2024 NAEP results reveal New Mexico ranks last of all 50 states in every category, with student achievement in math and reading showing significant declines in the past decade. Average scale scores also reached historic lows. Overall, it’s clear our state’s education crisis is worsening.
This morning, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released results from the 2024 reading and mathematics assessment for 4th and 8th-grade students. Known as the Nation’s Report Card, NAEP is the gold standard assessment that has measured U.S. student achievement since 1969. Every two years, fourth and eighth-grade students across America are assessed in reading, math, and science.
The results for New Mexico are deeply troubling: our state ranks last of all 50 states in every category, with student achievement in math and reading showing significant declines in the past decade. Average scale scores also reached historic lows. Overall, it’s clear our state’s education crisis is worsening
2024 NAEP Proficiency Levels for New Mexico
Proficiency levels from the 2024 NAEP assessment reveal less than a quarter of New Mexico’s fourth and eighth-grade students are proficient in reading and math.
New Mexico Students Scoring Below Basic
Even more alarming, the number of New Mexico students scoring below basic, the lowest achievement level, has increased since 2019 in grade 4 reading, grade 8 reading, and grade 8 math. Students scoring below basic cannot demonstrate partial mastery of fundamental knowledge and skills required to meet grade-level expectations.
New Mexico Scale Scores Hit Historic Lows
Beyond ongoing low proficiency levels, New Mexico’s scale scores also fell to historic lows. Scale scores are reported as average scores on a 0-500 scale. In grade 8 math, the scale score was 256, marking the lowest score since 1990. The grade 8 reading scale score was 245, the lowest score recorded. For grade 4 reading, the scale score was 201, also the lowest recorded. Although grade 4 math saw a slight increase to 224 from 221 in 2022, the score still reflects an overall decline from 233 in 2013.
National Scores Decline, Louisiana Emerges as a Leader
While student performance across the nation remains below pre-pandemic levels, Louisiana has emerged as a leader to follow. The state climbed from 50th in 2019 to 16th in 4th-grade reading and moved from 45th in 2019 to 29th in 8th-grade reading. Louisiana also ranked in the top five for math growth and was one of only 14 states to see growth in 8th-grade math.
Louisiana’s success is attributed to bold policy solutions, including:
- A comprehensive literacy plan based on the Science of Reading
- Expansion of high-impact tutoring programs
- Prioritizing evidence-backed curriculum
This is a Wake-Up Call, We Must Act Now
Despite having sophisticated data systems that can pinpoint struggling students, classrooms, and schools, New Mexico is failing to act. This data release comes at a pivotal moment during the New Mexico Legislative Session. Lawmakers have the opportunity to enact targeted interventions, like those seen in Louisiana, and provide students with the resources they need to succeed.
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It’s time we confront what 50th place means for our communities, economy, and children’s futures. Enough is enough, New Mexico’s students deserve bold solutions, now.