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The short version

  • Math and reading test scores have fallen to their lowest levels in a quarter-century, coinciding with severe reductions in federal education data collection capabilities.
  • The National Center for Education Statistics was reduced from approximately one hundred employees to twelve after the Department of Government Efficiency canceled nearly $900 million in contracts.
  • Longitudinal studies tracking student development over time were terminated, including a major survey of children born after the pandemic that had already begun data collection.

American students are performing at their lowest academic levels in twenty-five years, according to recent assessments of math and reading proficiency. This decline arrives at a moment when the federal government’s primary tool for understanding educational trends has been significantly weakened. The National Center for Education Statistics, the agency responsible for collecting critical data on learning outcomes, has seen its operations drastically scaled back following administrative changes within the Department of Education.

The reduction in capacity stems from a broader restructuring effort led by the Department of Government Efficiency, which canceled nearly $900 million in contracts last year. These cuts resulted in the termination of nearly half the workforce at the Department of Education and specifically decimated the statistical agency. The headcount at the National Center for Education Statistics dropped from roughly one hundred staff members to just four before a partial rehiring brought the number to twelve, according to current agency listings.

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The National Center for Education Statistics has historically provided the data foundation for national education policy and funding allocations. Its most prominent output is The Nation’s Report Card, which assesses student knowledge across subjects including math, reading, writing, science, and history. Beyond these standardized assessments, the agency conducted surveys on issues ranging from school safety to college financing. Most of these ongoing data collection efforts now appear inactive or significantly reduced in scope, according to a tracker maintained by the American Statistical Association.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education stated that the Institute of Education Sciences, which houses the statistical center, continues to collect some data, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The administration described the changes as necessary reforms aimed at ensuring the delivery of usable, high-quality statistics for educators and researchers. However, the department did not provide specific figures on how many distinct data collections have been terminated since the restructuring began.

Critics argue that dismantling the agency’s capacity to gather data undermines efforts to address the current academic crisis. Carolyn Grim, a former education statistician who spent fifteen years at the center before retiring early in 2025, compared the move to firing an accountant because one cannot control spending. She noted that objective measures are more critical than ever given the steep decline in literacy and numeracy skills among American students.

Among the most significant losses are longitudinal studies, which track individual students over extended periods to evaluate policy impacts and understand underlying trends. Peggy Carr, the former commissioner of the center who was fired after nearly four decades of service, identified the termination of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study as particularly damaging. This study had followed thousands of students from kindergarten through fifth grade, providing insights into academic achievement and developmental factors.

The contract for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study was canceled in the middle of its third iteration, which occurs roughly every decade. The contractor, Westat, had already surveyed fifteen thousand first graders in the fall of 2023 as they entered kindergarten. The sudden funding cut prevented researchers from following these children into their first and third-grade years, halting plans to study how the pandemic influenced their development and learning.

This specific cohort represented the first group of students born after the onset of the pandemic. Researchers had planned to include new questions tailored to understanding post-pandemic effects, such as childcare arrangements and hybrid instruction models. The termination of this study means that data on how these early experiences affect long-term academic outcomes will never be collected, leaving a gap in understanding the lasting impact of recent educational disruptions.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study has been cited in nearly three thousand academic papers since its inception in 1998. Previous iterations have informed research on early reading predictors, executive function skills, and the effects of full-day versus half-day kindergarten programs. With the current iteration halted, policymakers and educators lack a comprehensive, longitudinal view of how recent societal changes are shaping student success.

As test scores continue to lag, the absence of robust federal data collection limits the ability to diagnose the root causes of academic decline. While some assessments remain active, the scope of available information has narrowed considerably. The reduction in statistical resources raises questions about how future education policies will be formulated and evaluated in the absence of detailed, longitudinal evidence.

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