A majority of Vermont’s public school students are falling short of state proficiency goals in math and English language arts, according to the Vermont State Report Card released Thursday. The report, the state education agency’s annual assessment of student and school performance, found fewer than 60% of students in every grade level meet proficiency standards in ELA, while fewer than 50% are proficient in math.
The proficiency shortfalls are reshaping the state’s education policy debate. Vermont’s four-year high school graduation rate has declined from 89% in 2017 to 82% in 2025, and the findings are fueling disputes between the governor, who frames the results as evidence for system-wide reform, and education leaders who say he is politicizing the report.
Third-grade performance in English language arts raised particular concern among state education officials. Fewer than half of third-graders demonstrated proficiency in the subject, which state officials flagged as alarming “given the well-documented importance of early reading skills for long-term academic success.”
Math proficiency remains the lowest-performing area tested, especially in elementary grades. However, state education officials noted that an upward trend in math proficiency suggests that “students are beginning to make accelerated progress.”
Vermont’s Standing Among States
Vermont’s performance gaps align with longer-term national declines. Grade 4 math scores in Mississippi and Louisiana have now surpassed those of New England states including Vermont and Maine, according to Toren Ballard, the Agency of Education’s director of policy and communications. The Boston Globe reported in October that no state “fell as far in early reading over the last decade as Vermont.”
Erin Davis, the Agency of Education’s chief academic officer, said in a press release that the results “are a clear signal that our current student outcomes are not where they need to be.”
“It is our collective responsibility to confront these challenges head-on and ensure every Vermont student receives the high-quality education they deserve,” Davis said.
Governor Scott’s Reform Agenda
Governor Phil Scott, whose administration has pushed for system-wide education reform, framed the report as evidence for urgent action.
“The report illustrates why education transformation is not optional, it’s essential,” Scott said. “Vermonters know property taxes and education costs continue to grow at unsustainable rates and are making Vermont even more unaffordable. But this report reaffirms why transformation is about more than bending the cost curve, it’s about closing the opportunity gap and delivering a more equitable education for our kids.”
Scott’s framing quickly became contested. Don Tinney, president of the Vermont-National Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, accused the governor and Education Secretary Zoie Saunders of weaponizing the report.
“Instead of debating how we can ensure that all schools deliver excellence every day, he continues to beat up on public schools and the educators that work in them,” Tinney said of Scott. “The governor’s ‘report card’ comes after he has been in office for nearly a decade, a decade spent bashing our public schools while failing to address important underlying demographic issues that impact our communities and schools.”
Education Leaders Respond with Caution
Chelsea Myers, executive director of the Vermont Superintendents Association, acknowledged that the findings “demand our attention and continued action.” But she cautioned that reform efforts had “veered off track and become distracted by singular political agendas rather than remaining squarely focused on what matters most for students.”
“Data should serve as a tool for understanding and improvement,” Myers wrote. “At a time when public education has become increasingly politicized, it is essential that we refocus on the voices of students themselves.”
The Agency of Education said it was expanding support for schools identified as falling below state standards. Zoie Saunders, the Education Secretary, said the report highlights the agency’s “commitment to transparency” and that the agency’s goal “is to ensure high quality support reaches the schools that need it most, so we can close equity gaps and deliver positive outcomes for every Vermont student.”