In reading, the nation's students are still stuck in a pandemic slump

In reading, the nation's students are still stuck in a pandemic slump

Cory Turner

October 14, 2025 / 2:00 am

When it comes to reading, the nation's third- through eighth-graders are still mired in a pandemic-era slump, according to new testing data. In math, the news is only a little more heartening: Student achievement in those grades either held steady or improved slightly, though all grades remain behind performance levels of same-grade students in 2019.

The data comes from NWEA, a K-12 testing and research organization, and its Spring 2025 MAP Growth assessment, a suite of tests taken by millions of students in thousands of U.S. schools.

"Math is crawling back, however modestly, but reading isn't budging," says Karyn Lewis, vice president of research at NWEA. "I know people want