Florida’s 2022 NAEP Scores Require Literacy and Math Policy Changes

“While Florida’s students clearly benefitted from policies to keep schools open, today’s NAEP results prove that our students are facing serious challenges. If we do not act to close learning gaps, they will likely struggle throughout their educational careers.  

Policymakers must act quickly and decisively to ensure resources and solutions are readily available to teachers and students. Strategies that prioritize foundational learning in literacy and math—and that tear down barriers preventing students from accessing a quality education—are critical. Look to Arizona, which became a national model by making education funding flexible, portable and customizable for all students, for an approach that can literally change each child’s trajectory. 

We have a great challenge ahead of us, and we must meet it head-on with evidence-based policies to ensure every student can recover lost learning and be successful on their educational journey and beyond.” 

Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future

In order to provide students with a strong foundation in early literacy and math, Florida policymakers can take the following steps:

1. Ensure literacy coaches are in every elementary and middle school to support teachers. 
2. Ban the use of curriculum grounded in the failed literacy practice of three-cueing, which teaches students to look at pictures and guess instead of sounding out words.  
3. Provide funding for expanded professional development for teachers in the science of reading. 
4. Launch a math support initiative that provides additional instruction and tutoring to students who are behind in math and that is targeted to their individual needs. 

NAEP Alignment of Passing Scores:

• Align passing scores (level 3) for the new FAST test to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores to ensure that Florida is accurately measuring the performance of its students.   

Florida’s Results:

• Florida Grade 4 NAEP Math scores decreased from 246 in 2019 to 241 in 2022.
• Florida Grade 4 NAEP Reading scores remained steady from 224 in 2019 to 224 in 2022.
• Florida Grade 8 NAEP Math scores decreased from 279 in 2019 to 271 in 2022.
• Florida Grade 8 NAEP Reading scores decreased from 263 in 2019 to 260 in 2022.