1970-2022 Trends (Long-Term Trend Assessment)

Since the 1970s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has monitored student performance in mathematics and reading through long-term trend (LTT) assessments across three age levels (9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students). These assessments measure students' educational progress over long time periods to look for and monitor trends in performance. NCES decided to administer the LTT assessment for age 9 students−the last NAEP assessment given before the pandemic in March 2020−after two years rather than four years in order to provide pre and postpandemic results for age 9 students in reading and mathematics. The assessments were administered from January to March in 2020 and 2022, respectively. About 7,400 age 9 students from 410 schools participated in each subject in 2022. The focus of the 2022 Age 9 Long-Term Trends Reading and Mathematics Highlights Report is on the comparison of age 9 students (typically in grade 4) between 2020 and 2022. A report summarizing results across the entire trend period will be released in the spring of 2023, along with results for 13-year-old students.

• Scale scores represent the average performance of students who took the LTT assessment in mathematics and reading. Scores are aggregated and reported for the nation and groups of students based on gender, race/ethnicity, etc.
• Performance levels are reported as the percentages of students attaining specific levels of performance corresponding to five points on the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics scales (150, 200, 250, 300, and 350).