Test scores released this week by the U.S. Department of Education show New Hampshire students' reading and math test scores on the decline, continuing a trend seen over the last nine years.
According to 2022 assessments taken by a sample of students, 30% of the state’s eighth graders and 40% of fourth graders are proficient or above in math. The same assessments showed 33% of eighth graders and 37% of fourth graders are proficient or above in reading. In both subjects, scores were lower than prior to the pandemic.
A proficiency score on the national test indicates "competency over challenging subject matter" and does not correlate with grade level proficiency standards set by the state.
The state’s test scores remain higher than the national average but mirror trends across the country during the pandemic. The biggest decline, both nationally and in New Hampshire, was in eighth grade math.
On a national level, the decline in reading and math scores reverses decades of steady improvement and confirms concerns about COVID-related learning loss.
But in New Hampshire, the story is more complicated.
The test scores from this year are the lowest in nearly 30 years, but the decline predates the pandemic. Overall, reading and math scores in the state have been declining since their peak around 2013, after steadily increasing since the 1990s. The rate of decline was in some cases higher during the pandemic, but not across the board. Fourth grade reading, for instance, only declined by one point during the pandemic, after a five-point decline in the prior two years.
In a press release with the test results, the New Hampshire Department of Education encouraged school districts to continue using COVID relief funds to support students who are struggling. It also noted several new programs it’s launched, including a partnership with Tutor.com to provide free tutoring and the Graduation Alliance to offer students online mentorship.
“Now is the time for those of us in leadership positions to take a hard look at the data, what we’re seeing on the Nation’s Report Card and on other key measures, and use that to guide our decision making so that all students can overcome the challenges of the moment and access high-quality education,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said.
