Georgia students’ scores on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were on par with the national average and stayed steady compared to 2017, the last time the assessment was administered.   

In fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade reading, and eighth-grade math, Georgia students’ average score was not significantly different than the score they recorded in 2017, according to NAEP. In eighth-grade reading, Georgia students’ scores declined by four points, mirroring a similar decline of three points nationally.

Georgia’s average score was the same as the national average score in eighth-grade reading, within a point of the national average in fourth-grade reading, and within two points of the national average in fourth- and eighth-grade math.

“There remains work to do to ensure all Georgia students have access to a well-rounded education that expands the opportunities available to them,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “With that said, it is important to note that Georgia’s students are nearing or reaching the national average in all subject areas on the ‘Nation’s Report Card.’ While our state’s public schools have so often been labeled ‘last in the nation,’ that is clearly not the case.”

NAEP, or the “Nation’s Report Card,” is a nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. The test is administered every two years to a sample of fourth and eighth graders, from a sample of schools across each state.