The “Honesty Gap” is the discrepancy between what a state and the National Assessment on Educational Progress (NAEP) each consider to be “proficient.”

In an era where state education leaders recognize that pandemic recovery efforts are falling short and policymakers have shown little appetite to take on big questions around school accountability, there is ample opportunity to provide an appearance of success by lowering student expectations. Conversely – it’s not that appealing for a state to hold their bar high.

Troubling signs can already be seen. A growing list of states are lowering their definitions of proficiency, potentially muddying attempts to clearly understand student progress – or declines.

Some states are taking advantage of the pandemic disruption, four years later, and now risk walking back our collective responsibility for, and belief in, the potential of all kids. While shrouding historic declines in academic achievement may ease the discomfort of today’s political environment – doing so most certainly undermines the chance of students gaining the higher-level skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the future workforce.

Our state-level leaders must strive to be as clear as possible with where students stand on their path to success. We know that currently parents widely “underestimate” how well their children are performing academically. According to recent research by Gallup and Learning Heroes, 8 in 10 parents believe their child is performing at grade level, yet only 4 in 10 students actually are.

As states make decisions that may impact how student progress is characterized and shared with stakeholders, we urge them to prioritize being honest and transparent above all else. And we, the broader education community, must uplift transparency and honest state leadership. Students, families, and educators deserve the best, most accurate information possible about how children are faring academically.

In the coming months, the Collaborative for Student Success will be revisiting and updating the Honesty Gap and its partner platform AssessmentHQ.org to shine more light on how truthfully states are presenting academic achievement post-pandemic.