The 2025 NAEP mathematics scores highlight a disturbing trend: Student math performance at middle grades is not recovering from the pandemic dip. There are many factors at work, but one important clue is that NAEP reading scores at middle grades are still below their historical trend, too.
Trend in NAEP Mathematics Average Score for 13-Year-Olds
In a 2025 EdWeek Research Center survey, 58% of educators reported that at least one-quarter of their students struggled with basic reading skills. We theorize that this percentage will be much higher for reading in math and science courses, which require knowledge of a host of complex academic terminology. Math and science texts can be intimidating for students already struggling with reading. And yet, nearly half of educators stated that their district or school provided no extra intervention time or staff to work with struggling middle and high school readers. In general, the level of support for struggling readers drops off dramatically after elementary school.
The result of the reduced support, according to EdWeek, is this:
Research has shown that older students who struggle in math and reading often have trouble with basic skills, like manipulating fractions or automatically recalling times tables in math, or reading multisyllabic words in English class.
Thus far, we’ve been examining reading, but the other five language domains also impact math performance and are integrated into all of the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs).
- For example, students who use accurate visual representations are 500% more likely to correctly solve math problems than students who do not.
- In fact, all six language domains also provide critical learning supports for multilingual learners.
Intrigued? Learn how one top-20 district made an impact for their middle graders using Math + Language.
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