PIE Network Members and Partners React to 2022 NAEP Scores

This year’s NAEP results show devastating setbacks in learning for all students and a deepening of gaps for our most vulnerable. These results are a call for bold action, building on what works and innovating to support learning and well-being for every student. This is urgent for all students, especially older students who are running out of time in the preK-12 system and need to be able to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We are looking forward to working with the members and partners of PIE Network to meet this moment and build an education system that works better for every student.

The results in today’s nation’s report card are appalling and unacceptable….This is a moment of truth for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world.
Secretary Miguel Cardona

Below are excerpts of statements from PIE Network members and partners, as well as news coverage.

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Statements from PIE Network Members and Partners

American Federation for Children – “These scores are the first of their kind since the pandemic and highlight yet again what families across the country know: We are facing an educational crisis, and parents need options now.”
Bluum – “Educators and policy makers were expecting to see a decline because of COVID-19 and the school closures it precipitated. In much of the country and for our neediest students these declines were worse than many had feared. The news is not great for Idaho. Our fourth grade students have fallen far behind where Idaho fourth graders were in 2019.”
ConnCAN – “Connecticut is a tale of two worlds. One where students receive top-tier instruction, with significant resources available. The other where students have unstable learning environments, and funds are scarce. When are we going to solve these problems once and for all?”
ExcelinEd – “…Today’s NAEP scores tell us the system failed our nation’s children. I am certain the right policy with unflinching resolve can provide a pathway forward. Policy changes lives, and that begins with parents, which is why I believe we need to expand educational opportunities for all families, followed by every state investing in evidence-based literacy policies and well-informed math policies.”
FutureEd – “Today’s release of scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides a jarring reminder of the pandemic’s impact on academic achievement. The U.S. Department of Education’s portrait of student proficiency in math and English language arts in fourth and eighth grades found declines in every state between 2019 and 2022. In two thirds of states, proficiency rates dropped in both subjects and in both tested grades.”
National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) – “We know students urgently need our support to recover academically, and we know that teachers are the ones who can make it happen. While the NAEP results confirmed our fears, they also underscore how much schools and teachers matter to students.”
National Parents Union – “It’s time for the grown-ups to stop pointing fingers and start taking responsibility — instead of continuing to watch them slide further into the education abyss. This moment calls for urgency and immediate action — and a deep acknowledgment of the education crisis we are in — so we can finally begin to tackle the greatest challenge of our time with the true urgency that has been lacking over the last two years.”
Tennessee SCORE – “These data show us that students across the state, and particularly students from historically underserved groups, have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. As a state, we’ve identified key strategies to support student recovery, such as a comprehensive approach to improving early literacy, implementing high-dosage tutoring, and expanding summer learning opportunities. These are the right interventions, and now we must commit to implementing these strategies with quality, consistency, and for all students.”
The Education Trust – “But we must pivot quickly from asking “What does the data say?” to “What will we do because of the data we see?” If every parent, teacher, education leader, and elected official in the country asks that second question — about the evidence-based practices we will put in place for the students and schools that the data shows are most in need — real change is possible.”
The Education Trust in Tennessee – “This year’s NAEP results are troubling and confirm the urgent need to sustain and deepen our pandemic recovery strategies across Tennessee.”
The Education Trust-Midwest – “We must act with great speed to accelerate learning using proven practices, including strategies to solve unfinished learning and providing fair funding and supports, especially for students who experienced the greatest disruption during the pandemic. We also must create transparent accountable systems to ensure that any new funding actually reaches the students with the greatest needs, including Black and Latino students, English learners, students with disabilities and children from low-income backgrounds who have long been underserved.”
The Hunt Institute – “Of course, we cannot ignore the data being presented in this report. We knew there would be declines across the board, but seeing them in writing is understandably alarming. Instead of allowing ourselves to be distracted by the discourse around what we could or should have done, our energy must be focused on centering students and charting a path forward – one that ensures that all students, particularly those who have been historically underserved by our education systems, have the necessary supports to thrive.”

PIE Network Members and Partners React to 2022 NAEP Scores

Statements from PIE Network Members and Partners

News Coverage

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