Statistics on how low current reading, math, history/civics, and science performance has fallen, plus how some states compare. All national statistics come from the most recent “Nation’s Report Card” (NAEP) releases and national summaries.
A Generation Left Behind: COVID, ICE Raids, and the Lowest Student Achievement in Decades
COVID school closures and intensified immigration enforcement have combined to push U.S. students to historic lows in reading, math, and other core subjects. Five years after the pandemic began, achievement has not bounced back; for many children—especially in high‑poverty and immigrant communities—it has gotten worse.
This is not just a short‑term disruption. It is a long‑term shift in who will be able to read, do math, understand history, and navigate the world in the decades ahead. Many more students will not graduate and those that do
1. How far achievement has fallen nationwide
The latest NAEP results show that today’s students are performing at or near the lowest levels ever recorded in several areas.
Reading
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Overall, 2024 reading scores for 4th and 8th graders are back to roughly where they were in the early 1990s, wiping out decades of progress.
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Among lower‑performing students, 4th‑ and 8th‑grade reading scores are at their worst in over 30 years.
For 12th graders (the students about to enter college, work, or the military):
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35% are at or above a proficient reading level.
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32–40% of seniors are at “below basic” in reading—meaning they struggle with fundamental comprehension tasks.
Math
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One‑quarter of 8th graders are performing at or above NAEP Proficient in math, while nearly 40% are below the “Basic” level—students who “likely cannot use similarity to find the length of a side of a triangle.”
Among high school seniors:
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Just 22–33% of 12th graders are considered academically prepared for college‑level mathematics; 2024 12th‑grade math scores are the lowest since the current assessment began in 2005.
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Almost half of seniors are now at below basic in math and reading combined—more than at any prior measurement.
Science, history, and civics
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8th‑grade science in 2024 shows no measurable improvement from its 2009 baseline; only 31% of 8th graders meet proficiency in science.
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Recent NAEP assessments in U.S. history and civics also show post‑pandemic declines, with average scores lower than in earlier cycles and particularly steep drops among lower‑performing students.
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Put simply: American students are not only behind in reading and math, they are also less knowledgeable about their own history, government, and the scientific world than students a decade or two ago.
2. Which states are at the bottom—and which are pulling ahead
National averages hide huge differences among states.
Overall patterns
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Nearly five years after COVID, the nation is still below 2019 scores in both reading and math at 4th and 8th grade.
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No state has surpassed its 2019 scores in 8th‑grade reading or 8th‑grade math.
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Only two states have exceeded pre‑pandemic scores in any grade/subject:
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Louisiana in 4th‑grade reading
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Alabama in 4th‑grade math
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That means in every other grade and subject, all states are either flat or below where they were before the pandemic.
Lowest performance by state (relative position)
NAEP does not publish a single “bottom state” list across all subjects in one place, but consistent patterns emerge:
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States that rank near the bottom in NAEP reading and math (often overlapping with lowest overall public‑school rankings) include New Mexico, Louisiana (in some grades/years despite recent reading gains), Mississippi (historically, with recent early‑grade improvements), West Virginia, Oklahoma, Alabama (before recent math improvements), and Arkansas.
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In many of these states, less than 1 in 4 students meets NAEP Proficient in key grades for reading or math, and large shares are below basic—unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of grade‑level skills.
By contrast, Massachusetts consistently shows the highest math and reading test scores in the country, with some of the largest shares of students reaching proficient or advanced levels. That contrast—Massachusetts versus persistently low‑performing states—captures the widening geographic inequality in educational opportunity.
3. The lowest‑performing students: historic lows
Across grades and subjects, the steepest declines are concentrated at the bottom of the achievement distribution.
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The gap between the lowest‑ and highest‑performing students now approaches 100 NAEP scale points, and it has been steadily widening since around 2010.
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For low‑performing 4th‑ and 8th‑grade readers, 2024 scores are the worst in more than three decades.
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In 8th‑grade math, the gap between top and bottom performers is the widest in the test’s history, and from 2022 to 2024 “the bottom continued to fall out” even as some higher‑performing students stabilized or improved.
For seniors:
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A record‑high percentage of the Class of 2024 now scores below basic in both math and reading compared with all previous assessment years.
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Education leaders warn that “nearly half of high school seniors” are leaving school without basic literacy and numeracy at “a critical juncture” before entering the workforce, military, or higher education.
This is the cohort that will be applying for jobs, renting apartments, voting, and raising children in the 2030s and 2040s.
4. The role of ICE raids: a second, overlapping crisis
On top of the COVID shock, immigration enforcement has created a second, quieter lockdown, especially in states and cities with intensive ICE operations.
In Minnesota and elsewhere, evidence shows:
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Following high‑profile ICE raids, some districts report spikes in student absences, particularly among immigrant and mixed‑status families.
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Teachers and administrators describe children suddenly staying home, switching to online options, or leaving school entirely because families fear parents could be detained on the way to or from school.
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Mental health complaints—anxiety, sleep problems, trouble concentrating—rise sharply after enforcement actions, undermining students’ ability to focus on reading, math, and content subjects.
These effects are layered on top of COVID learning loss, which was already greatest in high‑poverty, high‑stress communities. In practice, this means:
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The children most likely to be affected by ICE raids are often those already in the lowest‑performing groups academically.
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Their communities frequently sit in the states and districts that are furthest from recovery on NAEP and state tests.
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Immigration enforcement can turn schools into perceived risk zones, making consistent attendance and recovery interventions much harder to sustain.
5. Long‑term consequences: reading, math, history, geography into the future
Given these statistics, what can we realistically expect for future adults?
Reading and literacy
With only about 35% of seniors proficient in reading, and roughly a third or more below basic, large numbers of young adults will struggle with:
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Complex workplace documents
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Contracts, leases, and legal notices
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Dense civic information (ballot measures, policy proposals, news analysis)
Low‑performing 4th‑ and 8th‑grade readers at multi‑decade lows suggest that future cohorts will likely have similar or worse problems, unless states invest heavily in early‑grade reading recovery.
Math and quantitative skills
With just around one‑quarter of 8th graders proficient in math, nearly 40% below basic, and only 22–33% of seniors prepared for college‑level mathematics, we can expect:
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Fewer students ready for STEM majors, apprenticeships, and technical jobs.
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More community‑college students stuck in non‑credit remedial math.
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A workforce less comfortable with data, probability, financial literacy, and basic problem‑solving.
History, civics, geography, and science
Given stagnant or declining NAEP scores in history, civics, and science, and the documented reading struggles:
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More adults will lack a working grasp of U.S. history, constitutional structures, and international geography.
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A smaller share will reach proficiency in science, weakening general understanding of issues like climate change, public health, and technology.
This combination undercuts both economic competitiveness and democratic resilience.
6. What can still be done
The data are bleak, but they are not destiny. The same national reports that document historic lows also point to solutions:
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High‑dosage tutoring in reading and math for students well below grade level.
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Extended learning time—summer, after‑school, and intersessions—prioritized for the highest‑poverty communities.
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Evidence‑based early literacy and numeracy reforms like those used in Alabama (math) and Louisiana (reading) that have already moved their early‑grade NAEP scores above pre‑pandemic levels.
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Trauma‑informed, immigrant‑inclusive school policies that protect students from the worst psychological impacts of raids and detention, including clear “safe zone” practices and on‑campus counseling.
For child‑advocacy organizations, the takeaway is clear: The same systems failing children in protection are now failing them in education.
ICE raids and pandemic learning loss
are not separate stories;
together they are shaping a generation’s chances
to read, reason with numbers,
understand their country,
and navigate the world.
If we ignore these statistics, we will continue to send millions of young people into adulthood unable to read at basic levels, do essential math, or understand the history and civics that underpin our democracy. If we act on them, we still have time to change the trajectory of this generation’s future.
KIDS AT RISK ACTION / KARA / INVISIBLE CHILDREN
#LearningLoss #EducationCrisis #NAEPScores #ReadingCrisis #MathCrisis #ChildWelfare #ICEraids #ImmigrantStudents #EducationEquity #SchoolClosures #COVIDimpact #PandemicEducation #KidsAtRiskAction #MNeducation #ChildAdvocacy
