pa math scores

Pennsylvania’s Students Fall Behind in Math and Reading, Despite $4.1 Billion School Funding Boost

Harrisburg, Pa., January 29, 2025 – The Nation’s Report Card, released this morning by the U.S. Department of Education, showed that 69% of Pennsylvania 8th grade students aren’t proficient at math, and an equal 69% cannot read at grade level, based on results on the NAEP.  

In Philadelphia, 85% of 8th graders weren’t proficient in math, and 82 were below proficient in reading. These scores represent a significant decline from already-low pre-pandemic performance levels. 

“Our children are failing because we are failing our students,” said Commonwealth Foundation’s Chief Policy Officer Nathan Benefield. “Lawmakers have dramatically increased funding for public schools—a $4.1 billion increase in just the last four years—but this funding has not resulted in academic gains.” 

“The way to empower parents and achieve better results for our kids is through educational options that prioritize accountability and find learning experiences that fit every child’s needs. Pennsylvania needs programs like Lifeline Scholarships—supported but then vetoed by Gov. Shapiro—to ensure every child has access to an excellent education.”    

New polling released last week shows that Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly support initiatives Shapiro promised as a candidate but has failed to deliver, including Lifeline Scholarships (83%) and expanding tax credit scholarship programs (88%). When asked to grade Pennsylvania’s K-12 school system, 63% of voters responded with a “C” or below.  

In addition to the abysmal results on the Nation’ Report Card, Commonwealth Foundation notes recent news that the School District of Philadelphia is paying high school students, more than two-thirds of whom didn’t pass the Algebra I Keystone exams, to take remediation and retake the state tests.  
 
Pennsylvania currently spends more than $22,000 per student on public schools, the seventh highest among states. These results show that simply giving low-performing schools more funding won’t result in better outcomes for our students.  

Commonwealth Foundation calls on Gov. Shapiro to keep to his campaign promises and call for expanded educational opportunities when he releases his budget proposal next week, so that every student can get a quality education regardless of their zip code.  

Governor Shapiro’s Unfulfilled Campaign Promises  

On Helping Kids Escape Failing Schools 

  • The promise: “I’m for making sure we add scholarships like Lifeline scholarships” – Josh Shapiro, 9/17/22 
  • The result: In 2023, Gov. Shapiro vetoed Lifeline scholarships from his budget deal. Despite continuing to refer to this as “unfinished business,” he did not include Lifeline scholarships in his budget proposal, nor did he make any attempt to have them included in last year’s budget negotiations. Thousands of kids remain trapped in failing schools who would be helped by this program. 

On Education Tax Credits 

  • The promise: “I want to … protect what we have on EITC and add more on those scholarships.” – Josh Shapiro, 10/3/2022 (remarks at Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s annual dinner) 
  • The result: While expansions have occurred, in each of his first two budget proposals, Shapiro included no increases. Democrats in the House have fought against increases and whittled down the amount of last year’s increase ($75 million in 2024 compared to $150 million in 2023). 

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The Commonwealth Foundation turns free-market ideas into public policies, fostering prosperity for all Pennsylvanians.