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CMSD: NAEP scores hold steady since 2022 but remain well below state and national levels
Summary
At a Cleveland Metropolitan School District work session, district leaders reviewed 2024 NAEP results showing little change since 2022, continuing a gap with Ohio and national averages and prompting calls for renewed focus on long-term academic recovery and strategic priorities.
Cleveland Metropolitan School District leaders told the board that results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show the district’s sampled students made no statistically significant gains from 2022 and remain behind Ohio and national averages.
“NAEP really is an assessment that is given across our country, and it is the only assessment that really measures what students know it can do in various subjects across the country,” said Dr. Selena Florence, Chief Academic Officer. She said NAEP uses sampling to compare performance across the nation, the state and urban districts; in 2024 about 800 Cleveland students from the district’s 65 K–8 schools were tested.
The district presented charts showing that reading and math performance declined across the country, and that Cleveland’s scores have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. “We held steady from ’20 to our 2022 results,” Dr. Florence said. “But looking from where we were in 2019… the pandemic showed that we had a major drop off.”
CEO Dr. Morgan said the district’s steady NAEP results do not negate recent progress on the state report card, which the district credits to measures of progress rather than raw achievement. “Most of our work that led us to our 4‑star rating is due to progress and we’re proud of that progress,” Dr. Morgan said, adding that achievement and early-literacy ratings still “leave a lot to be desired.”
Board Chair Ellicott and other board members acknowledged the results. Chair Ellicott said the data are “disappointing and sad,” and emphasized the need to “do better for our kids.”
District staff framed NAEP as a sampled, national benchmark that differs from state assessments and said it should inform long-term strategic planning and the board’s goal-setting. No new board action was taken at the session; staff said the data would shape ongoing instructional priorities, curriculum implementation and interventions tied to the district’s strategic plan.
Ending: The district will continue to monitor NAEP alongside state assessments and internal benchmarks; staff emphasized the need to “double down” on curriculum fidelity, small-group instruction and systemic supports to pursue “excellence at scale.”
