Colorado students have yet to fully rebound from the learning loss suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state’s reading scores are higher than the national average, according to a national math and reading test for fourth and eighth graders.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “nation’s report card,” is typically administered every other year to a sampling of fourth and eighth grade students across the country. The 2022 exam was the first one given since the pandemic began.

Out of a possible score of 500, Colorado’s fourth graders scored an average of 223 in reading – higher than the national average of 216. The state’s eighth graders outperformed the country in reading as well, scoring an average of 263, compared with a national average of 259.

Exam results suggest that, like most of the U.S., Colorado students took a significant hit in math. Fourth grade scores declined an average of seven points from pre-pandemic levels, from 234 in 2019 to 227 in 2022.

Eighth graders took an even harder hit, with math scores dropping from an average of 275 in 2019, to 264 this year.

Both grades scored slightly higher than the national average, according to assessment data.

State officials said that while the pandemic continues to plague Colorado students, this year’s state and national test results offer some encouraging signs.

“The decline in academic performance throughout the country is terribly concerning but is not unexpected due to the challenges from the pandemic,” said Colorado Education Commissioner Katy Anthes. “However, we see glimmers of hope in the fact that Colorado students are already showing improvement on our state-level tests from 2021. And we also are buoyed by the support we have received from COVID relief funds that are targeted to address the lost learning opportunities. The funding, along with the incredible work being done by educators and students throughout Colorado, gives us confidence that we will continue to raise the level of learning despite these unprecedented challenges.”

Colorado minorities continue to suffer from achievement gaps, according to the assessment results. Black students scored an average of 28.5 points lower in both reading and math than white students. Hispanic students were 31 points behind their white classmates in math, and scored 27.5 points lower in reading.

The NAEP scores tell a similar story to the Colorado Measures of Academic Success, which tests third through eighth graders in math and English Language Arts.

In 2019, the last full school year before the pandemic, 44.5% of Colorado students met or exceeded expectations in English, and 32.7% reached that level in math.

Last year, student achievement took a step back, with the statewide average declining to 43% for English and plunging more steeply to 27.4% for math.

In 2022, CDE data indicate performance rates are beginning to climb back to pre-pandemic levels. While 43.5% of students met or exceeded state standards in English – an improvement of half a percentage point from 2021 – math scores recovered 4 percentage points for a statewide average of 31.4%.