Math scores slip, reading flat for US 12th-graders

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The nation’s high-school seniors are slipping in math and failing to make progress in reading, with just one-third of the 12th graders ready for the academic challenges of college.

Scores released Wednesday from the Nation’s Report Card also show a widening gap between the highest- and lowest-performing students.

Only one-quarter of 12th-graders taking the test performed proficiently or better in math. In reading, 37 percent of the students were proficient or above – meaning they had a solid grasp or better of the subject material.

The average math score on the test last year was 152, down from 153 in 2013, the last time the test was given. It marks the first drop in math in a decade. For reading, scores were flat over the same period of time, and down five points from more than two decades ago when the test was first given to students in 1992.

Education Secretary John B. King, Jr., says schools have undergone “some of the most significant changes in decades” as teachers retool their classroom practices to adapt to new and higher standards.