Soaring Levels Of Non-English Speaking Students May Be Driving National Reading Test Scores Into Ground

Rapidly-increasing levels of non-English speaking students in schools across the nation may be contributing to the abysmal reading scores reported in recent years nationwide.

Data from the 2024 Nation’s Report Card released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in January revealed that not only have test scores, particularly in reading, fallen nationwide, but the percentage of English learners in K-12 schools has been rising dramatically in nearly every state. English learners in both 4th and 8th grade underperformed students in every other demographic measured by the NAEP, including low-income students and students with disabilities.

Among 4th graders, 60% of economically disadvantaged students and 78% of disabled students scored below average on the reading assessment compared to 79% of English learners, according to the report. The comparison is even more drastic among 8th grade students, with 84% non-English speaking students scoring below average compared to 61% of low-income students and 79% of students with disabilities.

In Texas, English learners made up only 7% of 4th grade students tracked by the NAEP in 1998, a number that rose to 23% by 2024. In New Mexico that number was 13% in 1998 and 18% by 2024, and in California 4th grade English learners make up 22% of students in 2024, up from 16% in 1998.

Test scores in these states are some of the lowest in the country, with New Mexico’s reading scores ranking at the very bottom of all states, according to a U.S. News