See the data: Nation’s Report Card results a mixed bag for NH students

Data from the Nation's Report Card, released last week. JEREMY MARGOLIS—Monitor staff
Published: 02-03-2025 2:20 PM
Modified: 02-04-2025 9:14 AM |
New Hampshire students showed marginal academic improvement in most subjects over the last two years, but their scores continue to trail those seen immediately before the pandemic, according to data released last week by the National Assessment of Education Progress.
The biennial assessment, administered to a randomly selected group of fourth- and eighth-grade students in math and reading, shows New Hampshire students continue to perform among the best in the country. On three of the four tests, they scored fourth; on the other, eighth-grade math, they scored ninth.
The results were a mixed bag for Granite Staters: In comparison to most other states, they suggested New Hampshire’s recovery from pandemic learning loss was progressing more smoothly, while in comparison to the state’s own previous scores, they showed there was still significant room for improvement.
“Students in the Granite State are outperforming students in many other New England states and showing greater achievements compared to the national average,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in a statement. “Although New Hampshire students continue to shine, we know there is always more work to be done to continue advancing learning for children statewide.”
Massachusetts, which served as a frequent political punching bag during Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s campaign last fall, topped the charts in every testing category.
The test, known as the Nation’s Report Card, is considered the gold standard in standardized testing for drawing inter-state comparisons. While states typically administer their own annual standardized tests, these tests differ from state to state.
The 60-minute test was administered last winter to roughly 230,000 students in over 6,000 schools across the country. The National Assessment of Education Progress only provides district-level data for large city school districts, so there is no district-level data for New Hampshire.
The questions employ both the multiple-choice and short-response formats.
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One “medium” math question posed to fourth graders asks “Which of the following expressions does NOT have the same value as 2x5x8?” The four options listed were different multiplication expressions.
That question was answered correctly by 62% of New Hampshire students and 56% of students across the country.
New Hampshire students improved from 2022 in eighth-grade math and reading and fourth-grade math, though those gains were not statistically significant. Scores in fourth-grade reading dropped slightly, though that change was also not statistically significant.
Nationally, there were statistically significant drops in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and a statically significant improvement in fourth-grade math.
“While we like the direction the scores are heading, especially since New Hampshire has been able to buck the national trends, we would still like to see bigger gains across the board,” said Edelblut.
Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.