Press Release
February 11, 2025
Contact: Sam Stockwell
samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu
617.495.0342
D.C. Ranked 32nd Among States in Math Recovery and 5th in Reading Between 2019 and 2024
Between 2022-2024, students made up an average of half a grade level in math and a quarter of a grade level in reading.
Chronic absenteeism has risen sharply in D.C., from 30% of students in 2019 to 48% in 2023, significantly slowing recovery.
(February 11, 2025) In its third year of reporting on the pace of academic recovery measures in districts nationwide, the Education Recovery Scorecard (a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University) is issuing its annual report on district-level student growth in math and reading.
The latest report also provides the first high resolution picture of where D.C. students’ academic recovery stood in Spring 2024, just before federal relief dollars expired in September. While the National Assessment of Educational Progress described changes in average achievement by state, we combine those scores with district scores on state assessments to describe the change in local communities throughout the District of Columbia. Here’s what we found:
- The District of Columbia ranked 1st among states in terms of recovery in math between 2022-2024 and 1st in reading between 2022 and 2024, reflecting rapid growth considering the district’s ranking of 32nd in math recovery in the full period between 2019-2024 and 5th in reading recovery in the full period between 2019-2024.
- Between 2022-2024, students made up an average of half a grade level in math (.55 grade equivalents) and a quarter of a grade level in reading (.25 grade equivalents). Yet despite this recovery, students remain an average of half a grade level behind in math (.52 grade equivalents) and a quarter of a grade level (.24 grade equivalents) behind in reading. In other words, the loss in math achievement in D.C. is greater than 50 percent of the progress students typically make annually between grades 4 through grade 8.
- A sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10 percent of a school year) from 30 percent of students in 2019 before the pandemic to 48 percent in 2023 is slowing the recovery in D.C. In 2024, chronic absenteeism remained stubbornly high at 44 percent.
- The District of Columbia received over $600 million in federal pandemic relief for K-12 schools—or roughly $6,800 per student (which is more than the national average of $3,700 per student.) Nationally, our analysis suggests that the dollars did contribute to the academic recovery, especially when targeted at academic catch-up efforts such as summer learning and tutoring.
The federal pandemic relief dollars may be gone, but the pandemic’s impact lingers in many D.C. schools. Even without federal relief dollars, states could be targeting continuing federal Title I dollars and state dollars to implement interventions which have been shown effective, such as tutoring and summer learning. State leaders, mayors, employers and other community leaders should join schools to redouble efforts on the shared challenge of reducing student absenteeism.
One of the project leaders, Professor Tom Kane at Harvard, said: “Tackling absenteeism is one of the few things that mayors, employers and other community leaders can do to help students recover.”
For the national press release and findings click here.
About the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University
The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, seeks to transform education through quality research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at cepr.harvard.edu.
Contact: Sam Stockwell, samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu, (617) 495-0342