The public education system in Massachusetts enjoys a reputation of being "first" in the nation. This ranking is owed, in full or in part, to the performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. NAEP is also called "The Nation's Report Card," as it is designed to discern trends in state education policy. The assessment is reported out in two ways: a scaled score and performance levels. The scaled score allows for rankings, which policymakers and political figures use for a variety of purposes. However the authors reviewed the Massachusetts' scores in 4-grade and 8-grade math on the NAEP since 1992 and found some troubling trends. The first is that overall improvement has stalled in the last decade. Yet, despite this aggregate stagnation, the percentage of students scoring in the very top category on NAEP has steadily increased. In this policy brief, they argue the trends suggest the emergence of a two-tiered public education system in Massachusetts.