Many American parents would be shocked to know where their kids were actually achieving. Nationally, 90% of parents think their children are reading and doing math at or above grade level. In fact, 26% of eighth graders are proficient or above in math and 31% are proficient or above in English.
As a new school year begins, parents are trying to figure out where their children stand after the dramatic learning losses of the coronavirus pandemic. School boards and lawmakers are deciding how to spend their remaining federal recovery funds — which must be designated by next fall — and where to concentrate their efforts.
New research paints the clearest picture yet of just how much learning students missed during the pandemic, and what it may take to help children in the hardest hit districts to make up ground.
As part of a team of researchers from Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins and the testing company NWEA — the Education Recovery Scorecard project — we have been sifting through data from 7,800 communities in 41 states, to understand where test scores declined the most, what caused these patterns and whether they are likely to endure.
Without a successful recovery effort, student learning loss will be the longest lasting (and most inequitable) legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From unfinished learning to missing students and lost earnings, these charts help explain the pandemic’s long-term impact
According to national research, 92% of ALL parents, regardless of race, income or geography, believe their child is reading and doing math at or above grade level…even after the pandemic.
American students have experienced a historic decline in academic achievement. The only possible response — the only rational response — is a historic collective investment in children and young adults.
The latest test scores underscore the dire need for academic recovery for students — and schools are racing against the clock to combat the daunting task.
The recent release of national scores showing drops in math and reading sparked criticisms of how long school districts remained virtual during the pandemic. Are those criticisms fair?