Key Findings
Many have been wondering whether the ESSER aid truly helped students recover. Our new analysis suggests the spending did have a positive impact on achievement.
New research from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University reveals a direct connection between federal pandemic relief aid and academic recovery in K-12 schools.
Last year, students in many states made historic gains in math and reading. Still, they made up only one-third of the pandemic loss in math and one quarter of the loss in reading.
Both the magnitude of the pandemic losses and the pace of the recovery last year varied by state.
Analysis of prior decade shows that learning loss will become permanent if schools and parents do not expand learning time this summer and next year
How did factors like school closures, community death rates, civic engagement, and social activity impact learning loss during the pandemic?
Six districts in each state which underscore the need for a differentiated approach to recovery based on need.
A recent presentation at ExcelinEd outlines how districts can scale recovery efforts to maximize impact on student learning
The Education Recovery Scorecard has estimated achievement losses between Spring 2019 and Spring 2022 for individual public school districts in 29 states.
Findings Incorporate Data on Weeks Remote and ESSER Dollars per District, Allowing Leaders to Re-calibrate Their Recovery Plans
Education Recovery Scorecard: Tom Kane and Tequilla Brownie
Project leader Thomas Kane speaks with Dr. Tequilla Brownie about the key findings in the Education Recovery Scorecard.
Stanford Professor Sean Reardon explains the Education Recovery Scorecard
Project leader Sean Reardon discusses the Education Recovery Scorecard and his team’s findings.
Long-term Implications
In the three decades before the pandemic, mean achievement of U.S. 8th graders in math rose by more than half a standard deviation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Between 2019 and 2022, U.S. students had forfeited 40 percent of that rise.
Calculating Investments to Remedy Learning Loss