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Maryland posts mixed NAEP results: fourth-grade reading rebounds but achievement gaps widened
Summary
State assessment officials reported 2024 NAEP gains in fourth-grade reading that lifted Maryland’s national ranking, but presenters and board members emphasized that lower-performing students lag and achievement gaps have grown since 2013.
Maryland education officials told the State Board of Education on Feb. 20 that results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show modest recovery in early grades but persistent, widening gaps between higher- and lower-performing students. State assessment staff highlighted a notable uptick in fourth-grade reading that improved Maryland’s national standing, while warning that lower-percentile students remain far below pre-pandemic performance.
The nation’s Report Card showed Maryland fourth-graders moved up enough in reading to climb in the state rankings; assessment staff said that improvement helped Maryland go from 40th in 2022 to 20th in 2024 for fourth-grade reading. The presentation, led by assessment staff, showed that students at the 90th percentile have largely maintained pre-2013 performance while students at the 10th percentile have dropped sharply — growing the scale-score gap by roughly 30 points since 2013 in some comparisons.
State Superintendent Doctor Wright (State Superintendent) and assessment staff framed the results as a call to sustained effort. Wright said the gains “buck the national trend” in fourth-grade reading and cited districts’ investments in “science of reading” approaches and early literacy supports as factors. Assessment staff pointed to the NAEP percentile breakdowns (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) to show how Maryland’s highest performers remained close to prior levels while lower performers fell further behind, producing a larger achievement gap across 2013–2024.
Board members pressed staff about local patterns and next steps. Member Greer asked about whether the observed gains were concentrated in specific districts; staff said some urban districts participating in the federal TUDA administration, including Baltimore City, showed strong fourth-grade gains. Member Crawford urged that data be made transparent and accessible to local boards and communities and asked the department to tie assessment data to outcomes such as graduation and attendance.
Presenters said the department plans to present state assessment (MCAP) results in NAEP-style percentile bands going forward so the two sources can be compared more easily. Superintendent Wright reiterated plans to expand state instructional coaching and the proposed Academic Excellence program, citing coaching as a research-backed strategy for improving teacher practice and sustaining student gains.
Ending: Officials described the NAEP 2024 results as mixed: encouraging in parts, especially early literacy, but a reminder that recovery is incomplete and that policy and funding efforts must continue to focus on lower-performing students and sustained support for teachers and leaders.
