NORMAL ( 25News Now ) - The nation’s students are barely passing, according to The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP .

The report shows that 12th-grade reading and math scores have fallen three points across the U.S. since 2019. In 2004, the average reading score was 240, but by 2024, it had dropped to 224, marking a 20-year low as a whole for graduating seniors.

25News reached out to Heartland Community College to learn how the decline is affecting incoming freshmen who are pursuing higher education.

“That has not been what we’ve been seeing the last several years in terms of our students who come in and don’t make college-level benchmarks for literacy and math. We’ve actually seen an increased level of college readiness,” said Vice President of Student Affai

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