US Schools Recover Some Math Losses as Reading and Math Stay Below 2013 Levels
Updated
Updated · Chalkbeat · May 22
US Schools Recover Some Math Losses as Reading and Math Stay Below 2013 Levels
7 articles · Updated · Chalkbeat · May 22
New district-level data compiled by Harvard professor Tom Kane show schools have clawed back some pandemic-era math losses, but both math and reading remain well below levels from more than a decade ago.
Kane argues the slump predates COVID-19, calling it a learning recession since about 2013, with especially persistent weakness in reading and no definitive explanation for why progress stalled.
A U-shaped recovery has emerged: the highest- and lowest-poverty districts improved faster than middle-income systems, which Kane says policymakers often overlook.
$190 billion in federal COVID relief helped blunt larger losses in high-poverty districts, though Kane says gains might have been bigger if more spending had been directed to academic recovery.
Chronic absenteeism is still weighing on scores but only modestly, while state tests generally show a stronger rebound than NAEP, underscoring uncertainty over how much recovery has really occurred.
Mississippi reversed the learning decline. Why do other states adopting the same 'science of reading' methods continue to fail?
Smartphones are blamed for a decade of falling scores. Can schools realistically win the war on distraction, or is a new approach needed?
The Learning Recession: Ten Years of Falling US Student Performance and the Road to Renewal
Overview
Over the past decade, US student achievement in reading and math has seen a steady and troubling decline, with experts warning of a 'learning recession' that began as early as 2013—well before the COVID-19 pandemic. This downturn has impacted millions of students nationwide, with significant losses in reading comprehension between 2017 and 2019 that matched the setbacks seen during the pandemic. Alarmingly, the downward trend in reading scores continued through 2024, highlighting a long-term challenge for American education that requires urgent attention and action.