The State of American Education: Reading

This is the second of a two-part article discussing NAEP scores from 2024. The first part looked at math. Here I cover reading. For details and methodology, please read the opening two sections of my post about math.

I’ll look at the same four states (California, Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts) and the national average. The national average is across 53 entities (50 states plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and DoDEA). I’ll explain the last item soon.

The Data Source

As noted above, my data is from the NAEP. The most recent year is 2024. Surveys are done every two or three years. The data extends back to 1990, but there are many states that did not report for that year as well as 1992, 1996, and 2000. The first year in which there is complete data is 2003.

I always pick 8^th grade. That seems to have the largest sample. And those students have been in school long enough to make their test results meaningful.

The data is at state level, but the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are also included. In addition, there is the peculiar segment DoDEA. That is the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a federally operated nonpublic school system responsible for educating children of military families.

So let’s dive in.

Reading

Here’s the breakdown, the average reading score from 2003 to 2024.

Fig01 Reading, 2024 only, 8th Grade, All States (click for larger image)

And here are two figures that show the data sorted by score. The first is sorted by the average score from 2003-2024 and includes only state data.

Fig02 Sort by 2003-2024 average NDECoreExcel_Reading, Grade 8, All students_20250608221044The State of American Education: Reading

Fig02 Sort by 2003-2024 average NDECoreExcel_Reading, Grade 8, All students_20250608221044 (click for larger image)

And the second is sorted by the 2024 scores with DoDEA and the District of Columbia.

Fig03 NDECoreExcel_Reading, Grade 8, All students_20250608221044The State of American Education: Reading

(click for larger imageFig03 NDECoreExcel_Reading, Grade 8, All students_20250608221044

Massachusetts is the leader among actual states using the average scores and the 2024 scores. This is not surprising and quite common. The Bay State is home to many top universities, including M.I.T., Harvard, Wellesley, Smith, and Mt. Holyoke. There are a host of others: Boston University, Amherst, Tufts, Wheaton, … the list could go on for quite a while. Each has a faculty. The faculty have kids. Not surprisingly, the parents demand a high-quality education.

But DoDEA is number one in Figure 3, the Department of Defense education system. This is not surprising. Almost by definition, DoDEA employees are focused and disciplined. Their kids undoubtedly either inherit this feature or have it imposed on them by parents.

There are some surprises on this list. New Jersey, at number three, is higher than I expected. I leave it to interested readers to study these results in detail.

Like math, reading scores began to decline in 2013 when they peaked at 268. Interestingly, there was no sharp drop in 2020. Instead, the trend line continues downward. Honestly, I have no idea why the impact of COVID on reading scores was less severe than for reading. My guess is that reading was easier to keep up with than reading because, well, text is everywhere. Reading from screens counts.

Fig04 Reading, National, 8th Grade The State of American Education: Reading

Fig04 Reading, National, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

Selected State Results

I arbitrarily picked California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas. If you’re curious about other states, download one or both of my Excel workbooks. Click here for math and click here for reading.

Here’s a quick comparison of the average reading scores from 2003 through 2024.

Fig05 Reading, Selected State Averages 2003-2024, 8th Grade The State of American Education: Reading

Fig05 Reading, Selected State Averages 2003-2024, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

California

Fig06 Reading, California, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

The Golden State ranked in the bottom half of the states for reading from 1996 to 2022. In 2024 California was 47^th out of the 53 reporting entities. Looking only at the 50 states, California was number 45. From 2003 to 2011, California was among the three worst-performing states.

But in one sense, my home state did somewhat better than the three other states in the post-2013 decline. The state’s reading average stayed about the same from 2013 to 2017, beginning to decrease only in 2019. This is damning with faint praise. California’s average score was lower than the other three states and the national average.

Florida

The Sunshine State fared slightly better than its west coast competitor in orange growing. Florida’s average reading score (2003-2024) was 261, five points above California. But both are below the national average of 264.

Fig07 Reading, Florida, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

The state took a nosedive after 2017. A possible cause was the introduction of the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). It was botched and undoubtably was a major distraction. From Google AI:

Testing and Accountability:

Florida Standards Assessments (FSA): The initial implementation of the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA), replacing the Common Core-based PARCC test, was plagued by technological glitches, causing frustration among superintendents, teachers, and students.
“Incomplete” School Grades: 118 schools received “Incomplete” grades due to failure to meet the 95% student participation rate on the FSA, possibly due to opting out or testing issues.
Superintendent “No Confidence” Declaration: In September 2015, Florida school superintendents expressed a loss of confidence in the state’s accountability system, which heavily relied on FSA scores, and called for a suspension and review of the system.
Lawsuit Challenges Testing Requirements: A lawsuit was filed in August 2016, focusing on events in the 2015-2016 school year, challenging the requirement for students to take standardized tests before being promoted to fourth grade. The lawsuit highlighted issues with students being held back due to test scores despite potentially strong academic performance, and the state’s changing policies on accepting student portfolios or report cards.

Texas

The Lone Star State scored 259, five points below the national average of 264.

Fig08 Reading, Texas, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

As you’ll see later, Texas was below the national average in for most testing years. But starting in 2017, Texas matched the average, only to fall back below starting in 2022. Unlike math, reading scores were not noticeably affected by the 2011 budget difficulties.

Massachusetts

The clear leader of the four states as well as the other 46:

Fig09 Reading, Massachusetts, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

There was a temporary drop in 2013 but the steady decline started in 2017.

Comparison

Here’s the comparison of the time path of scores in each state as well as the national average:

Fig10 Reading, Comparison, 8th Grade (click for larger image)

Conclusion

Massachusetts ranks first in reading on every test from 2003 to 2013. In 2015 the state was second to New Hampshire. This may well have been caused by former Massachusetts residents fleeing for the (much) lower tax haven to the north. But in 2017 and 2019 the state regained the lead. In 2022, they were again second, this time to New Jersey. And in 2024 DoDEA pushed it into second place, with New Jersey falling to third. It’s tempting to say other states should just do what Massachusetts does. As noted earlier, that would be very difficult. Developing a stable of world-class universities is not an available strategy. My advice is straightforward:

Figure out how to eliminate teacher unions. If that can’t be done, you might as well quit. But read on – there may be some instructors who will buy into this program.
Close all the teacher education schools in state colleges. Give the money to school districts with the express condition that it goes to increasing teacher pay with a focus on newly-hired faculty.
Insist that school districts hire teachers proficient in the subject they are teaching. This probably means those in some fields (reading, hard sciences) will be paid more than others.
Eliminate all traces of DEI throughout the school system.
Refocus on teaching academic subjects.
Stress teacher professionalism. Someone standing in front of a class should not be there to make friends.

Appendix: Scores Sorted for Each Year

The tables below show the data sorted for each year from 2003 to 2022. They’re included here because I created them and thought my work shouldn’t be wasted.