RICHMOND, Va. — Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement in response to Virginia ranking 51st in the country — behind all other states and Washington, D.C. — in math recovery from 2019 to 2024. These new rankings are based on students’ scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation’s Report Card.

“Virginians deserve a Governor who will do everything to make sure that children across our Commonwealth are not only meeting standards in math achievement and recovery, but are given the opportunity to excel. This new report makes clear that the current administration is not doing that.

“Virginians deserve a Governor who is committed to making our schools the best in America — and that means focusing on policies to develop math and reading skills, support public schools as they prepare our kids for a career or college, and address chronic teacher recruitment and retention challenges. Unfortunately, our current Governor has vetoed bipartisan efforts to more quickly bring Virginia up to the national average in teacher pay.

“I’m the mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools — one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school, and I know that all Virginia parents want their kids to receive a high-quality education that puts them on the path to success. As Governor, I will work to make sure our school divisions, our schools, and our teachers have the funding and support staff they need to challenge our students and tackle learning loss — because I know that the success of Virginia’s next generation depends on the strength of our schools.”

BACKGROUND

Average student achievement in math remains almost a full grade below 2019 levels. Similarly, Virginia ranked 41st in the country in reading recovery from 2019 to 2024 — and average student achievement in reading remains almost three quarters of a grade level below 2019 levels.

The Education Recovery Scorecard analyzes students’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. According to the Virginia Department of Education, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in public and private schools in the United States know and are able to do in various subjects. It is the only ongoing effort to obtain comprehensive and dependable achievement data on a national basis in a uniform and scientific manner.