Pivoting from Pandemic Recovery to Long-Term Reform

This report presents the third installment of the Education Recovery Scorecard, offering a detailed district-level analysis of academic recovery across the United States as of Spring 2024. Using linked NAEP and state assessment data for roughly 35 million students in grades 3–8 across 43 states, the authors find that the average student remains nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both math and reading, with reading outcomes continuing to decline since 2022. Recovery has been uneven: while some districts— including several high-poverty districts—have rebounded or exceeded 2019 levels, socioeconomic and racial/ethnic achievement gaps have widened substantially. The analysis shows that federal ESSER pandemic relief funds helped boost recovery, particularly in higher-poverty districts, but the effects were modest and depended heavily on how funds were spent, with stronger gains in districts investing in academic interventions like tutoring and summer learning. At the same time, a sharp and persistent rise in chronic absenteeism has significantly slowed recovery, especially in high-poverty districts. The report concludes that with federal relief exhausted, districts must pivot from short-term recovery efforts toward long-term, evidence-based reforms focused on academic catch-up, reducing absenteeism, improving parent communication, and rigorously evaluating which post-pandemic reforms are truly working. 

Read the press release here.