September 14, 2025

John Rego for NPR

Hi all,

Sequoia Carrillo, K-12 reporter here. This week, we got some data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card.

The numbers show that 31% of eighth-graders' are proficient or above in science – that’s 4 points lower than 2019. In the same time period, 12th-graders' math and reading scores fell 3 points, with 22% of students performing proficient or above in math and 35% in reading.

"Scores for our lowest-performing students are at historic lows — continued declines that began more than a decade ago," Matthew Soldner, acting director of IES, told reporters. "My predecessor warned of this trend, and her predecessor warned of this trend as well. And now I am warning you of this trend."

This is the first NAEP score release since the Trump administration began making cuts to the U.S. Department of Education. Those cuts included laying off more than half the workers at the Institute of Education Sciences, the arm of the department charged with measuring student achievement and overseeing and processing the data that comes from the tests students take.

After those cuts, the department also canceled about a dozen national and state assessments of student progress through 2032 — about half those tests were planned for 12th-graders.

Hear what some experts made of the scores on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. And you can read the full story here.

See you next week!

— Sequoia Carrillo, Reporter, NPR Ed

Newsletter continues after sponsor message

In other news...

Stacey Gilbert and her son Ryan Gilbert are both teachers in New Orleans.Emily Kask for NPR

1. 20 years ago, New Orleans fired its teachers. It's been rebuilding ever since. When New Orleans schools reopened after Katrina, most of the city's educators didn't get their jobs back. Instead, they were often replaced with young people who were new to town — and new to teaching. Read the story here.

— Aubri Juhasz, Education Reporter, WWNO

2. 6 ways college students can get a better handle on their money. For college students who don't have a lot of money, it can be tough to wrap your head around student loans, credit cards and a tight budget. A financial educator offers advice for first-year students. Listen to the story here.

— Marielle Segara, Life Kit Host, NPR and Malaka Gharib, Life Kit Digital Editor, NPR

Ever wished to be a fly on the wall in the meetings and conversations that are shaping the future of the U.S. and the world? Now you can with NPR’s newest podcast, Sources & Methods.

Every Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly sits down with a team of NPR correspondents to discuss the biggest national security stories of the week, taking you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and CIA with military officials, intelligence experts and diplomatic leaders.

Listen to Sources & Methods on the NPR App, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And here's something to make you smile...

Mar Hernandez for NPR

Here they are: The best student podcasts in America

Thousands of young people have once again turned their thoughts and ideas into audio, their submissions ranged from from Hawaii to Maryland and from Illinois to Texas, from investigative reporting to in-depth interviews. NPR listened to all of them and our judges have selected from them the best student podcasts in America.

For the seventh year (!!!) of the Student Podcast Challenge, we received nearly 2,000 entries from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Among the topics on the minds of middle and high schoolers this year were: AI and its expanding role in classrooms, immigration and its effects on their own communities and interviews with family members and loved ones.

Now you can listen and explore our favorite ones. And stay tuned for our winner announcement in a few weeks. For the latest Student Podcast Challenge news, check out our contest newsletter, here.

As always, thank you for reading and listening!

— The NPR Education Team

Listen to your local NPR station.

Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream.

What do you think of today's email?

We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: npred@npr.org

Enjoying this newsletter?

Forward to a friend! They can sign up here.

Looking for more great content?

Check out all of our newsletter offerings
— including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more!