R.I. students have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than the rest of New England
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✏️ About 88 percent of Rhode Island students attend school in a district where the average reading levels are behind where they were in 2019, and 79 percent are in districts where the math results are worse than before the pandemic.
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✏️ East Greenwich stands out as a success story, with mean achievement in both reading and math surpassing 2019 levels. East Providence has nearly matched mean achievement levels in reading and math.
✏️ As we know, chronic absenteeism skyrocketed since the pandemic, rising from 19 percent in 2019 to 34 percent in 2022 before dipping to 25 percent last year. Governor Dan McKee has made student attendance his No. 1 priority for education over the last year.
✏️ The report found that Rhode Island received $646 million in pandemic relief funding for K-12 schools, an average of $4,700 per student. That's much higher than the national average of $3,700 per student.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday,
Dan McGowan can be reached at
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