Only 33 percent of schools have recovered in either math or reading 6 years after pandemic
NWEA research shows 33% of U.S. public schools reached pre-pandemic reading or math levels by fall 2024, with only 14% recovering in both subjects.
- In fall 2024, NWEA, an education research group, found only one in three schools fully recovered in either reading or math since the COVID-19 pandemic nearly six years ago, with about 14 percent recovering both.
- Analysis of school trajectories shows different rebound patterns; Emily Morton, lead research scientist at NWEA, said, 'Our findings show there was not a single path to recovery,' with schools with smaller initial setbacks and schools that rebounded with large growth following different paths.
- Analysis of more than 5 million students across 9,326 public schools shows NWEA estimated in 2024 that students need about 4.8 months in reading and 4.3 months in math to catch up.
- Schools should extend summer learning programs to at least four weeks, providing 90 minutes of math and 120 minutes of reading daily, with local and state leaders tracking recovery trajectories and setting benchmarks, and aiming for a 75% or higher attendance rate.
- Full recovery tended to appear more in majority white or Asian and rural schools, while schools serving higher-poverty and historically marginalized students showed large gains but remained less likely to have fully recovered.
13 Articles
13 Articles
COVID HANGOVER: New Research Suggests Most Schools Haven't Recovered from Lockdowns, and the Academic Numbers Are Devastating
The long and lingering shadow of the pandemic reveals a dark truth about American education: Kids have not healed from the scars of lockdowns. NWEA, a research organization, recently issued […] The post COVID HANGOVER: New Research Suggests Most Schools Haven't Recovered from Lockdowns, and the Academic Numbers Are Devastating appeared first on The Western Journal.
Only 33 percent of schools have recovered in either math or reading 6 years after pandemic
New research found only one in three schools have recovered in either reading or math since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools nearly six years ago. The number of schools that recovered in both subjects sits at around 14 percent, according to NWEA, an education research group. Schools that serve historically marginalized students are more likely…
K-12 Reading, Math Scores Lagging Behind Pre-Pandemic Levels: Study
Only a third of American K-12 schools have returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic achievement levels in math or reading, an education analysis group said this week. Those findings came as part of a study released on Feb. 24 by NWEA, which analyzed scores from more than 5 million students across 9,326 schools. Comparing scores from 2019 and 2024, the organization said only one in seven schools recovered in both math and reading. NWEA, previously kn…
Black Schools Are Improving Fast. It's Not Enough
Predominantly Black schools faced the biggest academic setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re also bouncing back the fastest. Despite the progress, Black students are still being left behind. That’s the complicated truth found in a new study that looked at standardized test scores from more than 9,300 schools five years after the pandemic shut everything down. Schools serving mostly Black students made the biggest academic gains of any …
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