Over 1.3 million readers this year!

Wyoming students above national average on ‘Nation’s Report Card,’ but scores slip

State’s four-year on-time graduation rate, another marker of school performance, remains stable at 81%.

Arapahoe Charter High School’s class of 2024 during graduation. Eight of the 14 graduates planned to attend college or Job Corps. (Kyle Duba/WyoFile)

by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile

Wyoming students’ test scores remain above national averages on what’s known as the Nation’s Report Card, but are continuing a five-year downward trend in both math and reading. 

Meanwhile, another marker of school performance, the state’s four-year on-time graduation rate, remains stable at 81%.

The Wyoming Department of Education released the scores last week amid growing nationwide skepticism of public education and debate over school choice. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order supporting the expansion of school choice in America. On the same day, the Wyoming House of Representatives passed a controversial measure that would create a universal voucher system — which would give families government subsidies to help pay for homeschooling or private school tuition. 

During House debate over the measure, lawmakers sparred over the state of Wyoming’s public school system — with some defending it as stellar and others questioning whether its proficiency rates are actually worth celebrating. 

Wyoming’s 2024 fourth-grade reading scores remain above the national average, but have been on a five-year downward trend. (Wyoming Department of Education)

Test results

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, is designed to evaluate the state of education across the nation through reading and math tests administered to fourth and eighth grade students.

Across the tests, Wyoming’s fourth graders scored better than its eighth graders. And while the state generally maintained its nationwide above-average status, Wyoming’s scores continued a declining trend that tracks with the rest of the country.

In 2024, 36% of Wyoming fourth graders scored at or above proficiency in reading on NAEP — six percentage points higher than the U.S. average and down from 41% in 2017. In math, 46% of fourth graders were at or above proficiency, meanwhile, seven percentage points higher than the national average and down from 51% in 2017. 

Eighth graders did not fare as well, with 29% scoring at or above proficiency in reading. That’s the same as the national average and down from 38% in 2017. In math, meanwhile, 30% of eighth graders scored at or above proficiency, three percentage points above the national average and down from 38% in 2017. (The 2017 scores are a statistically different average percentage than 2024, according to WDE.)

The scores rank Wyoming sixth in the country for 4th grade reading; second in fourth-grade math; 21st in eighth-grade reading and 19th in eighth-grade math. 

“Wyoming continues to stand out nationally, demonstrating resilience and dedication in the classroom,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said in a press release. “Still, I know we can do better. My responsibility is to ensure every student in Wyoming has the tools to succeed, and we will continue to push for excellence. The work doesn’t stop here.” 

Degenfelder pointed to scores of at-risk kids as something to celebrate. Wyoming students in special education, those on the free and reduced lunch program and rural-area students all outperformed their peers nationally in several categories. 

Wyoming grads 

The state’s four-year on-time high school graduation rate remained stable in 2024 at 81.6% — a .2% increase from the previous year. Of the 6,344 students to gain their diplomas in 2024, 6,193 did so in four years. It was the largest class to do so since the state began tracking the rate in 2009, according to the Wyoming Department of Education. 

The state’s on-time graduation rate has hovered around 80% since 2015-16.  

Unlike the NAEP scores, there is no uniform nationwide methodology for tracking this statistic, which makes it difficult to compare Wyoming with other states.

Wyoming’s on-time graduation rates have climbed since 2013-2014. (Wyoming Department of Education)

However, Degenfelder is pleased the state’s rate continues to tick upward, she said, and she noted some bright spots in the 2024 graduation numbers. 

The on-time graduation rate at Wyoming Indian High School in Fremont #14 jumped to 76.5% from 49%. Low on-time graduation rates across districts in the Wind River Reservation have been a source of perennial concern

Wind River Learning Academy, an alternative school in Pavilion, experienced a 37.5% increase over the previous year, with 87.5% of students in 2023-24 graduating on time. Overall, six Wyoming alternative schools achieved a 10% increase or more in four-year on-time graduation rates.

Fourteen Wyoming school districts and one charter school posted on-time graduation rates of 90% or above. These include three districts with 100%: Sheridan County School District 3, Washakie County School District 2 and Prairie View Community School District. 

It should be noted that Prairie View, a charter school in Chugwater, had just one student in the cohort. 


This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.


Back

Related