage points below 2019. |
| Reading | 12 | 68% | 35% | Proficient share was 2 percentage points below 2019. |
NAEP Proficient is not the same as grade-level proficiency on a state or district assessment. NAEP achievement levels are assessment-specific performance standards and remain designated for trial use. Achievement standards are also developed separately by subject and grade.
Average Scores and Achievement Levels Can Move Differently
- Grade 8 mathematics illustrates why both measures matter. The 2024 mean score was not statistically different from 2022, yet the percentage at or above NAEP Proficient increased while the percentage at or above NAEP Basic decreased.
- The achievement-level percentages therefore describe changes in different parts of the score distribution rather than serving as a substitute for the national mean.
Other 2024 National NAEP Results
The 2024 release extended beyond grade 4 and grade 8 mathematics and reading. National results were also reported for grade 8 science and for grade 12 mathematics and reading.
| Assessment | Latest National Result | Comparison Year |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 8 Science | Average score was 4 points below 2019; 31% were at or above NAEP Proficient. | 2019 |
| Grade 12 Mathematics | Average score was 3 points below 2019; 22% were at or above NAEP Proficient. | 2019 |
| Grade 12 Reading | Average score was 3 points below 2019; 35% were at or above NAEP Proficient. | 2019 |
2025 NAEP Long-Term Trend Results
The NAEP long-term trend assessment is a separate age-based series designed to preserve comparisons extending back to the 1970s. It should not be combined with main NAEP grade-based scores as if the two assessments used the same test or population.
| Change From Previous Assessment | Compared With 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Reading | 4 points above 2022 | Not statistically different |
| 9 | Mathematics | 4 points above 2022 | 4 points below 2020 |
| 13 | Reading | Not statistically different from 2023 | Below 2020 |
| 13 | Mathematics | Not statistically different from 2023 | Below 2020 |
The 2025 Age-9 Gains Did Not Fully Erase Earlier Mathematics Losses
- Age-9 reading and mathematics both increased from the special 2022 long-term trend administration. Reading returned to a level that was not statistically different from 2020, while mathematics remained below its 2020 result.
- Age-13 results followed a different pattern. Neither reading nor mathematics changed statistically from 2023, and both remained below their 2020 pre-pandemic averages.
- These age-based results extend the long historical NAEP series but should remain separate from grade 4, grade 8 and grade 12 main NAEP trends.
Data Sources, Measurement and Comparability
Official Assessment
NAEP is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education. National results are based on representative samples rather than a census of every U.S. student.
Main NAEP Reporting
Mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8 use 0–500 scales. Reading scales are separate by grade, and mathematics scales are separate by grade. Grade 12 mathematics uses a 0–300 scale. Science results use a 0–300 scale. Scores from different subjects or separately scaled grades should not be compared as though they share one achievement scale.
Nation and National Public
National reports can represent the full national student population covered by the assessment, including public and eligible private schools. State comparison tools generally use National public as the benchmark because state results represent public school students. These reporting universes should not be substituted for one another without identifying the population.
Statistical Comparisons
NAEP estimates are based on samples and have sampling error. Apparent differences between rounded scores are not automatically statistical differences. NCES comparisons use unrounded estimates and formal statistical tests, including adjustments where required for multiple comparisons.
Achievement Levels
NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient and NAEP Advanced describe performance on NAEP. NAEP Proficient does not mean the same thing as meeting a state-defined grade-level proficiency standard. NAEP achievement levels remain designated for trial use.
Long-Term Trend
The long-term trend assessment uses age-based samples and instruments maintained for historical comparison. Its reading and mathematics results are distinct from main NAEP grade-based results and should be analyzed as separate series.
2026 NAEP Collection and Estimated Release Schedule
NCES lists four reporting assessments in the 2026 NAEP program. Data collection took place in winter 2026. Mathematics and reading results are scheduled for an estimated winter 2027 release, while national civics and U.S. history results are scheduled for summer 2027. The schedule is current as of May 15, 2026 and remains subject to change.
| Subject | Grade | Data Collection | Estimated Release | Reported Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 4 and 8 | Winter 2026 | Winter 2027 | National, states and TUDA districts |
| Mathematics | 4 and 8 | Winter 2026 | Winter 2027 | National, states and TUDA districts |
| Civics | 8 | Winter 2026 | Summer 2027 | National |
| U.S. History | 8 | Winter 2026 | Summer 2027 | National |
Official NAEP Resources
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2024 Mathematics, Grades 4 and 8
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2024 Reading, Grades 4 and 8
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2024 Science
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2024 Mathematics, Grade 12
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2024 Reading, Grade 12
- The Nation’s Report Card — 2025 Long-Term Trend Reading and Mathematics
- NCES NAEP Assessment Calendar