School District and Community Factors Associated With Learning Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This report investigates why learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic were so large and uneven across U.S. school districts, drawing on achievement data from approximately 7,800 districts across 41 states between 2009 and 2022. Using district-level math and reading scores linked to the NAEP scale, the authors show that pandemic-related losses were historically large and varied widely, with greater declines in higher-poverty and higher-minority districts and in districts that spent more time in remote or hybrid instruction during the 2020–21 school year. Importantly, within districts, students of different racial and economic groups lost similar amounts of learning, indicating that the primary drivers of loss operated at the district and community level, not the household level. The study examines a wide range of potential community factors—including broadband access, employment disruption, COVID-19 death rates, trust in institutions, and social and economic disruptions—and finds that while several are associated with learning loss, no single factor explains most of the variation. Historical analyses of prior achievement shocks further suggest that learning losses of this magnitude tend to persist over time without sustained intervention. The findings underscore the need for long-term, system-level investments—such as expanded instructional time, tutoring, and summer learning—to prevent pandemic-related achievement gaps from becoming permanent.