NAEP’s alarming decline: Can the science of reading rescue American education?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has exposed a deepening crisis in American education, with reading, math, and science proficiency rates at alarming lows. The steepest declines hit the most vulnerable students, intensifying inequities. Yet, success stories like Mississippi’s literacy reforms prove that evidence-based phonics instruction can reverse the decline, offering a clear, affordable roadmap for nationwide recovery.