Delaware public schools are grasping for gains in literacy, with budding programs and millions in new investment.
Latest test scores show an uphill battle.
The 2025 statewide test results, posted Friday morning, Aug. 15, show little gains from 2024. Average proficiency rates across all tested third-to-eighth graders came in at 41% in English, up one point, while math reached 34% of students, up 1 point. SAT reading proficiency among high school juniors climbed to 47%, or up 2 points, while their math held at just 18%, according to a data drop from the Department of Education.
Delaware's Secretary of Education Cindy Marten put it simply: “No one should be satisfied with these scores."
The entire dataset is available on the state's open data portal.
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Delaware grade school proficiencies in state test scores
Gaining ground on pandemic losses remains elusive.
Delaware's average score in English language arts — that's among students from third-to-eighth grade — has remained largely stagnant over the past three years, with now around 41.2% of students performing at or above their grade’s proficiency level.
In 2023 and 2024 that number was closer to 40%. However, looking back to pre-pandemic 2019, one would find about 53% proficiency on the same Smarter Balanced testing. Now, turn to math. This figure has ticked up across the same grades, gaining an extra point this year to reach about 34%, compared to 33% in 2024. But again, pre-pandemic scores show 44% proficiency on average in math.
It also varies by age.
For the first kiddos to sit for these tests, 42% of third graders were considered proficient or better in math, while eighth graders lag at about 27%. Interestingly, that does show a 2-point improvement for eighth grade scores over last year, though third grade dropped the same. Back in ELA, each grade ran pretty consistent with the average.
The state Education Department did identify some "pockets of progress."
One came in Cape Henlopen School District, where educators have invested in new instructional material and strong professional learning to fuel what DDOE called "steady gains."
Take multilingual learners. The 2025 state average for supporting these high-needs students to proficiency in English language arts scores is about 15%, or fewer than two in every 10 kids being considered proficient. As for lower-income children, the average proficiency in math is 17%. In Cape, these English learners scored 21% proficient in ELA, while lower-income students scored 26% proficient in math.
Overall, Gov. Matt Meyer said in the score annoucement, “These scores must improve."
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware public school 2025 test scores static
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