National Report Card shows Tennessee’s commitment to high academic standards is working

NASHVILLE — Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) released the following statement on our state’s performance on the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), frequently referred to as the Nation’s Report Card.

“This year’s NAEP scores show the real impact Tennessee’s investments in literacy, tutoring, school funding, and high academic standards are making in the lives of students,” said TSS President and CEO Lana Skelo. “While other states are still trying to fully recover from pandemic related academic losses, Tennessee students have exceeded proficiency rates from 2019 in 4th grade math and outperformed the national average for both math and reading in 4th and 8th grade. This invaluable assessment data should serve as a signal for the 114th General Assembly to build upon the student-focused education reforms that have helped Tennessee buck negative national trends and resist any effort to lower academic standards and school accountability. When the future of one million Tennessee public school students is on the line, we must prioritize measurement over political convenience.”

The NAEP test is given to select 4th and 8th grade students across the country every two years to measure their math and reading proficiency.

The U.S. first began testing students through NAEP in 1969. Today’s test involves a selected sample of schools that reflect the varying demographics of each state. Within each school, students are chosen at random, making the test the most comprehensive “big-picture” comparison available for cross-state comparisons of student progress.

Tennesseans for Student Success is a statewide network of parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders that champions economic freedom and mobility for all Tennesseans by supporting high-quality educational opportunities and working to ensure every Tennessee student has access to a great public education.