Naep Scores

The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) releases a ranking of public school students’ scores by state even other year. Benchmark tests are performed on 4th and 8th graders in Math and Reading and points are awarded out of 500. Alabama has seen improvement in national ranking from almost being last in 2019, though our state scores and proficiency have mostly decreased.

Fourth Grade Math increased by 6 points from 230 to 236, while Reading increased by 1 point from 212 to 213. However, 8th grade Math score was 269 and Reading was 253 in 2019. Those numbers decreased to 262 in Math and 250 for Reading in 2024. We see a very similar picture when you look at the proficiency rate. In 2019, Alabama’s 4th graders had 28% proficiency in both Math and Reading. In 2024, 4th grade Math proficiency grew to 37%, but Reading stayed at 28%. In 8th grade proficiency, there was a decrease from 2019 to 2024 across the board. 8th grade math currently sits at an 18% proficiency rate and Reading is at 21%.

How has Alabama’s rank risen? Other states have had a sharper decline in scores. In Louisiana, their 4th grade Math score went from 237 in 2019, to 235 in 2024. Similarly, their 8th grade Math score went from 272 in 2019, to 267 in 2024. Should we really celebrate better rankings even though our scores have largely stayed the same or even gone down? Since 2019, Alabama has added over $2 billion to the ETF annual spending.

Alabama lawmakers continue to tout our state’s “improvement” in education, but this is deceptive. They are only choosing to share the areas we have improved, while ignoring the areas we have greatly decreased in performance. NAEP scores and overall proficiency rates show that Alabama has seen little improvement and has by and large continued to backslide. Increased budgets haven’t created results for Alabama students. The Alabama legislature should continue to expand school choice in Alabama while working to reduce red tape, increase local control, and limit bureaucracy in the Alabama Department of Education.