Welcome to the Freedom to Learn podcast. I'm your host, Ginny Gentles. This season, we're diving

into what it means to return education to states, communities, and families, and we're exploring

what becomes possible when education is freed from union dominance and federal control.

The latest nation's report card or NAEP scores are truly terrible and historically low.

Only 22% of 12th grade students are proficient in math, and only 35% are proficient in reading.

Almost half of our country's 12th graders lack basic math skills.

45% of seniors tested in early 2024 fell below the basic benchmark.

That's the highest portion of students to ever fall below the basic level.

But wait, there's more.

The gap between high and low performing students in math was higher than on all previous assessments.

And only 33% of students are considered college ready in math and 35% in reading, a drop for both categories since 2019 when 12th graders were last tested.

Dr. Martin West joins me today to talk through these dismal test results and discuss what happens next.

Marty West is the academic dean at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education,

a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research,

and the editor-in-chief of Education Next.

Dr. West is also the vice chair of the National Assessment Governing Board,

the independent nonpartisan board established by Congress

that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Dr. Martin West, Marty West, welcome to Freedom to Learn.

It's great to be with you, Jenny.

Before we delve into the latest NAEP scores, can you explain your role? And let's start with some key

acronym, something that we throw around a lot in the federal education world. What is NAGBY?

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