Reading Scores for Younger Students Show Tentative Signs of Improvement, NWEA Report Indicates

A new report from the testing company NWEA reveals that reading scores for students in grades K-8 have slightly increased between spring 2025 and spring 2026, marking a potential turning point after years of stagnation since the pandemic. While the improvement is modest, making up 15-33% of learning loss, it's a positive sign, particularly for the lowest-performing students and across various demographic groups, including Black and Hispanic students and those from low-income backgrounds.