ATLANTA, GA (Sept. 9, 2025) — America’s education system is in freefall. The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show a devastating collapse in student performance in math, science, and reading—the very foundations of learning and the key to America’s global competitiveness.
Only 31 percent of eighth graders are proficient in science. Just 22 percent of 12th graders are proficient in math—the lowest results since the exam was restructured in 2005. And reading has collapsed to its worst level in history, with only 35 percent of 12th graders proficient since NAEP began tracking in 1992.
What proficiency means in practice should alarm every parent and policymaker. At the most basic level, 12th graders are expected to calculate simple probabilities from two-way tables or short descriptions. In science, 8th graders are expected to recognize that reproduction is essential for a population’s survival. That so many students cannot clear even these elementary hurdles is a devastating indictment of today’s standards.
“These numbers are not statistics on a page,” said Melissa Jackson, President of Freedom in Education. “They represent millions of young Americans unprepared for higher education, the workforce, and civic life. This is not a student problem—it is a standards problem. We cannot expect excellence when we set the bar so low.”
Freedom in Education points to the root causes: the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), widely adopted or used as the basis for state frameworks, and Common Core math, which promised rigor but instead delivered historic decline. Both have sacrificed clarity and substance, leaving students adrift.
Freedom in Education is calling for the urgent adoption of the Franklin Standards in science and the Archimedes Standards in mathematics. Both are designed to restore coherence, clarity, and rigor to American classrooms, ensuring that students build the knowledge base required to succeed in higher education, the workforce, and civic life.
“We cannot compete globally if our graduates cannot calculate simple probabilities or explain fundamental scientific truths,” said Don Charles, Executive Chair of Freedom in Education. “Weak standards have produced weak results. Franklin and Archimedes provide the knowledge-rich foundation our students—and our country—require to lead again.”
Freedom in Education warns that the NAEP results are more than an academic crisis—they are a national crisis. The nation’s ability to compete, innovate, and lead depends on the strength of its schools.
“Standards shape classrooms, and classrooms shape futures,” Jackson added. “If we want a strong America tomorrow, we must demand strong standards today.”
Media Contact:
Sabrina Caserta, FIE Director of Communications
