Massachusetts tops NAEP; state officials propose $50M for literacy and tutoring and warn of federal funding freeze

State officials announced that Massachusetts students ranked first nationwide on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) across fourth-grade and eighth-grade reading and math and outlined proposed FY26 budget investments to build on the results, while warning that a federal funding freeze that halted federal draws — including Medicaid payments — could jeopardize programs that support students and families.

“Massachusetts students stand alone at number 1 in the country. We're number 1 in the country, and we're number 1 in the country on these, NAEP scores across all 4 categories,” Governor said at a state press event where the results were released.

Pat Tutwiler, Secretary of Education, said the administration is proposing targeted investments in the FY26 budget intended to sustain and accelerate student learning. “We want to reach 10,000 students immediately through this initiative to address pandemic related learning loss and accelerate learning growth for students in kindergarten through grade 3,” Tutwiler said, describing a proposed $25 million high‑dosage tutoring investment and a separate $25 million for a second year of the literacy launch program.

Lieutenant Governor said the FY26 budget proposal would fully fund the Student Opportunity Act with $7.3 billion in state funding overall, a year‑to‑year increase the administration described as $420 million, and raise a per‑student minimum from $30 to $75 for roughly 77% of districts. The lieutenant governor characterized those and other proposed increases — for special education, transportation and preschool expansion — as efforts to close achievement gaps.

Department officials and the governor emphasized equity goals and longtime state investments in education. Tutwiler and other speakers noted NAEP improvements follow a sustained focus on early literacy, expanded preschool, universal school meals, and new behavioral health centers in 31 cities and towns.

Reporters pressed officials about a separate but related issue: a federal actions freeze that prevented states from drawing some federal funds. Governor said the administration is monitoring a report that a $40 million Medicaid draw had not been received and praised Attorney General Campbell for filing a court challenge. “I'm really grateful to Attorney General Campbell and her team for moving so swiftly to get into court, and to pursue litigation to end what is an illegal, and, an illegal, abuse of power and an overreach by the president,” the governor said, adding that the administration believes the funding cutoff is unprecedented and harmful to students, senior assistance programs and other services.

Officials said they were receiving calls from childcare centers, Head Start providers, nonprofits and universities about immediate cash‑flow disruptions after the federal pause; they said the litigation was proceeding but that the state had not at the time confirmed receipt of the Medicaid payment referenced in press reports. Tutwiler and the governor stressed that federal funding supports Title I, special education, Head Start and other programs and that interruptions would place additional burdens on districts and on state resources if federal support did not resume.

The administration framed the NAEP results as a signal that recent state investments and evidence‑based strategies — including literacy launch grants and high‑dosage tutoring — are helping halt pandemic‑era declines in student performance, while also acknowledging persistent gaps for Black and Latino students, English learners and students with disabilities. Tutwiler cited research on tutoring impacts, saying studies show high‑impact tutoring “increases student learning by an an additional 3 to 15 months across grade levels.”

Next steps: the administration’s FY26 package is a proposal that requires legislative approval, and the legal challenge to the federal funding freeze is ongoing. Officials said they would continue to monitor program disruptions and work with the legislature to respond if federal draws remain paused.