Press Release

February 11, 2025

Contact: Sam Stockwell
samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu
617.495.0342

Maryland Ranked 44th Among States in Math Recovery and 17th in Reading Between 2019 and 2024

Despite rapid progress between 2022-2024, students in Maryland remained almost 70% of a grade level behind 2019 levels in math and almost 40 percent of a grade level behind in reading in 2024.

Math is more of a concern in Maryland than reading. No districts have recovered in math, while 87% of students are in districts that remain below their own 2019 levels in reading.

(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 Maryland 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 Maryland. Here’s what we found:

• Maryland ranked 44th among states in terms of recovery in math and 17th in reading between 2019 and 2024, but this doesn’t tell the whole story—between 2022-2024, Maryland ranked 7th in math and 3rd in reading.
• Yet despite rapid progress between 2022-2024 (+.31 grade equivalents in math and +.14 grade level equivalents in reading), students in Maryland remained almost 70% of a grade level behind 2019 levels (.69 grade equivalents) in math and almost 40 percent of a grade level behind in reading (.39 grade equivalents) in 2024. In other words, the loss in math achievement in Maryland is almost 70 percent of the progress students typically make annually between grades 4 through grade 8.
• The average student in some districts, such as Charles, Cecil, and Caroline, remains at least a grade equivalent below their 2019 mean achievement in math, and the same true is for reading in Charles.
• Math is more of a concern in Maryland than reading. No districts have recovered in math, while 87% of students are in districts that remain below their own 2019 levels in reading. Nationally, 89 percent of students in districts remain below 2019 levels in reading, and only 11 percent have exceeded 2019 levels.
• Still, there are bright spots: mean achievement for students in Baltimore City and Harford have surpassed 2019 levels in reading.
• A sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10 percent of a school year) from 20 percent of students in 2019 before the pandemic to 30 percent in 2023 is slowing the recovery in many districts in Maryland.
• Maryland received $3 billion in federal pandemic relief for K-12 schools—or roughly $3,400 per student—which is slightly less 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 Maryland 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 from Harvard, said: “Unless state and local leaders step up now, the achievement losses will be the longest lasting– and most inequitable– legacy of the pandemic.”

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