Most Minnesota school districts haven’t recovered test scores after the pandemic
We spoke to two districts that did.
Academic outcomes for Minnesota students have stagnated since the pandemic in both reading and math, with 2025 state assessments showing little change since tests of students in grades 3-8 resumed in 2022.
A Reformer analysis of test scores from 2019 to 2025 found that less than one out of every eight Minnesota school districts have returned to pre-pandemic proficiency rates in either subject since students were pushed into online learning in March 2020. The districts that did recover fully serve less than 4% of students in the state and are mostly smaller districts.
Among the 155 districts with at least 1,000 students in 2019, just six districts have returned to or surpassed their 2019 proficiency rates in 2025 in either subject.
Nationally, every state is showing worse academic outcomes than in 2019, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard. But unlike Minnesota, some states have started to show students on an upward trajectory.
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