Press Release

February 11, 2025

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

Nebraska Ranked 33rd Among States in Math Recovery and 48th in Reading Between 2019 and 2024

Average student achievement in Nebraska remains half a grade level below 2019 levels in math and almost a full year below in reading.

Reading is more of a concern in Nebraska than math, with 98 percent of students in districts with average reading achievement below 2019 levels and students almost a full grade level behind their 2019 levels across the state.

(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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska. Here’s what we found:

• Nebraska ranked 33rd among states in terms of recovery in math and 48th in reading between 2019 and 2024.
• Average student achievement in Nebraska remains half a grade level below 2019 levels in math (.53 grade equivalents) and almost a full year below in reading (.88 grade equivalents). In other words, the loss in math achievement in Nebraska is equivalent to 53 percent of the progress students typically make annually between grades 4 through grade 8.
• Yet in Nebraska, 89 percent of students are in districts whose average math achievement in 2024 remained below their own 2019 levels, and students are still almost half a grade level behind their 2019 levels. The average student in some districts, such as Omaha, South Sioux City Community Schools, Columbus, Lincoln, Fremont, and Hastings, remains more than one full grade equivalent below their 2019 mean achievement in math.
• Reading is more of a concern in Nebraska than math, with 98 percent of students in districts with average reading achievement below 2019 levels and students almost a full grade level behind their 2019 levels across the state. This is true in many other states, with 89 percent of students in districts nationally below 2019 levels in reading, and only 11 percent above.
• Still, there are bright spots: districts such as Waverly are now scoring above their 2019 means in both reading and math and Chase scoring above their 2019 mean in math.
• A sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10 percent of a school year) from 15 percent of students in 2019 before the pandemic to 22 percent in 2024 is slowing the recovery in many districts in Nebraska.
• Nebraska received $854 million in federal pandemic relief for K-12 schools—or roughly $2,600 per student, which is 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.

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.”

The federal pandemic relief dollars may be gone, but the pandemic’s impact lingers in many Nebraska 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.

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