THE FOLLOW UP
STATEMENT

BIE reports a 9% rise in math proficiency and 10% rise in English language arts proficiency since 2016

False

Credible evidence contradicts the statement. Learn more in Methodology.

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Assessment data or official BIE proficiency reports show a 9 percentage-point increase in math proficiency and a 10 percentage-point increase in ELA proficiency for BIE students comparing 2016 to the most recent reporting year.

Source summary
The Department of the Interior announced that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) reached a record high graduation rate, rising from 51% in 2015 to 79% in 2025. The BIE reports accompanying gains in academic proficiency (a 9% increase in math and 10% in English language arts since 2016) and credits system-wide reforms — including modernized data systems, professional learning communities, and stronger accountability — for the improvements. Interior officials said the changes support more than 400,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students and aim to sustain progress through continued collaboration with tribes, educators, and families.
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Latest fact check

Available official data and prior Interior statements do not support the claim that Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) students have seen a 9% increase in math proficiency and a 10% increase in English language arts (ELA) proficiency since 2016.

In June 2025 congressional testimony, the Interior Department reported that, since 2016, BIE math proficiency had increased by 12% and ELA proficiency by 13%, not 9% and 10%. An earlier BIE performance report states that since 2016 BIE students had experienced only a 1% increase in math proficiency, again inconsistent with a 9% gain. No independent performance or assessment data from BIE or related federal statistical sources corroborate the specific figures of 9% and 10% growth over that period.

Because multiple official BIE/Interior sources give materially different percentage increases (1% and 12–13%) and no high‑quality data source confirms the 9%/10% figures, the statement that BIE students have recorded a 9% increase in math proficiency and a 10% increase in English language arts proficiency since 2016 is best classified as False: it conflicts with the most directly relevant official evidence currently available.

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Timeline

  1. Update · Jan 16, 2026, 12:44 AMFalse
    Available official data and prior Interior statements do not support the claim that Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) students have seen a 9% increase in math proficiency and a 10% increase in English language arts (ELA) proficiency since 2016. In June 2025 congressional testimony, the Interior Department reported that, since 2016, BIE math proficiency had increased by 12% and ELA proficiency by 13%, not 9% and 10%. An earlier BIE performance report states that since 2016 BIE students had experienced only a 1% increase in math proficiency, again inconsistent with a 9% gain. No independent performance or assessment data from BIE or related federal statistical sources corroborate the specific figures of 9% and 10% growth over that period. Because multiple official BIE/Interior sources give materially different percentage increases (1% and 12–13%) and no high‑quality data source confirms the 9%/10% figures, the statement that BIE students have recorded a 9% increase in math proficiency and a 10% increase in English language arts proficiency since 2016 is best classified as False: it conflicts with the most directly relevant official evidence currently available.
  2. Update · Jan 16, 2026, 12:30 AMFalse
    The Department of the Interior’s own Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Performance Report states that since 2016 BIE students have experienced only about a 1% increase in math proficiency, not 9%. In later official congressional testimony in 2025, Interior reported that, since 2016, BIE math proficiency had increased by 12 percentage points and English language arts (ELA) by 13 percentage points, with 2023 proficiency levels of 18% in math and 25% in ELA. Neither of these official data presentations align with the press-release claim of a 9% math and 10% ELA increase since 2016, and no primary source could be found that supports those exact figures. Therefore, the statement that BIE students have seen a 9% increase in math proficiency and a 10% increase in ELA proficiency since 2016 is not supported by available official data and conflicts with other Interior documents. Verdict: False, because official BIE performance reports and Interior testimony give different magnitudes of proficiency gains (1%, 12%, and 13%), and no credible primary source substantiates the specific 9% math and 10% ELA increases claimed.
  3. Original article · Jan 15, 2026
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