In September 2025, the Nation's Report Card delivered a headline education reporters had not written in over twenty years: American 9 year olds got measurably better at reading. Average scores rose four points compared to 2022, the first statistically significant national reading gain since 2004.
Even better, the gains were concentrated among the students who had been struggling most. The lowest performing readers improved the most. Whatever the country has been doing since the pandemic, and much of it looks like the science of reading movement Virginia joined with its Literacy Act, some of it is working.
Now the fine print
- 13 year olds did not improve. Their scores showed no significant change and remain below where they stood in 2020. Kids who missed foundational instruction during the pandemic years are still carrying that debt into middle school.
- Virginia's own snapshot was mixed. The state level NAEP results released in January 2025 showed little movement for Virginia 4th graders, and 8th graders with disabilities lost significant ground.
- A four point gain is a trend, not a rescue. The average 9 year old is still reading below pre pandemic levels.
The question that matters at your kitchen table
Is your child one of the kids the recovery is reaching, or one of the kids it is passing by? The national data cannot tell you. Neither can a report card grade, which measures effort and behavior alongside skill.
An hour of individual assessment can. Our Reading Assessment checks every layer of your child's reading against where they should be, and you leave with the answer in writing. If the news is good, you get to stop worrying. If it is not, you get to start early. Both outcomes beat wondering.
