The rapidly increasing levels of non-English-speaking students in schools across the country may contribute to the terrible reading scores reported nationwide in recent years.
Data from the 2024 Nation report card released in January by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that the proportion of English learners at K-12 schools has increased dramatically in almost all states, not only in reading, but also in the nationally collapsed test scores. Both the fourth and eighth grade English learners were inadequate students of all other demographic students as measured by the NAEP, including low-income and students with disabilities.
Of the fourth graders, 60% of financially disadvantaged students and 78% of students with disabilities fell below average reading ratings compared to 79% of English learners. According to In the report. This comparison is even more dramatic among 8th grade students, with 84% of English speaking students below the average compared to 61% of low-income students and 79% of students with disabilities.
In Texas, it accounted for only 7% of fourth-grade students tracked by NAEP in 1998, and by 2024 it had risen to 23%. In New Mexico, English learners in fourth grade in 1998 accounted for 18% by 2024, and fourth-grade California English learners accounted for 22% of students in 2024, up from 16% in 1998.
These states have some of the lowest test scores in the country, with New Mexico’s reading scores ranked at the bottom of all states. According to to US newslists using NAEP data. Texas ranks 41, while California remains in the lower half of No. 29.
Overall, fourth-grade students averaged 215 on their 2024 reading ratings, significantly below the proficiency score of 238 according to the data. Among English learners, the number was even lower with 185 nationwide, 194 in Texas, 181 in California and 173 in New Mexico.
When removing English learners from the mix, these averages rise to 219 nationwide, 217 in Texas, 221 in California and 207 in New Mexico. The benchmark for the “basic” reading achievement level for NAEPs is a minimum score of 208.
Children will study at the improvisation school in the Rome camp on Boulevard Nay, Paris on September 30, 2015 (Photo: Florian David/AFP via Getty Images)
Test scores have declined nationwide in recent years, with one-third of eighth graders unable to reach the NAEP reading assessment benchmark in 2024, making it the largest percentage ever recorded. Approximately 40% of fourth-grade students tested below NAEP reading proficiency, the largest percentage since 2002.
Students who are not English are partially responsible for their tanking test scores, but several other factors also contribute to this trend.
Many schools have not recovered from the learning losses they suffered after months of distance learning due to long-term school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many schools did not return to face-to-face instruction until the fall of 2021. Teacher union cooperation. (Related: America’s second-largest teachers union complains that Trump administrators incorporate left-wing ideology into schools)
In recent years, many schools have shifted their focus to non-educational efforts, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT) initiatives. The Trump administration has since moved to eradicate these ideologies.
Illegal immigration has skyrocketed under the Biden administration, with hundreds of criminal illegal immigrants passing through the southern borders and flooding the United States since former President Joe Biden took office. President Donald Trump has since declared a state of emergency on the US-Mexico border, promoting the arrest and deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants. An order has been issued Allows illegal foreigners to be arrested on school grounds.
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