There’s a math problem in Washington state, the latest release of federal test scores show.
The state superintendent for schools says the results should raise concerns about Washington’s future STEM workforce.
Administered every two years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, measures national and state-level student achievement in math and reading in fourth and eighth grade. The results from last year’s tests were released Wednesday.
According to those results, 71 percent of Washington eighth graders were not proficient in math compared to 58 percent in 2013.
While Washington’s average eighth-grade math score was 2 points higher than the national average in 2024, students’ scores have been declining in a trend that predates pandemic school lockdowns. This decade of decline also occurred as state and federal education spending shot up significantly.
Between 2013 and 2024, the share of Washington students performing below the basic NAEP level of proficiency in math increased by 20 percent, exceeding the national growth rate.
The percentage of eighth graders performing at or above the NAEP proficiency level shrank by 12 points over the past decade, while the national rate of decline for this group was 7 points.
“All the data compels us to take a much deeper examination of our approach to math in late elementary and middle school,” state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal said. “For Washington state to maintain our economic excellence in software, engineering, advanced manufacturing and other sectors, we have to make significant gains in elementary and middle school math in order to set up our students for maximum success.”
The gap in fourth-grade average math scores is slightly smaller, dropping eight points since 2013. The national average dropped four points during that time.
The latest NAEP results also show a decline in literacy at the state and national levels.
According to the results released Wednesday, 69 percent of Washington eighth graders were not proficient in reading compared to 58 percent in 2013.
The average reading score for Washington’s fourth-graders dropped 9 points, over the past decade. The national averages dropped 7 points for eighth graders and 9 points for fourth graders.
The Georgetown University-based Edunomics Lab, dedicated to researching education finance decisions and tracking educational outcomes, found that during this same decade of decline, education spending in Washington state essentially doubled to about $20,300 per pupil. This was bolstered, in part, by federal pandemic relief funds aimed at academic recovery.
In 2020 and 2021, Congress deployed $190 billion to states to aid in school pandemic recovery, with about $3 billion sent to Washington.
“Now that money is gone and some states have little or nothing to show for it,” said Edunomics Lab Director Marguerite Roza. “That’s a missed opportunity that could stay with kids for the rest of their lives.”
Comparatively, the Edunomics Lab found that national per-pupil spending grew 56 percent over the past decade, while eighth-grade math scores and fourth-grade reading scores steadily fell across many states. But not all of them.
The District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia showed increases in both math and reading scores.
In addition to Washington, states where scores continued to decline in both subject areas include Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon and Texas.
How states invest education funding into academic solutions merits a closer look, Roza said.
“Today’s NAEP scores remind us that states matter when it comes to ensuring that investments deliver academic value,” she said.
Reykdal said he’s introducing funding proposals this legislative session to fully fund basic education and help students and schools make gains.
His other plans include:
- Prioritizing and convening professional learning opportunities for educators in effective math instruction in grades 5-8
- Expanding the state’s Learning Assistance Program to provide opportunities and extra support for students experiencing poverty who are not yet meeting academic standards
- Dedicating more instructional time to math in elementary school
The latest NAEP scores for Washington also show persistent gaps among low-income students and students of different races, ethnicities and genders.
For example, the average score for students identified as economically disadvantaged was 36 points lower than for those not identified as economically disadvantaged.
Going back to eighth-grade average math scores, Hispanic students lagged their white peers by 35 points. Similar gaps were seen among fourth graders.
To look at NAEP scores by state, go to https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/snapshots.
