The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released its latest NAEP Long-Term Trend Assessment Results: Reading and Mathematics report for the 2022 to 2023 academic year. This annual report aims to enable long-term performance comparisons for each student in all subject groups. We know that many states throughout the U.S. have made strides in shifting to scientifically-backed reading strategies that improve literacy outcomes but, based on the NAEP results, we still have a long way to go before the literacy crisis is truly resolved.
Nine-Year-Old Student NAEP Literacy Outcomes
The NAEP literacy results reflect that this group of students’ average reading scores declined by four points compared to the last assessment in the 2019 to 2020 school year, and by seven points compared to 10 years ago. This age group of students is falling behind in their reading abilities, which could in part be a result of the learning loss students experienced during the pandemic school year, the lack of science-based literacy strategies being applied in the classroom, and late intervention for students struggling with learning hurdles such as dyslexia.
13-Year-Old Student NAEP Literacy Outcomes
During the 2022 to 2023 academic year, 14% of students said they read for fun almost every day, which is a decrease of three percentage points since 2020, and 13 since 2012. This year’s percentage is the lowest ever recorded. Among high-achievers, 51% of students who scored at or above the 75th percentile reported reading for fun only once a week. In contrast, only 28% of students scoring below the 25th percentile said they did the same. Based on the difference between these figures, we can tell that the more difficulty students have in reading, the less likely they are to read on their own. Individual reading plays a substantial role in building a student’s reading vocabulary and boosts reading comprehension.
Looking Forward: The Key to Driving Better Literacy Outcomes
Structured Literacy, based on the science of reading, a large body of scientific research on best practices for teaching reading, is the key to solving the literacy crisis and low student reading scores. Decades of research have proven that over 90% of children could learn to read if their teachers applied explicit instruction grounded in the science of reading to their literacy curriculum.
Despite the recent increase in attention to the science of reading, reading post-pandemic scores for both nine and 13-year-old students nationwide are down and actively decreasing. 13-year-olds aren’t reading for enjoyment as often, and students who struggle with reading are reading even less. Other research even reflects that students who struggle with reading in first grade are more likely to continue to struggle by the end of fourth grade, further emphasizing the importance of effective literacy tools for K-5 students. When it comes to developing comprehensive reading skills, the stakes are high because the inability to read well will negatively impact students in every facet of their lives, not just in the classroom.
Reading instruction needs to be revisited so that all students at every grade level have the literacy tools to learn how to read and continue improving their abilities to align with grade-level expectations. This is particularly frustrating for students who want to learn to read but aren’t receiving the support they need because teachers aren’t fully equipped with the right tools.
“While the recent data presented by the NAEP isn’t good, the bright side is something we already know: districts and schools that implement Structured Literacy and evidence-based approaches will be able to improve test scores and student outcomes,” said Jeanne Jeup, Co-founder and CEO of IMSE. “There is no shortage of research proving that science-based literacy strategies do work, and districts need to act with urgency to prepare teachers with Structured Literacy to help struggling students before they fall even further behind in reading.”
The bottom line is that reading matters, but how it is taught matters even more. IMSE provides educators and district leaders with a wide range of comprehensive training, all available in-person and virtually. With a commitment to science-based reading instruction, IMSE’s training and literacy teaching methods align instruction with the science of reading to ensure every student can learn to read.
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