Reading Gap Widens in Virginia; Governor Youngkin Admits “Reading is Really Not Picking Up”; No Plan for Struggling Older Students

Youngkin: “. . . reading is really not picking up the way we want . . . and we’re also seeing eighth graders are really seeing challenges in both reading and math.”

January 29, 2025, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), released data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” Nationwide reading scores continued the decline started in 2019 and gaps between students with and without disabilities increased.

NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said, “Ov…