Public schools fail children as senior scores hit new lows

The Heritage Foundation says it keeps throwing money at a system that is failing children. In an Oct. 30 post on X, Heritage put it flatly: "More spending, smaller classes, and more credentials don’t guarantee better schools¹." The nation’s report card shows that average 12th-grade math and reading scores in 2024 were the lowest ever reported on each assessment. For parents, the question is whether the school their child attends is teaching that child to read and to do math.

The failure starts long before senior year. The National Assessment Governing Board reported on Jan. 29, 2025, that around 40 percent of fourth graders were working below the NAEP Basic level in reading, the largest share since 2002. About a third of eighth graders missed the same benchmark, the largest percentage ever².

Governing Board chair Beverly Perdue called the results “unacceptable” and said, “We need to invest more in the data-informed efforts that have been shown to work.” Heritage’s reply: “Our children deserve better.”

In 2024, 45% of high school seniors scored below NAEP Basic in math and 32% scored below it in reading, the largest such shares ever reported in each subject. More seniors reported acceptance to a four-year college than in 2019, but a lower percentage are likely ready for entry-level college coursework³.

Those college acceptances leave families with a pointed question: what is a credential worth if it does not certify the skill behind it? What to watch is which states recover: only Louisiana in fourth-grade reading and Alabama in fourth-grade math have surpassed their pre-pandemic scores in a single grade and subject². Heritage’s next step is plain: “It’s time to get back to what works.”

Sources

1. @Heritage on X, 2026-10-30: We keep throwing money at a system that keeps failing our children. More spending, smaller classes, and more credentials don’t guarantee better schools. Our children deserve better. It’s time to get back to what works. https://www.heritage.org/education/commenta, 2026-10-30
2. The Nation's Report Card Shows Declines in Reading, Some Progress in 4th Grade Math
3. 5 Takeaways from 12th Grade NAEP Math and Reading Results