A Nation Again At Risk? Amid COVID Learning Losses, Concerns About Students & Schools

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Three years ago, a majority of America’s classrooms remained shuttered, as educators struggled to maintain instruction amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. As more data has been published in recent months about both the depths of the learning losses suffered during 2020 and 2021, and the difficulties now being faced in helping many of those students catch up, questions are mounting about whether this generation of students will forever lag behind their peers from prior decades. 

On this 40th anniversary of the influential “A Nation At Risk” report (see our special report on those 36 pages that changed American education), we’re taking a moment to reflect on the new risks posed by COVID learning losses when it comes to today’s students and recent graduates. Here’s some of our recent coverage about student performance and learning recovery efforts:  

—The Terrible Truth: Current solutions to COVID learning loss are doomed to fail (Read more) 

—Math Losses: Damage revealed by the Nation’s Report Card could cost graduates and the economy nearly $1 trillion (Read more) 

—Stalled Reading Scores: Test results flat for 3rd grade ‘COVID Kids’ (Read more) 

—Behind Grade Level: Federal data show 49% of students started last school year behind (Read more) 

—Tutoring: Researcher Matthew Kraft talks about how the right tutoring materials & training can help students make gains (Read more) 

—Extra Class Time: In rare move, New Mexico adds weeks’ worth of additional instruction (Read more)

—Go Deeper: Receive all the latest news about learning losses and COVID recovery by signing up for The 74’s newsletter 

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