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Axios
24-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
San Antonio students struggle to recover from COVID
Students in Texas K–12 public schools are on average about half a grade behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and nearly one third of a grade level below in reading, data shows. Why it matters: The Education Recovery Scorecard provides an in-depth look, at the district level, of where Texas students' academic recovery from COVID stood last spring, before federal relief funding expired. How it works: The data, released last month, marks the third year of reports from researchers at Harvard and Stanford universities. The big picture: Texas ranked 31st among states for its recovery in math, but it did much better — ranking No. 8 — for its reading recovery. Elizabeth Rodriguez, a fourth-grade teacher at Agnes Cotton Academy in San Antonio ISD, told the SA Report that students may be scoring better in reading because it's an "easier subject to teach." "We all kind of know how to read, and we can support our kids in that," she said. But parents may be less familiar with math material, she added. Between the lines: Across Texas, more students are chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 10% of classes in a school year. In 2019, 11% of Texas students were chronically absent. That figure stood at 21% in 2023. Zoom in: Recovery is not equal across local districts. Students at San Antonio ISD are more than one grade behind 2019 math achievement levels. Those at Northside ISD, the city's largest district, are about three-fourths of a grade level behind in math. The bottom line: "The rescue phase is over," Tom Kane, director of Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research, said in a statement.
Axios
14-02-2025
- General
- Axios
Students struggle to recover from COVID learning loss
American students are half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement levels in math and reading, according to an Education Recovery Scorecard report released on Tuesday. Why it matters: No state showed improvements in both math and reading from 2019 to 2024, according to the Nation's Report Card — a national assessment of math and reading achievement. High-income districts are four times more likely to have recovered, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard, which combines results from the Nation's Report Card assessment and state test scores. The slide in test scores "masks a pernicious inequality: scores have declined far more in America's middle- and low-income communities than its wealthy ones," Sean Reardon, director of Stanford's Educational Opportunity Project, said in a statement. By the numbers: 17% of students between third and eighth grade are in districts with average math achievement above 2019. 11% are in districts that have recovered in reading, and 6% are in districts that have recovered in both reading and math. More than 100 districts performed above pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading. Between the lines: Louisiana is the only state that showed slight improvements in both math and reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard report. Zoom out: Chronic absenteeism, which worsened during the pandemic, has started to show improvements, per the report. But it slowed academic recovery, especially in high-poverty districts. In 2019, the national rate was 15%. That nearly doubled to 29% in 2022 and dropped slightly to 26% in 2023. In the 20 states with data through Spring 2024, chronic absenteeism fell by an additional two points. "The full impact of the rise in absenteeism is not yet clear," the report said. What's next: Researchers urged states and districts to redirect funding toward interventions, now that federal pandemic relief has dried up. They also said mayors, employers and other leaders should help in addressing chronic absenteeism so that all of the burden doesn't fall on schools. The bottom line:"The rescue phase is over," Tom Kane, director of Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research said in a statement. "The federal relief dollars are gone. It is time to pivot from short-term recovery to longer term challenges such as reducing absenteeism and addressing the slide in literacy." Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify that while the Nation's Report Card found no states improved in both math and reading, the Education Recovery Scorecard found one exception, Louisiana. Go deeper: American students' reading skills drop to record lows
The Hill
12-02-2025
- General
- The Hill
Education report reveals which states have seen biggest drops in reading, math scores
(NEXSTAR) – While some schools are starting to claw back some of the ground lost due to pandemic-era learning disruptions, there's still a ways to go, a new report finds. The Nation's Report Card, released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), compares fourth and eighth grade test scores in school districts around the country. The report shows fourth graders have made small gains in math scores over the past two years (though they're still short of 2019 test scores), but eighth graders' math scores haven't budged. The situation is even more grim with reading scores, which dropped further in 2024 for fourth graders and eighth graders. Could soda, beer prices rise amid aluminum tariffs? 'Overall, student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic performance,' said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr in a press release. 'Where there are signs of recovery, they are mostly in math and largely driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.' State-by-state results While some states are taking small steps forward, it appears others are falling behind, the report card found. With math scores in public schools, most states saw no significant change between 2022 and 2024. One state, Nebraska, saw scores drop for fourth graders. At the eighth-grade level, four states saw test scores drop: Alaska, Idaho, Florida, and Nevada. Students in more states are struggling with reading, the report found. Fourth graders in Arizona, Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Vermont saw test scores drop from 2022 to 2024. Eighth-grade reading scores dropped in many of the same states, plus a few more: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Nevada, Utah and Vermont. When will flu season end? The rest of the states saw 'no significant change.' Not a single state was found to have significantly boosted reading scores over those two years, though one city – Atlanta – was found to have made some progress. In some cases, it's hard to tell if students are making progress or if states are just changing their standards. For example, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Florida seem to have relaxed their proficiency cutoff in math and reading in the last two years, Tom Kane, a Harvard economist, told the Associated Press. The Education Recovery Scorecard analysis, by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth, shows the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. Within states, the gap between high-performing students and struggling students is also generally widening. 'The pandemic has not only driven test scores down, but that decline masks a pernicious inequality that has grown during the pandemic,' said Sean Reardon, a Stanford sociologist who worked on the scorecard. 'Not only are districts serving more Black and Hispanic students falling further behind, but even within those districts, Black and Hispanic students are falling further behind their white districtmates.'
Boston Globe
11-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Most US kids aren't gaining fast enough in reading and math. Some schools are different.
But a new analysis of state and national test scores shows the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. In reading, especially, students are even further behind than they were in 2022, the analysis shows. Advertisement Compton is an outlier, making some of the biggest two-year gains in both subjects among high-poverty districts. And there are other bright spots, along with evidence that interventions like tutoring and summer programs are working. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up The Education Recovery Scorecard analysis by researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth allows year-to-year comparisons across states and districts, providing the most comprehensive picture yet of how American students are performing since COVID-19 first disrupted learning. The most recent data are based on tests taken in spring 2024. By then, the worst of the pandemic was long past, but schools were still dealing with mental health issues and high absenteeism — not to mention students who'd had crucial learning interrupted. 'The losses are not just due to what happened during the 2020 to 2021 school year, but the aftershocks that have hit schools in the years since,' said Tom Kane, a Harvard economist who worked on the scorecard. In some cases, the analysis shows school districts are struggling, even though their students may have posted decent results on state tests. That's because each state adopts its own assessments, and those aren't comparable to each other. Those differences can make it impossible to tell whether students are performing better because of their progress, or whether those shifts are because the tests themselves are changing, or the state has lowered its standards for proficiency. For example, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Florida seem to have relaxed their proficiency cutoff in math and reading in the last two years, Kane said, citing the analysis. Advertisement The scorecard accounts for differing state tests and provides one national standard. Higher-income districts have made significantly more progress than lower-income districts, with the top 10 percent of high-income districts four times more likely to have recovered in both math and reading compared with the poorest 10 percent. And recovery within districts remains divided by race and class, especially in math scores. Test score gaps grew by both race and income. 'The pandemic has not only driven test scores down, but that decline masks a pernicious inequality that has grown during the pandemic,' said Sean Reardon, a Stanford sociologist who worked on the scorecard. 'Not only are districts serving more Black and Hispanic students falling further behind, but even within those districts, Black and Hispanic students are falling further behind their white district mates.' Still, many of the districts that outperformed the country serve predominantly low-income students or students of color, and their interventions offer best practices for other districts. In Compton, the district responded to the pandemic by hiring over 250 tutors who specialize in math, reading, and English as a second language. Certain classes are staffed with multiple tutors to assist teachers. And schools offer tutoring before, during, and after school, plus Saturday and summer programs for the district's 17,000 students, said Superintendent Darin Brawley. The district also now conducts dyslexia screenings in all elementary schools. The low-income school district near downtown Los Angeles, with a student body that is 84 percent Latino and 14 percent Black, now has a graduation rate of 93 percent, compared with 58 percent when Brawley took the job in 2012. Advertisement Harmoni, the sixth grader, said tutoring has helped her grasp concepts and given her more confidence in math. She has 'data chats' with her math specialist that are part performance review, part pep talk. 'Looking at my data, it kind of disappoints me' when the numbers are low, said Harmoni. 'But it makes me realize I can do better in the future, and also now.' Brawley said he's proud of the district's latest test scores, but not content. 'Truth be told, I wasn't happy,' he said. 'Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better.'
Boston Globe
11-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
America's kids are still behind in reading and math. These schools are defying the trend.
But a new analysis of state and national test scores shows the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. In reading, especially, students are even further behind than they were in 2022, the analysis shows. Advertisement Compton is an outlier, making some of the biggest two-year gains in both subjects among high-poverty districts. And there are other bright spots, along with evidence that interventions like tutoring and summer programs are working. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Education Recovery Scorecard analysis by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth allows year-to-year comparisons across states and districts, providing the most comprehensive picture yet of how American students are performing since COVID-19 first disrupted learning. The most recent data is based on tests taken in spring 2024. By then, the worst of the pandemic was long past, but schools were dealing still with a mental health crisis and high absenteeism — not to mention students who'd had crucial learning interrupted. 'The losses are not just due to what happened during the 2020 to 2021 school year, but the aftershocks that have hit schools in the years since,' said Tom Kane, a Harvard economist who worked on the scorecard. In some cases, the analysis shows school districts are struggling, even though their students may have posted decent results on state tests. That's because each state adopts its own assessments, and those aren't comparable to each other. Those differences can make it impossible to tell whether students are performing better because of their progress, or whether those shifts are because the tests themselves are changing, or the state has lowered its standards for proficiency. For example, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Florida seem to have relaxed their proficiency cutoff in math and reading in the last two years, Kane said, citing the analysis. Advertisement The Scorecard accounts for differing state tests and provides one national standard. Higher-income districts have made significantly more progress than lower-income districts, with the top 10% of high-income districts four times more likely to have recovered in both math and reading compared with the poorest 10%. And recovery within districts remains divided by race and class, especially in math scores. Test score gaps grew by both race and income. 'The pandemic has not only driven test scores down, but that decline masks a pernicious inequality that has grown during the pandemic,' said Sean Reardon, a Stanford sociologist who worked on the scorecard. 'Not only are districts serving more Black and Hispanic students falling further behind, but even within those districts, Black and Hispanic students are falling further behind their white districtmates.' Tutors in class, after school and on Saturdays Still, many of the districts that outperformed the country serve predominantly low-income students or students of color, and their interventions offer best practices for other districts. In Compton, the district responded to the pandemic by hiring over 250 tutors that specialize in math, reading and students learning English. Certain classes are staffed with multiple tutors to assist teachers. And schools offer tutoring before, during and after school, plus 'Saturday School' and summer programs for the district's 17,000 students, said Superintendent Darin Brawley. The district also now conducts dyslexia screenings in all elementary schools. The low-income school district near downtown Los Angeles, with a student body that is 84% Latino and 14% Black, now has a graduation rate of 93%, compared with 58% when Brawley took the job in 2012. Advertisement Harmoni, the sixth grader, said tutoring has helped her grasp concepts and given her more confidence in math. She has 'data chats' with her math specialist that are part performance review, part pep talk. 'Looking at my data, it kind of disappoints me' when the numbers are low, said Harmoni. 'But it makes me realize I can do better in the future, and also now.' Brawley said he's proud of the district's latest test scores, but not content. 'Truth be told, I wasn't happy,' he said. 'Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better.' That could be more difficult in coming years. Federal pandemic relief money has ended; many schools used it for programs like tutoring. Going forward, schools must prioritize interventions that worked. Districts that spent federal money on increased instructional time, either through tutoring or summer school, saw a return on that investment, Kane and Reardon said. Brawley said Compton hopes to maintain its tutoring programs using other funding sources. 'The question is, at what scale?' Elsewhere in the country, reading levels have continued to decline, despite a movement in many states to emphasize phonics and the " science of reading." So Reardon and Kane called for an evaluation of the mixed results for insights into the best ways to teach kids to read. Schools also must engage parents and tell them when their kids are behind, the researchers said. And schools must continue to work with community groups to improve students' attendance, they said. The scorecard identified a relationship between high absenteeism and learning struggles. Advertisement Tutors also help with attendance In the District of Columbia, an intensive tutoring program helped with both academics and attendance, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said. In the scorecard analysis, the District of Columbia ranked first among states for gains in both math and reading between 2022 and 2024, after its math recovery had fallen toward the bottom of the list. Pandemic-relief money funded the tutoring, along with a system of identifying and targeting support at students in greatest need. The district also hired program managers who helped maximize time for tutoring within the school day, Ferebee said. Students who received tutoring were more likely to be engaged with school, Ferebee said, both from increased confidence and because they had a relationship with another trusted adult. Students expressed that 'I'm more confident in math because I'm being validated by another adult,' Ferebee said. 'That validation goes a long way, not only with attendance, but a student feeling like they are ready to learn and are capable.' Even now that federal pandemic relief money has ended, Ferebee said many of the investments the district made will have lasting impact, including the money spent on teacher training and curriculum development in literacy. Christina Grant, the District of Columbia's superintendent of education until 2024, said she's hopeful to see the evidence emerging on what's made a difference in student achievement. 'We cannot afford to not have hope. These are our students. They did not cause the pandemic,' Grant said. 'The growing concern is ensuring that we can ... see ourselves to the other side.' Sharon Lurye contributed from New Orleans.
