The Pandemic's Enduring Toll: Just Over 1 in 4 Eighth-Graders Proficient in Math in 2024

Stu­dent math scores in the Unit­ed States have not recov­ered from the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic. As of 2024, slight­ly over 1 in 4 eighth-graders achieved pro­fi­cien­cy, sim­i­lar to 2022 results and sub­stan­tial­ly worse than pre-pan­dem­ic scores in 2019, accord­ing to data from the Nation­al Assess­ment of Edu­ca­tion­al Progress (NAEP) in the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

Amer­i­can stu­dents fared bet­ter from 2009 to 2019, with about 1 in 3 eighth-graders hit­ting the math pro­fi­cien­cy mark dur­ing this time­frame. Data col­lec­tion stopped in 2020 and 2021 — and the lat­est NAEP results for 2022 and 2024 reveal the pandemic’s lin­ger­ing effects on stu­dent achievement.

The drop in per­for­mance is deeply con­cern­ing but unsur­pris­ing since the pan­dem­ic dis­rupt­ed the edu­ca­tion of mil­lions of stu­dents. The pub­lic health cri­sis exposed remote learn­ing chal­lenges, includ­ing gaps in inter­net access and tech­nol­o­gy, and reduced stu­dent sup­port ser­vices and inter­ac­tions with teach­ers. At the same, kids and fam­i­lies grap­pled with increased stres­sors, including:

• social iso­la­tion;
• finan­cial instability;
• food inse­cu­ri­ty; and
• men­tal illness.

State-Lev­el Math Pro­fi­cien­cy Rates

In 2024, all states in the coun­try except one remained below their pre-pan­dem­ic rates of eighth-grade math pro­fi­cien­cy — that is, only Ten­nessee returned to its 2019 fig­ure of 31% of stu­dents scor­ing pro­fi­cient in math. Five states — Delaware, Flori­da, Mass­a­chu­setts, Min­neso­ta and Wash­ing­ton — report­ed the great­est set­backs, with this sta­tis­tic declin­ing 10 per­cent­age points each from 2019 to 2024. Even with this change, stu­dents in Mass­a­chu­setts — along with stu­dents in New Jer­sey and Wis­con­sin — per­formed best in 2024, with 37% of all test tak­ers hit­ting the pro­fi­cien­cy mark. Stu­dents in New Mex­i­co fared worst, with just 14% of eighth-graders achiev­ing pro­fi­cien­cy in math.

In encour­ag­ing news, between 2022 and 2024, 36 states (includ­ing D.C.) showed at least some improve­ment. The largest gains these last two years occurred in North Car­oli­na and Ten­nessee, each with a six-per­cent­age-point jump in eighth-graders scor­ing pro­fi­cient or bet­ter in math.

Why Math Scores Matter

Researchers have doc­u­ment­ed a con­nec­tion between math pro­fi­cien­cy and future aca­d­e­m­ic, eco­nom­ic and job suc­cess. Increas­ing­ly, com­pe­tent math skills — along with pro­fi­cien­cy in sci­ence, tech­nol­o­gy and engi­neer­ing — is viewed as crit­i­cal to build­ing a strong 21^st-cen­tu­ry workforce.

Race, Eth­nic­i­ty and Math Proficiency

Racial and eth­nic dis­par­i­ties in math pro­fi­cien­cy are per­sis­tent and stark, point­ing to ongo­ing inequities in access­ing high-qual­i­ty learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties and resources. In 2024, sim­i­lar to pre­vi­ous years, alarm­ing­ly high per­cent­ages of Black (90%), Amer­i­can Indi­an or Alas­ka Native (88%) and Lati­no (86%) eighth-graders did not reach pro­fi­cien­cy in math. While still con­cern­ing, the same was true for much low­er shares of mul­tira­cial (70%), white (63%) and Asian and Pacif­ic Islander (43%) stu­dents. It’s impor­tant to note that when aca­d­e­m­ic data are dis­ag­gre­gat­ed by Asian and Pacif­ic Islander pop­u­la­tions, out­comes vary wide­ly among groups.

Across all racial and eth­nic groups, the share of eighth-graders scor­ing below math pro­fi­cien­cy wors­ened by at least three per­cent­age points between 2019 and 2024. Although white and mul­tira­cial stu­dents expe­ri­enced the largest set­backs when com­par­ing pre- and post-pan­dem­ic scores, these two groups also showed the most improve­ment from 2022 to 2024.

Aca­d­e­m­ic dis­par­i­ties exist for oth­er demo­graph­ic groups, as well. Accord­ing to NAEP, aver­age eighth-grade math scores declined in 2024 for spe­cif­ic groups, includ­ing stu­dents who are eco­nom­i­cal­ly dis­ad­van­taged, Eng­lish learn­ers and those with disabilities.

How Can We Improve Stu­dent Success?

The Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion, NAEP and oth­er experts have offered a range of promis­ing actions and pri­or­i­ties that can pro­mote stu­dent achieve­ment. Among them:

• Ensur­ing that schools not only focus on aca­d­e­mics but also pro­vide wrap­around sup­port to kids and fam­i­lies, such as men­tal health ser­vices, nutri­tion assis­tance, inten­sive tutor­ing and oth­er resources. To do this, many dis­tricts have had suc­cess using ​“com­mu­ni­ty schools” and strong par­ent-school-com­mu­ni­ty partnerships.

• Reduc­ing chron­ic stu­dent absen­teeism by improv­ing data track­ing and employ­ing pos­i­tive approach­es to address atten­dance barriers.

• Pro­mot­ing active parental or care­giv­er involve­ment in their children’s education.

• Using data and research-based evi­dence to improve cur­ricu­lum and instruc­tion, while pri­or­i­tiz­ing teacher recruit­ment, train­ing and retention.

• Keep­ing expec­ta­tions of stu­dents high and focus­ing on chil­dren who are strug­gling, includ­ing those from groups that face per­sis­tent disparities.

• Expand­ing access to out-of-school learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties, includ­ing sum­mer time.

More Edu­ca­tion Data

See all edu­ca­tion indi­ca­tors on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT^® Data Cen­ter. The math pro­fi­cien­cy indi­ca­tor is includ­ed in the KIDS COUNT Child Well-Being Index. Read the KIDS COUNT Data Book to learn more.

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