The final scores are in for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the nation’s fourth and eighth graders and the results are far from encouraging. The scores have been the lowest registered by American students since the federal government began issuing the examination back in 1990.

It seems a severe blow to the school of thought that has always thought that standardized testing was a reasonable and effective way to measure the education levels of American students. Supporters of the exam see the test as being a high quality test that measures accurate student proficiency, reports The Washington Post. The critics of the NAEP, however see the “proficiency” standard as being far too high to be accurately measured. Also, critics say the test doesn’t take in to consideration certain skills students will need to become successful later on in life.

The math scores for the fourth and eighth graders are the lowest ever. Reading scores, too, were at the bottom of the charts though not quite the worst ever recorded. Reading continues to be far behind where it should be and the gap between minority students and white students continues to grow with every administration of the test.

US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, excused the performances by stating that huge changes in schools can often lead to scores that temporarily decline while teachers and students try and adjust to the changes. Duncan went on to say, “Big change never happens overnight.” Duncan, however, never actually explained what all of these big and huge changes are.

Critics believe that the public school system is a disaster and that proficiency in an exam can’t be expected when bad decisions are being made. Reading scores are what has many concerned as they have remained flat or have decreased over the years. The finger pointing and the blame of the reformers is flying in all directions.