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 a report based on the test scores of more than 5 million students in more than 9,000 schools. The results are not pretty.
Data from the fall of 2024 shows that, compared to the fall of 2019, before lockdowns disrupted education for millions of children, most schools had not recovered in either math or reading, according to a news release on the study.
“About 1 in 3 schools have recovered in either math or reading; only 1 in 7 schools have recovered in both subjects,” the study found.
“Our findings show there was not a single path to recovery,” Dr. Emily Morton, lead research scientist at NWEA, said.
“While some schools recovered by avoiding initial declines, others rebounded with remarkable growth. These ‘Rebounder’ schools offer critical lessons about the practices and investments that can help students regain lost ground and continue moving forward,” she said.
The report noted that “Initial declines were larger in math than in reading.”
That means that getting math scores back where they were was a steeper climb, one that only 22 percent of schools have made.
Only 24 percent of schools have recovered to pre-pandemic levels in reading, the study said.
“Recovery has been stronger in math, where average achievement has rebounded, while reading continues to show net declines,” the study said
Some schools “experienced average or larger-than-average initial declines and still managed to return to pre-pandemic achievement levels by 2024,” the report said.
The report said rural schools led the nation in recovery, ahead of suburban and urban school districts.
Race was also a factor in how schools fared.
“In general, we see higher rates of recovery for majority white and Asian schools, followed next by majority black and Hispanic schools,” the report said.
The report added that schools “that are the most diverse … were least likely to be recovered across all school groups.”
High school seniors’ average reading and math scores have dropped on the “nation’s report card” — and the scores of students struggling the most have fallen to historic lows, according to a report by Education Week.
In September, results of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress were released, showing more students failed to reach the level considered mastery for basic skills, according to Education Week.
Of 12th graders who took the test, 35 percent were prepared for college in reading, down from 37 percent in 2019. Only 33 percent were prepared in math, down from 37 percent in 2019.
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