Learning Loss

8th- and 4th-grade math scores declined 8 and 5 points, respectively, from 2019 to 2022. Reading scores also fell by 3 points.

4th- and 8th-grade reading and math average scores, U.S.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Source: U.S. Department of Education, NAEP. Notes: Dashed lines indicate that test accommodations were not permitted in those years. 2022 assessment period was Jan-Mar 2022, with some 100,000+ students participating on each assessment from 5,000+ public and private schools.

Many parents, teachers, and school leaders feared that extended remote learning during the pandemic would harm children’s educational outcomes. Assessing the impact of the pandemic on educational outcomes nationwide can be difficult because each state has their own assessments and content standards.¹ The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is administered to a large sample of students in public and private schools nationwide, overcomes that obstacle in order to provide national-level trends in student achievement. As feared, NAEP test results from early 2022 reveal that both math and reading scores declined for 4th and 8th graders, compared to before the pandemic in 2019.²

Although NAEP test results varied by school district, disruptions to in-person learning were not the only factor accounting for these differences. Poverty levels were a key factor in the disparate impacts of the pandemic on learning loss.^3,4 Indeed, the pandemic has widened an already large achievement gap among students. For example, in 4th grade math, the top 10% of students lost 2 points between 2019 and 2022 while the bottom 10% of students lost 7.⁵

To close these gaps in student achievement, states and local school districts can invest American Rescue Plan funds in intense tutoring, out-of-school enrichment activities, and increasing the pipeline of qualified teachers.^6,7

1. “An Overview of NAEP”. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/about/pdf/naep_overview_brochure_2021.pdf

2. “The Nation’s Report Card”. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

3. “Local Achievement Impacts of the Pandemic”. Fahle, Kane, Patterson, Reardon, and Staiger. Education Recovery Scorecard. October, 2022. https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Education-Recovery-Scorecard_Key-Findings_102822.pdf

4. “COVID-19 learning delay and recovery: Where do US states stand?” Bryant, Dorn, Pollack, and Sarakatsannis. McKinsey & Company. January, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-learning-delay-and-recovery-where-do-us-states-stand

5. “Largest score declines in NAEP mathematics at grades 4 and 8 since initial assessments in 1990”. The Nation’s Report Card. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/mathematics/2022/

6. “The pandemic has had devastating impacts on learning. What will it take to help students catch up?” Kuhfeld, Soland, Lewis, and Morton. Brookings. March, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/03/03/the-pandemic-has-had-devastating-impacts-on-learning-what-will-it-take-to-help-students-catch-up/

7. “States Leading: How State Education Agencies are Leveraging the ESSER Set-Aside”. Council of Chief State School Officers. https://learning.ccsso.org/states-leading-how-state-education-agencies-are-leveraging-the-esser-set-aside