US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024

Massachusetts had the highest NAEP average score, reading, grade 8 of 51 states in 2024, at 268 NAEP scale score (0 to 500). New Mexico had the lowest, at 245 NAEP scale score (0 to 500). The median was 257 NAEP scale score (0 to 500) and the figure for the United States was 257 NAEP scale score (0 to 500). Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

Highest268Massachusetts

Lowest245New Mexico

Median25751 states

United States257History

All states, 2024

NAEP scale score (0 to 500). Source: NCES, NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2024 NAEP scale score (0 to 500)
1	Massachusetts	268
2	New Jersey	266
3	Colorado	265
4	New Hampshire	264
5	Connecticut	263
6	Indiana	262
7	Illinois	262
8	Utah	261
9	Idaho	261
10	Iowa	261
11	Montana	261
12	Ohio	260
13	Wisconsin	260
14	Minnesota	260
15	Wyoming	260
16	South Dakota	260
17	Georgia	259
18	Washington	259
19	Pennsylvania	259
20	Tennessee	259
21	Maryland	258
22	Kentucky	258
23	Rhode Island	258
24	North Dakota	257
25	Hawaii	257
26	Vermont	257
27	New York	257
28	Louisiana	257
29	Virginia	256
30	Nebraska	256
31	Kansas	255
32	Missouri	255
33	Michigan	255
34	Maine	255
35	North Carolina	255
36	Oregon	255
37	Arkansas	255
38	California	254
39	Arizona	254
40	South Carolina	254
41	Mississippi	253
42	Nevada	253
43	Florida	253
44	Texas	252
45	District of Columbia	251
46	Alabama	250
47	Delaware	249
48	Oklahoma	249
49	West Virginia	247
50	Alaska	246
51	New Mexico	245

Other periods

About this ranking

Average scale score of public school students in reading, grade 8 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card), on a scale of 0 to 500, from the National Center for Education Statistics. The year is the year of the assessment, given from January to March.

NAEP tests a sample of students, so each score has a margin of error and a difference of a few points between states or years is often not statistically significant. States are tested every two years (2003 to 2019, then 2022 and 2024). The national value is for public schools only, the group NCES compares states with. Scores are on the same scale across years and states but cannot be compared with state test results.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Center for Education Statistics. (2026). NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation (US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE

MLA 9

NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation, US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024. National Center for Education Statistics, 12 Oct. 2026, https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Center for Education Statistics. 2026. NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states.

Harvard

National Center for Education Statistics (2026) NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation, US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_us_states_by_naep_2024,
  author = {{National Center for Education Statistics}},
  title = {{NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation: US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - National Center for Education Statistics
TI  - NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation: US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - National Center for Education Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/naep-reading-grade-8/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ndecore/xplore/NDE. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank US states by NAEP average score, reading, grade 8 using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which state has the highest NAEP average score, reading, grade 8?

Massachusetts, with 268 NAEP scale score (0 to 500) in 2024, according to National Center for Education Statistics.

Which state has the lowest NAEP average score, reading, grade 8?

New Mexico, with 245 NAEP scale score (0 to 500) in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Center for Education Statistics, NAEP Data Service: average scale score, reading, grade 8, all students, public schools, states and nation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.