March 4, 2025 Story by: Editor
Peggy Carr, appointed by President Biden as Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 2021, has been placed on administrative leave. With over two decades of service at the agency, Carr’s leave was confirmed by the Education Department’s press office, although no explanation was provided.
The NCES is responsible for collecting and reporting various education-related data, but it is most recognized for administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Often referred to as The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP is considered the gold standard for evaluating student performance in key subjects such as math and reading. Mandated by Congress, the exam has been the largest nationally representative assessment of student learning since its inception in 1969.
Findings from the most recent NAEP tests, released in January, indicated that U.S. fourth and eighth graders in 2024 were performing below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math.
The NAEP categorizes students into three proficiency levels: advanced, proficient, and basic, the lowest tier. According to the latest results, the proportion of eighth-graders reading below the basic level “was the largest in the assessment’s history.” Furthermore, the weakest-performing students in 2024 scored “lower than our lower performers did 30 years ago for fourth and eighth grade. That’s how low these scores historically have dropped,” Carr told NPR last month.
The White House expressed concern over the findings, telling multiple media outlets, including NPR, that the results were unacceptable.
In February, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency effectively shut down the federal research agency overseeing NCES and similar programs that monitor student progress, terminating nearly $900 million in ongoing research contracts.
However, Education Department employees interviewed by NPR stated that NAEP was expected to remain intact.
Source: Education Week
