Arlington, VA – The 2024 Mathematics and Reading Assessment for students in grades 4 and 8 was released on January 29 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card. Catholic school students persist in producing higher achievement levels than their public school counterparts.
NAEP assessments are considered the gold standard of testing. Catholic school students continue to outpace public schools in math and reading, while public school student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and reading scores continue to decline following a sobering trend last reported in 2022.
“In Catholic schools, faith and academics are seamlessly woven together, fostering not only intellectual growth but also moral and spiritual formation,” said Dr. Steven F. Cheeseman, NCEA President/CEO. “While academic excellence is a hallmark of our schools, our true goal is to form saints and to prepare students to lead with wisdom, compassion and integrity.”
Based on scale scores and achievement levels of students in public and Catholic schools, a snapshot of the most recent results is shown here.
Tests are given periodically to a representative subset of American students in math and reading in grades four and eight and grade twelve. Scores are broken down by state and a select few cities. The latest results are based on tests given between January and March 2024.
NAEP is a congressionally mandated program and tests are administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. The National Assessment Governing Board, an independent body appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education, sets NAEP policy. Results are reported as scores and as percentages of students reaching NAEP achievement levels—NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient and NAEP Advanced.
The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) strongly encourages all Catholic, other religious and private schools to participate in NAEP testing as “an essential measure of achievement.” See the NAEP News for Private Schools for more information.
For more information, visit www.NCEA.org and connect with NCEA on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
