Cara Candal, Ed.D., is the Vice President of Policy for ExcelinEd.
Massachusetts has long been considered a leader in education, setting the gold standard for academic achievement. And on paper, that legacy appears intact. Our state recently ranked first in the Nation’s Report Card—officially known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—across all four tested categories of reading and math.
Judging by the headlines, you’d have thought we knocked the results out of Fenway.
But those rankings mask a deeper crisis. The students who were struggling before the pandemic, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and students of color, are now falling further behind at an alarming rate.
Nationally, the latest NAEP results paint a grim picture: High-performing students are beginning to regain ground lost during the pandemic, but lower-performing students continue to slip. In Massachusetts, the numbers confirm this disturbing trend.
In 2019, 45% of fourth graders performed at a proficient and above level in reading; today, that number has dropped to 40%. In eighth grade math, 47% of students performed at a proficient or above level in 2019, compared to just 37% today. And while some scores—like fourth grade math—have recovered, these overall declines cannot be ignored.
Most troubling are the persistent and widening achievement gaps. The average math test score for Black eighth graders in Massachusetts was 37 points lower than for their white peers. Similarly, economically disadvantaged students scored 39 points lower than their more affluent classmates. These disparities are not just statistics; they represent real children whose futures are increasingly at risk.
This should be a wake-up call for Massachusetts policymakers, but instead, the state has started to backpedal on the very policies that once made it an education leader. Take, for example, the decision to roll back the state’s rigorous high school graduation exam requirements. High standards, paired with strong accountability measures, helped Massachusetts rise to the top of national rankings in the first place. Now, as the data show that our most vulnerable students are struggling more than ever, the state is choosing to lower expectations instead of addressing the root causes of academic decline.
This is not just a Massachusetts problem. Across the country, affluent students are rebounding from pandemic learning loss while their less-advantaged peers fall further behind. If we do not take decisive action, we risk cementing a system where a child’s zip code dictates their academic success—and, ultimately, their future opportunities.
Gov. Maura Healey is right to highlight new initiatives like early literacy and tutoring programs. But these efforts must be paired with a recommitment to high standards and accountability, which she also has advocated for.
We know what works: clear, rigorous expectations for all students, high-quality instructional materials and targeted support for those who need it most. Abandoning high standards will not close achievement gaps; it will widen them.
If Massachusetts wants to truly maintain its leadership in education, it must face the reality of these NAEP results. Celebrating rankings while ignoring the growing inequities within them is not leadership. The state must recommit to policies that ensure every student—regardless of background—has the opportunity to succeed. Anything less would be a disservice to our children, our economy and our shared future.
Cara Candal is Vice President of Policy for ExcelinEd. She lives in Boston.
