The latest results from the Nation's Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), show two very different stories in American math classrooms.
The nation's 9-year-olds are making progress in reading and math, while 13-year-olds' scores are stagnant. For parents of middle schoolers, that's a signal worth paying attention to.
And with winter break and spring state testing ahead, there's still plenty of time this school year to help your child build stronger math foundations.
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What is the Nation's Report Card?
NAEP is often described as the gold-standard assessment for measuring what U.S. students know and can do in subjects including math and reading, and it is the only common yardstick for comparing student performance across the country.
It's overseen by the National Assessment Governing Board and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
There are two main versions:
- Main NAEP tests 4th and 8th graders in math and reading every two years and reports results for the nation and each state.
- Long-Term Trend (LTT) NAEP tests 9- and 13-year-olds. Many of its questions have stayed the same since the tests were first given in the 1970s, which makes it one of the clearest ways to see how student learning has changed over time.
NAEP surveys a nationally representative sample of students, not every child, so individual students don't receive scores.
It gives a big-picture view of how American students are doing, and that picture helps any parent understand where their child might need support.
The Latest Results: Younger Students Are Bouncing Back
The most recent Long-Term Trend results were released in June 2026. Average scores for 9-year-olds rose by 4 points in both math and reading compared to 2022, and lower-performing students also gained. The acting NCES commissioner described it to NPR as an optimistic release. NAEP
This is encouraging news, especially because the gains included students furthest behind. It shows that the right support can close learning gaps.
Middle Schoolers Are Stuck
The picture for 13-year-olds is different. There were no significant score changes for 13-year-old students in reading or mathematics compared to 2023, and the Governing Board's executive director noted that their average scores are down almost 10 points in math since the pandemic, and called for more national attention on middle school.
The main NAEP results tell a similar story. In the 2024 assessment, a little more than a quarter of 8th graders nationwide performed at or above NAEP Proficient in math, while nearly 40 percent were below NAEP Basic. According to NAEP, those students likely cannot use similarity to find the length of a side of a triangle.
Fourth graders fared better. In 2024, 39 percent of fourth graders performed at or above NAEP Proficient in math, up 3 percentage points from 2022, while 24 percent were below NAEP Basic.
Even so, nearly five years after the pandemic, national scores remained below 2019 levels in both grades and both subjects.
A note on these benchmarks: NAEP Proficient is a demanding standard. NCES notes that it does not represent grade-level proficiency as determined by state or district assessments. The trend matters more than any single number, and the trend for middle school math is flat.
Why Middle School Math is So Important
Math builds year after year. The skills children learn in elementary school, such as multiplication, division, place value and fractions, become the foundation for everything that follows.
In middle school, those foundations support ratios and proportional relationships, negative numbers, and expressions and equations.
By 8th grade, students are moving into functions and the early stages of algebra.
When one of those foundations is shaky, the gap often doesn't show up straight away.
A 7th grader who was never fully confident with fractions may suddenly find ratios or equations confusing, even though the problem started years earlier.
That's why catching up often means going back to earlier concepts, not just working harder on the current topic.
Middle school is also when math confidence can slip, which is why celebrating small wins matters so much at this age. Students who start to feel “bad at math” may disengage just as the content gets more demanding, and that makes high school courses like Algebra 1 and Geometry harder than they need to be.
Using Winter Break to Get Ahead
Most state assessments are held in the spring, so winter break is an ideal time to strengthen math skills without the pressure of homework and tests. The goal isn't cramming or test prep. It's steady, low-pressure practice that builds real understanding.
Keep it short and regular. About 20 minutes, a few times a week, is more effective than a long session once a week, and it's much easier to fit around holiday plans.
Focus on the right skills for your child's grade:
- Kindergarten to 2nd grade: Number sense, counting, place value, and addition and subtraction facts. Everyday activities like counting coins or measuring ingredients help.
- 3rd to 5th grade: Multiplication and division facts, and fractions. These are the building blocks of middle school math, so fluency here pays off for years.
- 6th to 8th grade: Ratios and proportions, negative numbers, and solving expressions and equations. If your child finds current work hard, check whether fractions and decimals are secure first.
- High school: Linear equations and functions underpin Algebra 1 and everything after it. Strengthening these skills early makes Geometry, Algebra 2 and beyond far more manageable.
Look for the gap, not just the grade level. If your child is finding current work hard, the missing skill is often a year or two earlier. Revisiting it is usually faster than pushing ahead.
Keep it positive. Praise effort and progress, not just correct answers. Confidence is one of the biggest factors in whether a child keeps trying in math.
Where Online Math Tutoring Fits
For families who want more structure than home practice alone, online math tutoring can help bridge the gap between school and home.
When comparing options, look for tutoring that assesses your child's level first, builds a plan around their specific gaps, and gives them access to a real tutor when they get stuck, not just automated practice.
APLUS America is an online tutoring company based in Irvine, California, offering personalized K-12 math and English tutoring aligned to Common Core Standards.
Every child starts with the Math Doctor assessment, which identifies the concepts they already understand and where gaps may be holding them back. From there, each student receives a personalized weekly learning plan, updated every Monday.
The plan moves through three stages: catching up on earlier gaps, consolidating what's being taught in class, and then extending beyond it.
Lessons are short and interactive, with visual support, instant feedback and step-by-step worked solutions across more than 1,500 lessons, covering everything from kindergarten number sense to AP Calculus.
When your child needs extra help, they can call a real tutor, who can walk through the problem using screen sharing and an interactive whiteboard.
Tutor support is available Monday to Thursday after school, for up to 10 hours a week, at no extra cost. Parents receive weekly progress reports, and children earn points they can exchange for gift cards.
APLUS America's online math tutoring starts from $24 a week, and new students get their first two weeks free.
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What's Next For The Nation's Report Card
The 2026 main NAEP was given to students earlier this year. An estimated 600,000 students took part between January 26 and March 20, and the 2026 reading and math results are scheduled for release in early 2027, with results for every state.
Those results will show whether middle school math has started to recover. In the meantime, the best thing parents can do is make sure their own child's foundations are solid. IES
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