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Standardized Testing Statistics 2025–2026

Franz Jerby Delos Santos

reviewed by Jo-ann Caballes

Updated on July 2, 2026

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Testing stats indicate a slow and uneven recovery after COVID-19, as the participation increases, but scores remain low. Globally, standardized testing appears to be a major tool to assess students’ knowledge, with 800K+ taking tests each year. The US is no exception, having a long history of standardized testing, with its debates, pros, and cons. 

What Are Standardized Tests? Definition and Purpose

Standardized tests are types of assessments under which students or test-takers answer the same questions, or questions from a bank, and get a score uniformly. Such tests are a part of the US assessment system and help educators nationwide. 

What is the purpose of standardized testing? It aims to offer educators the tools to evaluate students’ academic performance objectively and compare their results nationwide. 

Thanks to a consistent, uniform scoring system, standardized testing collects information about students’ knowledge and skills in selected subjects and shows how schools perform across the country.

Geillan Aly, Founder and CEO at Compassionate Math, shares the specifics of how it’s different from a common test:

“Standardized exams are written to assess students' performance on a specific exam and get large-scale data about the specific student's performance relative to the others.”

Standardized exams will tell you how well a student performs compared to everyone else who is taking the exam. With that, standardized exams are not written specifically for that student, but are written for very specific objectives. In other words, a student can get used to the style of a teacher's exam, or the teacher may write an exam based on their specific objectives, but a standardized exam is neither specific to the needs of the student nor the teacher.

Geillan Aly

Founder / CEO at Compassionate Math

For parents, the takeaway is that standardized test scores show how their child performs compared to peers. It may not reveal their individual strengths or demonstrate their real understanding of the subject.

Statistics About Standardized Testing in the US (2021-2025)

The accuracy of the exams is crucial for admissions and shows the real knowledge, even if the students are at the top of the class. David Blobaum, Co-Founder of Summit Prep, pinpoints the relation between the knowledge and scores:

“Although not perfect, the SAT and ACT are very accurate standardized exams..”

I have spent the last 15 years tutoring students for these exams: most of the students I tutor have A-averages in high school, and most of their parents say that they are “top performing.” But most of them start with barely above-average SAT and ACT scores. These scores are not accidents: it is readily apparent when going over the exams with these students that the students who have more knowledge and skill get more questions correct, and they can only score significantly higher by learning significantly more.

David Blobaum

Co-Founder of Summit Prep

Key Points from National Standardized Testing Statistics

• As for 2025-2026, only two of five math students meet college readiness benchmarks on the SAT, and the ACT mean score shows a declining trend (College Board, 2025; ACT, 2025).
• The number of students meeting college reading benchmarks is usually higher than that of those who meet them in math, but the trend is also declining (College Board, 2025). 
• After the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of students taking the SAT dropped from 2.1 million in 2020 to 1.5 million students in 2021. Further, based on the post pandemic learning loss statistics, fewer than 2 million students took the SAT test in 2023 and 2024 (College Board reports 2021-2025). 
• The number of students who took the SAT in 2025 is almost reaching pre-pandemic times (CollegeBoard, 2025).
• The 19.4 national average ACT score in 2025 is the lowest in more than 30 years (ACT, 2025).
• If we consider college readiness, the rate of test success, the number of students who fail standardized tests each year is between 30% and 60% of students (ACT and College Board reports, 2025). 
• Based on The Nation’s Report Card results in 2024 (2024 NAEP), only grade 4 students slightly increased their math average score. Grade 8 students showed the same results.
• In 2022, the NYT reported that less than 38% of grade 3-8 students demonstrated proficiency in math. Before the post pandemic learning loss, this number was around 46%. In 2024, NYC test results in public schools demonstrated 53.4% proficiency (an increase of 3.5% compared to 2023).

Standardized Testing Statistics by State (2024-2025)

As the NYC testing results show (2024), some states managed to cover the pandemic math learning loss and even improve it. In the table below, you can see the detailed standardized testing statistics by state. The results are presented for grade 4 and grade 8 students based on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress data and grouped based on state performance: higher, same, or lower than the national public score (NPS) levels.

What Is a Standardized Test Statistic by State on Grade 4 Math?

What Is a Standardized Test Statistic by State on Grade 8 Math?

Did Standardized Tests Statistics by State Change in 2025?

Based on the 2025 SAT and ACT results, the overall math and reading performance has not dramatically changed after 2024, so you can rely on the data for 2024-2025. 

Below, you can see the top 10 states that tested 99%-100% of their students, based on the composite score for the ACT 2025 results:

1. Nebraska: 19.2
2. Wyoming: 19.1
3. Tennessee: 18.8
4. Kentucky: 18.4
5. Louisiana: 18.3
6. Alabama: 18
7. Mississippi: 17.7
8. Arizona: 17.7
9. Oklahoma: 17.5
10. Nevada: 17.2

Note that these results are preliminary, and while other states may have higher average ACT composite scores, the percentage of tested graduates is usually lower in such cases.

Standardized Testing Trends (2024-2026)

The standardized tests trends of the 2024-2026 period refer to changes in format and time, the role of tests in college admission, post-COVID recovery, and the use of AI.

• Digital transition and time. The SAT tests are now digital in the U.S., and the time for the test is 2 hours and 14 minutes. ACT is also shorter, as the core ACT takes about two hours, while the science section is optional.
• Role of tests in admission. The 2024 EBSCO study shows that the trend when colleges and universities drop the test for admissions or make them optional is slowing, while universities such as Dartmouth College, Harvard University, and Yale University stated they want to reverse their decisions and require standardized tests.
• Post-COVID recovery. The recovery is slow, as the participation is back near the levels before the pandemic, while the scores continue to decrease (NAEP, 2024). Yet, the 2025 NAEP report shows a positive change in scores of 9-year-olds, with the reading scores almost matching the level in 2020.
• Use of AI. As the 2025 JISC report on trends in assessment shares, teachers continue to adopt AI into the development of assessments, with a set of principles developed by the Russell Group, even though some institutions decided to ban the use of genAI from the initial response. 

Statistics of Standardized Testing by School: Social Disparities

The sharpness of equity and accessibility problems underlines key problems in the U.S. testing data and shows deep social disparities. The data shows the correlation between the academic scores and family income or racial demographics. 

• The data from the National Center of Education Statistics shows that white and Asian students have higher grades than Black/Hispanic students (NCES, 2023).
• The 2023 post by Liz Mineo in Harvard Gazette underlines the role of opportunities and early preparation in terms of testing. The writer dwells on the data from the 2023 Opportunity Insights report that the wealthiest 1% of Americans are 13% more likely to get 1300+ points on the SAT or ACT than children from low-income families.
• The 2023-2025 data from the Educational Opportunity Trends Project show a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and academic test scores, making the former a significant predictor of the latter.

Considering how the organizations create standardized tests, the early preparation and test-taking skills can be a crucial part in getting a good score. Geillan Aly specifies why the tests are so different and may be challenging: 

“Standardized tests are written in such a specific style and manner that is unusual for students and is different than how we usually speak.”

Overall, the way questions are written on standardized exams, because they are written to get large-scale data, will favor those students who 1) understand the question written on these exams — something that gives students LOTS of trouble — and 2) have strong conceptual knowledge of a problem because the questions may require students to approach them in new ways. Often, standardized questions will require students to approach a well-understood concept from a new direction to make sure the student can apply this concept appropriately.

Geillan Aly

Founder / CEO at Compassionate Math

To further compare the difference, below are two tables on the top 10 states in 2024 based on the US News data. The first shows the ratings based on the proficiency rates for math and reading provided by the 2024 Boston.com post; the other is about underrepresented students, meaning Black, Hispanic, and/or from low-income households. 

Top 10 States Based on Math and Reading Test Scores (All Students)

Top 10 States Based on Math and Reading Test Scores (Underrepresented Students) (as of 2024)

Why Standardized Testing Is Good (Statistics)

Standardized testing is good as it allows predicting the performance of students, objectively evaluating their knowledge and skills on a large scale. With a predictable schedule of tests, students can plan their effort and get more control over their education. On the other hand, with objective assessment and hard data, the education system can clearly see the situation with academic performance nationwide.

• As the 2014 report by the Center for American Progress suggests, such tests also help evaluate teachers’ performance. For instance, under the state guidelines, 20% of teachers’ actions evaluation has to be based on state test student growth, 20% on local assessments, and 60% on class observations.

That way, do standardized tests improve education? Yes, to some degree, supporting practice, prediction, and exam preparation. According to the 2024 post by Thomas B. Fordham Institute, they help with grade inflation, while other reasons refer to:

• Showing the areas of students’ improvement and spotting systematic problems.
• Helping to set benchmarks to track progress and act on problems.
• Offering a good prep for future tests in adult life.

Source: Center for American Progress

Statistics on Why Standardized Testing Is Bad 

The studies on standardized testing indicate such recurring issues as falling scores, doubts from educators, poor format, and demographic gaps that negatively affect evaluation, the educational system, and the evaluation of kids. 

The obvious reasons are:

• Scores continue to decrease despite the test-centric policy. In 2025, only 29% of ACT-tested graduates met the math college readiness benchmark, while the ACT national mark average got its lowest result in 30 years (ACT, 2025). 
• Educators doubt that tests fit students. As the 2016 NEA educator survey provides, 70% of surveyed teachers underlined that the tests are not appropriate in terms of development, while only 13% underlined that they are.
• For students, so many tests may be too much. As the 2024 study by Harvard University Center for Education Policy provides, students take more than 60 tests during their time in high school, resulting in overwhelm, and do not connect to the tests’ goals.
• Tests are not solely about subject knowledge but also about testing skills as well. The 2018 article by Stanford University professor Sean Reardon found that the standardized testing format and its design explain 25% of the variation in the gender achievement gap.

Here’s what Nicholas LaPoma, Founder at Curvebreakers, says about the testing ability and its role in testing.

“There are many students who know most of the concepts and rules on a test like the SAT, but cannot apply those rules in the various tricky ways presented on a standardized test.”

Tests like the SAT require both concept knowledge and testing ability, and reward proficiency in both. Unfortunately, without the testing ability, the content knowledge does not produce the desired results.

Nicholas LaPoma

Founder at Curvebreakers

Besides, long testing sessions are not for students who struggle to focus. Is standardized testing effective in this regard? It may not be. 

Their ability to concentrate can determine the score and be a crucial factor in the testing success. It’s another point that Nicholas LaPoma underlines:

“Many students are struggling to maintain focus for a long enough period of time to perform well on standardized tests.”

Both the SAT and ACT have been significantly shortened as a result. Also, passages on both exams have been shortened in order to appeal to the abilities of today's student. That said, I have seen no difference in students' ability to improve their scores on standardized tests.

Nicholas LaPoma

Founder at Curvebreakers

Racial disparities are the most illustrative statistics about standardized testing being bad. 

Based on the 2023 standardized test statistic from the National Center for Education Statistics, Asian and White students demonstrate better average SAT scores than other races year by year, from 2017 to 2023.

Negative Effects of Standardized Testing on Students

The negative effects of the standardized testing relate to the development of anxiety among students; the existing test score gap affecting opportunities; significant pressure; and the rise of teaching to the test practices. It comes in line with the main disadvantages of test-taking and may even be a direct outcome of them.

Test-Taking Anxiety

• The rise of anxiety due to the tests is one of the recognized standardized testing facts. Based on the 2020 research on test anxiety among students, 13%-70% of students experience the symptoms of test anxiety, with every third student experiencing high test anxiety. 
• As the 2024 post by Teachers College of Columbia University shares, almost all of the 3,000 students surveyed by Benjamin Lovett reported at least one symptom of test anxiety in 2024. 
• Besides, a 2016 study validates the estimation from the studies that between 10-40% of all K-12 students experience test anxiety of some level, with factors like gender, race, and income at the core. 
• Lastly, the 2018 research by Von der Embse on the role of worries underlines that test anxiety has a strong tendency of negative relationship with performance on standardized tests.

Additional Pressure

• Another negative effect lies in the test score gap and the pressure. In particular, various studies show consistently lower averages for low-income students (NAEP, 2024; NCES, 2023). It means that, as they may lack resources and preparation, they need to do better on tests to ensure growth opportunities.
• One of the sources of pressure is the test overload and lack of understanding. Students believe they have too many tests, especially in high school, while some students criticize the tests for making absolutely no sense to them (Harvard CEPR, 2024).

Here’s what LaTonya Tuener, a transformational educator, shares on how parents can prevent students from seeing the test as pressure or barriers:

“As both an educator and a mother, I learned how essential it is to pair academic skill-building with emotional and physiological support.”

Students often reveal test anxiety through consistent patterns, rushing, leaving answers incomplete, or performing far below their daily classwork.

When my son Naeem experienced severe test anxiety as a college freshman, my husband and I helped him build a structured Academic Success Strategy. With intentional support, students stop seeing tests as barriers and begin viewing them as opportunities to demonstrate what they know.

LaTonya Turner

Transformational educator

Focus on Test Taking, Not Teaching Concepts

In regard to teachers, the accountability pressures appear to push them to narrow instruction to tested content and teach to the test. The 2025 article by Lluis Parcerisa  on the sense of testing shares the experience of teachers from Madrid, Spain, underlining that teachers “waste time” on preparing for tests rather than using it to support students’ growth.

How Many Students Take Standardized Tests Each Year?

Statistics on standardized testing in the United States of America say that around 1.3-2 million students across the US take standardized tests like the SAT and ACT each year. 

Based on the SAT Suite of Assessment Annual Report data, 1.9 million students took the SAT in 2024, and over 2 million students took standardized tests in 2025. 

• Based on the 2018 statistics by the College of Education and Human Sciences, an average student between pre-K and grade 12 takes around 112 standardized tests, with around 10 tests throughout the year in grades 3-8 (CAP, 2014).
• The same Center for American Progress (CAP) report found that urban school students spend around 17 hours taking district-level exams, which is up to 266% more time compared to students from the suburbs.

How Much Does It Take to Pass Some Standardized Tests in the United States? 

Based on official US standardized testing information, the average time to pass one standardized test is around 2-3 hours:  

• AASA (Arizona), March 31 – April 25, 2025: 60-90 minutes for writing part, two 45-75 minute sessions for reading, and two 60-85 minute test sessions for math.
• SAT: two 32-minute modules for reading and writing, two 35-minute modules for math.
• ACT: two hours since 2025 (three hours before)

Key Facts About Standardized Testing

• The idea of standardized testing in America first appeared in 1838, while in 1926, the College Board organized the first SAT (as the 2020 post by NEA provides).
• The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) turned having annual testing in grades 3-8 into a federal requirement, and the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 (NEA, 2020).
• A U.S. student, on average, takes about 112 standardized tests between kindergarten and the end of high school (CEHS, 2018).
• More than 2 million students took the SAT in 2025, showing the recovery in participation after the pandemic (College Board, 2025).
• The average ACT composite score in 2024-2025, equalling 19.4 points, is the lowest in more than 30 years.
• The SAT is now fully digital in the US since the format was adopted in 2024 (College Board, 2024)
• Researchers underline that 10% to 40% K-12 students seem to experience a certain level of test anxiety (PubMed, 2016).
• In 2024, 39% of 4th graders and 28% of 8th graders reached the “proficient” level in math (NAEP, 2024).
• 70% of educators agree that the state assessments are not developmentally appropriate (NEA, 2016).

What Percentage of Students Struggle With Standardized Tests?

The percentage depends on what is considered a struggle, as based on 2024 NAEP Results, only 39% of 4th-grade students and 28% of 8th-grade students performed at or above the Proficient Level. 24% of 4th and 39% of 8th graders performed below the Basic Level.

The 2025 SAT assessment showed that, although the test participation is steadily recovering to pre-pandemic levels, as in 2024, only 39% of standardized test takers met or exceeded readiness benchmarks in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math.

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In 2024 and 2025, the 19.4 average ACT composite score became the lowest in over 30 years. Only 30% of graduates met three or four ACT’s readiness benchmarks for colleges (English, math, reading, science), and only 57% met at least one benchmark.

How to Help Your Child Prepare for Standardized Tests

To help your child prepare for the standardized test, you and your child should identify gaps, set expectations, focus on materials, and test knowledge skills. You can do it together or resort to professional help. 

Nicholas LaPoma underlines that reflecting on weaknesses on a test and targeting them is the most effective strategy:

“The most effective strategy to feel prepared and confident for standardized tests involves taking a diagnostic test to establish a baseline score.”

The best way to determine that a student needs support with test-taking is to have the student complete a diagnostic exam on a platform that provides appropriate data that can highlight weaknesses in strategy and time management. After establishing a score and discussing expectations, students need to engage in targeted practice to address weaknesses, and they need to learn test-taking strategies to optimize their performance.

Nicholas LaPoma

Founder at Curvebreakers

At Brighterly, a math and reading tutoring platform, we focus on customizing each session to the students’ needs, whether it’s a phonics issue, reading comprehension, or test prep in high school. In particular, to help students prepare and gain confidence, our tutors follow such an approach:

• Start with a diagnostic test. It will show which skills need improvement, whether it’s 12th grade math or 12th grade reading.
• Focus on the gaps with targeted practice. In our high school reading program, we may build step-by-step lesson plans around vocabulary gaps or pacing issues and back them with a free worksheet practice.
• Build skills and confidence in one-on-one sessions. During our 1:1 sessions, our reading and advanced math tutors focus on the interaction, explanation, necessary skills like test-taking knowledge, and support. 

With such an approach, we try to make sure kids not only practice the areas that need improvement but also gain confidence and cope with pressure.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Do Students Take Standardized Tests Each Year?

Students often take around 1-2 tests per subject each quarter or semester. Considering this, the students in grades 3-8 will take up to 10 standardized tests per year. Such a figure comes from requirements and policies set in the state for math and English tests. High school students often have even more, as they also take the SAT, ACT, AP, or state end-of-course exams.

What Percentage of Students Pass Standardized Tests?

There’s no such thing as a pass mark, yet around one-third of fourth and eighth-graders score at or above “proficiency” in reading and math (NAEP, 2024). In particular, about 39% of fourth graders score at or above the particular level in math, while for fourth and eighth graders, the percentage for reading is 30-31%. At the same time, according to the 2025 Education Next research, the average for proficient and advanced marks is around 50% for both math and reading for the eighth graders.

What Is a Standardized Test Score in Statistics?

A standardized test score in statistics is a number that demonstrates the students’ performance on a unified scale to evaluate and compare it with others in a defined population. To get a standardized test score, the evaluators convert the number of correct answers or points earned into a standard score value.

Do Standardized Test Scores Predict Academic Success?

Yes, they standardized test scores have the power to predict academic success, but they are not the sole predictor, as GPA, coursework activity, and study habits do matter as well. Higher scores of a student reflect their higher level of knowledge and skill. SAT and score seem to forecast the academic performance of first-year students. 

For instance, the research by John Friedman on academic performance at Ivy-Plus colleges underlines that students with the highest scores on tests usually have 0.4 points higher first-year GPA than those with a score of 1200 on the SAT.

How Have Standardized Test Scores Changed Since COVID-19?

Standardized test scores have changed since COVID-19. The scores fell in 2021 and 2022 and have not recovered in 2025. In particular, SAT math scores dropped from 49% to 41%, while ACT scores dropped from 19.8 in 2022 to 19.4 in 2025. It goes in line with the college readiness benchmark. In 2021, 36% of math and 44% of reading students who took the ACT test met this mark, and in 2025, only 29% and 39%, respectively.

Which States Perform Best on Standardized Tests?

Massachusetts is at the top of most of the national rankings, as almost 44% of its ranked schools are in the top 25% of the U.S. for math and reading proficiency. Moreover, it is in the NAEP math tables together with New Jersey and Connecticut. If taking into consideration states testing 99-100% of graduates with the ACT, Nebraska and Wyoming are at the top with 19.2 and 19.1 points on average.

Franz Jerby Delos Santos

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Although Franz Jerby Delos Santos is relatively new to the teaching domain, he has already developed a distinct approach that focuses on gamification and interactivity.

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