## Minnesota Eighth Graders Show Record Low Reading Proficiency
Minnesota eighth-graders are demonstrating the lowest reading proficiency levels on record, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results released this week. A staggering 29% failed to meet even basic reading standards, marking the highest percentage ever recorded. While the difference from 2022 isn’t statistically significant, this represents a sharp increase from a decade ago when only 18% of eighth graders performed at this low level.
The decline extends to proficient readers as well. Only 28% of Minnesota eighth-graders achieved proficiency in reading, the lowest figure ever recorded and a 12-percentage-point drop since 2015. Students lacking basic reading skills struggle with fundamental comprehension tasks, including understanding vocabulary, making inferences, and grasping the main idea or sequence of events in a text. The achievement gap persists, mirroring national trends: white students outperformed Black and Hispanic students; girls outscored boys; and suburban districts saw higher scores than urban or rural areas.
Despite these concerning findings, Education Minnesota President Denise Specht points out that Minnesota students still outperform their national counterparts in both math and reading, maintaining roughly the same scores as two years prior. However, she emphasizes the need for continued investment in the educator workforce to reverse the post-pandemic decline in academic achievement.
This decline isn’t unique to Minnesota; nationwide, 34% of eighth graders failed to meet basic reading standards—also a record high. Daniel McGrath of the National Center for Education Statistics notes consistent declines since 2019, suggesting challenges beyond the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The national math scores are even more alarming, with 41% of middle school students falling short of benchmarks, compared to 29% in Minnesota (a slight decrease from the previous year).
The NAEP results, while different from Minnesota’s own standardized assessments, reflect a similar pattern of stagnant proficiency in both reading and math. Beyond pandemic learning loss, experts are exploring chronic absenteeism and increased screen time as contributing factors to this stagnation.
A positive outlier is Louisiana, which saw a significant increase in fourth-grade reading scores since 2019—possibly linked to its adoption of a science of reading curriculum emphasizing phonics. While Minnesota has also adopted this curriculum, its implementation is still in its early stages.
This lagging student achievement poses a significant challenge for Governor Tim Walz’s administration, despite record investments in public education. Minnesota’s decline surpasses the national average, and schools continue to grapple with budget shortfalls, partly due to declining enrollment. Furthermore, many charter schools, initially presented as an alternative to struggling public schools, are performing even worse than their traditional counterparts.
By Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer, January 30, 2025
(Note: The appended information about Minnesota Reformer, its publishing details, and author biography have been omitted for brevity as they are not part of the news article itself.)