Wyoming students continue to outperform national averages on the Nation’s Report Card, though their test scores have experienced a steady decline over the past five years, Wyo File reports.
The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) released the latest results last week, highlighting the state’s above-average performance despite broader national concerns about educational proficiency.
The report comes as the state debates the future of its public education system. The Wyoming House of Representatives recently passed a measure supporting a universal voucher system, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order to promote school choice nationwide.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, measures student proficiency in reading and math for fourth and eighth graders nationwide. Wyoming’s fourth-grade students performed better than their eighth-grade counterparts, though scores declined across the board compared to 2017 levels.
In 2024, 36% of fourth graders in Wyoming scored at or above reading proficiency—six points above the national average but down from 41% in 2017. In math, 46% achieved proficiency, seven points higher than the national average but a drop from 51% in 2017.
Eighth-grade students struggled more, with only 29% achieving reading proficiency, matching the national average and down from 38% in 2017. In math, 30% of eighth graders scored at or above proficiency, three percentage points above the national average but lower than the 38% recorded in 2017.
Wyoming ranked second in fourth-grade math and sixth in fourth-grade reading but placed 21st in eighth-grade reading and 19th in eighth-grade math nationally.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder acknowledged the state’s strong national standing but emphasized the need for continued improvement.
“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 said.
She highlighted the performance of at-risk student groups as a positive outcome. Wyoming students in special education, those from rural areas, and those on free and reduced lunch programs all outperformed their national peers in several categories.
While test scores showed a downward trend, Wyoming’s four-year on-time high school graduation rate remained stable at 81.6% in 2024, a slight 0.2% increase from the previous year. Of the 6,344 graduates, 6,193 completed their education within four years—the largest class to do so since the state began tracking the metric in 2009.
The on-time graduation rate has remained near 80% since the 2015-16 school year. However, there is no standardized national method for tracking this statistic, making state-to-state comparisons challenging.
Several schools across the state reported significant improvements. Wyoming Indian High School in Fremont #14 saw its graduation rate jump to 76.5% from 49%. The Wind River Learning Academy in Pavilion achieved an impressive 87.5% graduation rate, a 37.5% increase from the previous year.
Fourteen school districts and one charter school in Wyoming posted on-time graduation rates of 90% or higher. Sheridan County School District 3, Washakie County School District 2, and Prairie View Community School District each recorded a 100% graduation rate, though Prairie View had only one student in the cohort.
