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Florida Ranks 3rd in the Nation in Grade 4 Reading and 4th in Grade 4 Mathematics

Florida - Monday October 24, 2022: The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has given its highest ever ranking to Florida’s 4th and 8th grade students. Florida 4th graders rank #3 in reading and #4 in math.

In addition, Florida’s Hispanic students, black students, and students with disabilities all scored in the top 10 in every category.

Governor DeSantis said the results demonstrate the wisdom of keeping kids in Florida's schools throughout 2020 and 2021 which has put Florida students well ahead of their peers in other states, especially with younger and educationally at-risk students who were harmed the most from distance-learning in other states.

“We insisted on keeping schools open and guaranteed in-person learning in 2020 because we knew there would be widespread harm to our students if students were locked out," said the Governor. "Today’s results once again prove that we made the right decision,”

NAEP assessments are the only assessment taken consistently across the nation and therefore serve as the nation’s report card. Last administered in 2019, the NAEP is administered every two years, although the 2021 assessments were delayed to 2022.

Overall, the nation’s NAEP results show a national decline in reading and mathematics for 9-year-old students (Grade 4) and America’s most vulnerable students.

NAEP Highlights:

• Florida is in the top 5 for average scale scores of Hispanic students across all grades and subjects
- Grade 4 Reading – #1 (maintaining this rank since 2013)
- Grade 4 Mathematics – #2 (same as 2019)
- Grade 8 Reading – #1 (up from number 2 in 2019)
- Grade 8 Mathematics – #4 (up from 5 in 2019)

• Florida is in the top 5 for average scale scores of students with disabilities across all grades and subjects
- Grade 4 Reading – #1 (up from number 2 in 2019)
- Grade 4 Mathematics – #1 (third time in a row)
- Grade 8 Reading – #2 (same as 2019)
- Grade 8 Mathematics – #4 (same since 2017)

• Florida is in the top 10 for average scale scores of black students across all grades and subjects:
- Grade 4 Reading – #3 (up from 4 in 2019)
- Grade 4 Mathematics – #2 (same as 2019)
- Grade 8 Reading – #4 (up from 6 in 2019)
- Grade 8 Mathematics – #8 (up from 17 in 2019)

• Students on Free and Reduced Lunch are ranked in the top 10 for average scale scores in three of four tests and improved massively on the fourth:
- Grade 4 Reading – #1 (same as 2019)
- Grade 4 Mathematics – #1 (third time in a row)
- Grade 8 Reading – #6 (down from 5 in 2019)
- Grade 8 Mathematics – #17 (up from 25 in 2019)

• Florida boasts the narrowest achievement gap between students with disabilities and students without disabilities in all grades and subjects.

• Florida’s achievement gap between Hispanic and white students is the narrowest in the nation in Grade 8 Reading.

• All of Florida’s subgroups significantly outperformed their national peers in Grade 4 Reading.

Grade and subject highlights include:

Grade 4 Reading
• 3rd in the nation in average scale score — up from 6th in 2019
• Moved ahead of New Jersey, Utah, and Colorado from 2019.
• While Florida’s Grade 4 Reading Average Scale Score remained constant from 2019 to 2022, average scale scores actually increased for several Florida subgroups:
- Hispanic students increased 1 point on average scale score.
- Asian/Pacific Islander students increased 4 points on average scale score.
- Students with disabilities increased 3 points on average scale score.
- English language learners increased 3 points on average scale score.
• Florida is the highest performing large state; Pennsylvania is 9th; California is 32nd; Texas is 33rd; and New York is 36th

Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 4 Reading Among Florida Subgroups
• Black students are third nationally, up from fourth in 2019.
• Hispanic students maintained their number one rank.
• White students placed fourth nationally, up from ninth in 2019.
• Free/reduced lunch students maintained first place ranking from 2019.
• Students with disabilities ranked first, up from second in 2019.

Grade 4 Mathematics
• Fourth in the nation in average scale score.
• Only two points below the number one state in nation.
• Florida is the highest performing large state; Texas is 14th; Pennsylvania is 17th; California is 38th; and New York is 46th

Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 4 Mathematics Among Florida Subgroups
• White, black, and Hispanic students ranked second in the nation.
• Free/reduced lunch students rank first in the nation for the third time in a row.
• Students with disabilities rank first for the third time in a row.

Grade 8 Reading
• 21st in the nation in average scale score, up from 22nd in 2019.
• Among the largest states, Florida outperformed Pennsylvania (26th); California (29th); and Texas (41st).

Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 8 Reading Among Florida Subgroups
• Black students ranked fourth nationally, up from sixth in 2019.
• Hispanic students ranked first nationally, up from second in 2019.
• Students with disabilities maintained second place ranking.

Grade 8 Mathematics
• 32nd in the nation in average scale score, up from 35th in 2019.
• Florida’s highest ever ranking in this category.

Average Scale Score National Ranks for Grade 8 Mathematics Among Florida Subgroups
• Black students ranked eighth nationally, up from 17th in 2019.
• Hispanic students ranked fourth nationally, up from fifth in 2019.
• Free/reduced lunch students ranked 17th nationally, up from 25th in 2019.
• Students with disabilities maintained fourth place ranking.

NAEP Background
NAEP is a congressionally mandated program that is overseen and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. Results are available for the nation, states, and 27 urban districts, and are used to provide critical information about student achievement and data for improving educational practices. The current NAEP assessments were scheduled for 2021 but were postponed one year due to the pandemic. The next NAEP results will be reported in 2024.

For more information about Florida’s 2022 NAEP results visit: NAEP Results