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Learning Loss
learning loss
education

‘Education’s Long COVID’: New Data Shows Recovery Stalled for Most Students

NWEA researchers called it ‘shocking' that upper elementary and middle school students lost ground this year in reading and math.

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Following the COVID Money
congress
Following the COVID Money

$190B Later, Reason to Worry Relief Funds Won’t Curb COVID’s Academic Crisis

The 74’s look at 15 school systems shows some promising investments, but also a slew of questionable expenditures and a breakdown of transparency.

Linda Jacobson & Asher Lehrer-Small
Analysis
analysis

New NAEP Scores Reveal the Failure of Pandemic Academic Recovery Efforts

Kogan: In an ideal world, the results would be a wakeup call for adults whose priorities seem to have shifted from student learning to culture wars.

Vladimir Kogan
Author: Vladimir Kogan
learning loss
learning loss

NAEP Scores ‘Flashing Red’ After a Lost Generation of Learning for 13-Year-Olds

‘Nation’s Report Card’ shows math skills reset to the level of the 1990s, while struggling readers are scoring lower than they did in 1971

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
summer learning
Baltimore
Pandemic

Summer School Priority: Help Students Rebound From Historically Bad Math Scores

Flush with relief funds, districts are continuing robust summer efforts to help kids rebound in math. But the trend may soon derail as money runs out.

Jo Napolitano
Author: Jo Napolitano

Pandemic
microschool
Pandemic

WATCH: Teachers Reflect on Leaving Classrooms to Launch Microschools Amid COVID

The 74
Pandemic
COVID Classroom Crisis
Pandemic

Will COVID's K-Shaped Recession Spark a Classroom Crisis?

The 74
Pandemic
COVID Classroom Crisis
Pandemic

Watching the COVID Learning Gap Grow in Real Time

The 74
education
education

UNICEF Spotlights the COVID Crisis: 168 Million Missing Students

The 74
Cleveland
Cleveland

Photo History: 52 Weeks of COVID & Schools, 52 Iconic Photos

Pandemic

Pandemic
“Innovation & recovery”
Pandemic

Why the Fallout from Pandemic’s K-Shaped Recession Will Affect Schools for Years

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins

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afterschool

A Public-Private Partnership That’s Cracking the Code on Literacy

David Moore & Barbara Hammond
commentary

The Pandemic Was a Sputnik Moment for Rethinking American Education. We Blew It

Robin Lake & Paul Hill
pandemic

5 Years Later: My Pandemic Predictions on Learning Loss, Disengagement and More

Chad Aldeman
Author: Chad Aldeman
Analysis

Student Well-Being, School Choice, Higher Ed Top Governors’ Priorities for 2025

Bella DiMarco
commentary

How States Can Soften the Fall From the Fiscal Cliff

Thomas J. Kane & Jason Godfrey
Analysis

Standards Gap: Why Many Students Score Proficient on State Tests But Not on NAEP

Thomas Toch & Bella DiMarco
The Big Picture

Research: Learning Recovery Has Stalled, Despite Billions in Pandemic Aid

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

Chronic Absenteeism & Achievement Gap: Lowest NAEP Scorers Missed the Most Class

Liz Cohen
Author: Liz Cohen
commentary

NAEP Shows U.S. Is in a Learning Crisis. Charter Schools Have 3 Ways to Fix It

Karega Rausch
Author: Karega Rausch

Explore Our News Series

The 74 Interview

Future of High School

Brown v. Board

The 74 Interview

The 74 interviews the top thinkers, policymakers and leaders in American education

Future of High School

College, Career, Learning Recovery: How America's high schools are evolving for the next generation of teenagers.

Brown v. Board

An Enduring Legacy of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision

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commentary

New Dismal NAEP Scores Should Be a Wakeup Call for District School Board Members

Danielle M. Gonzales
Author: Danielle M. Gonzales
analysis

Time, Data, Flexible Materials: Making High-Quality Math Curriculum Work

Joel Rose & David Steiner
commentary

The New NAEP Scores Are Alarming. Hope Is Not a Strategy for Fixing Them

Robin Lake
Author: Robin Lake
Video Short

Learning Loss & Declining Test Scores For America

The 74
The Big Picture

New NAEP Scores Dash Hope of Post-COVID Learning Recovery

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

How Effective is Tutoring in The United States? 4 Essential Reads

Jusneel Mahal, The Conversation
Big Picture

Four Insights into U.S. Students’ Drop in Math & Science on International Test

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Opinion

This Is a Critical Moment for High-Impact Tutoring. Don’t Give up on It

Sara Kerr & Kathy Bendheim
commentary

Schools Need Tutoring Help from Their Communities — But Doing It Well Isn’t Easy

Jennifer Bronson
Author: Jennifer Bronson
education reform

Education Futures Council: America’s Schools Are Facing a ‘Public Emergency’

The 74
commentary

How Are English Learners Doing? The Answers Right Now Are Broad and Incomplete

Leslie Villegas
Author: Leslie Villegas
Analysis

Equity, Impact, Transparency: Rethinking Ed Vendor Contracts After ESSER

Patricia Burch
Author: Patricia Burch
The Big Picture

Tutoring Reality Check: Exclusive Research Shows Gains Shrink as Programs Expand

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

ESSER Post-Mortem: How Did Districts Spend $190B in Federal Funds? Did It Work?

Chad Aldeman
Author: Chad Aldeman
commentary

For the Sake of America’s School Children, Congress Must Keep AmeriCorps Going

Robert Balfanz & Kevin Huffman
commentary

4 Ways to Help Middle Schoolers Recover from COVID Learning Losses in Reading

Miah Daughtery
Author: Miah Daughtery
early learning

In the Rush to COVID Recovery, Did We Forget About Our Youngest Learners?

Lauren Camera
learning loss

Exclusive: Study Finds COVID Harmed Cognitive Skills of Students — and Teachers

Greg Toppo
Author: Greg Toppo
Opinion

America Risks Losing a Whole Generation of Kids. Today’s Schools Can’t Help Them

Robin Lake
Author: Robin Lake
learning loss

Testing Data Shows Middle Schoolers Are Further Behind in Science Than in 2021

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

A Lot Has Changed Over the Past 40 Years — But Not America’s School System. Why?

Margaret Raymond
Author: Margaret Raymond
Analysis

Study: State Report Cards Need Big Improvements in Tracking COVID Learning Loss

Morgan Polikoff
Author: Morgan Polikoff
opinion

Richmond Pilot Program Asks: What Happens If a School Year Is 200 Days, Not 180?

Jason Kamras & Taikein Cooper
Curriculum

To Boost Reading Scores, Maryland School Takes Curriculum Out of Teachers’ Hands

Jeffrey A. Lawson
mathematics

Building a Generation of ‘Math People’: Inside K-8 Program Boosting Confidence

Marianna McMurdock
Author: Marianna McMurdock
A Nation At Risk +40

Improving Schools: Focus on What’s Best for Kids, Not Most Convenient for Adults

Michael T. Hartney
Author: Michael T. Hartney
Maryland

Experience Shows High-Dosage Tutoring Provides Lasting Impact for Student Success

Sara Krauss, Maryland Matters
learning loss

The Pandemic Set Young Kids Back. Their Struggle to Recover is Especially Acute

Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat
Analysis

To Maximize the Impact of Curriculum Mandates, Follow the Science of Reading

Gary Willow
learning loss

Students Headed to High School Are Academically a Year Behind, COVID Study Finds

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Indiana

Indiana’s New ILEARN Test Scores Show Student Progress Remained Stagnant in 2024

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
learning loss

Unlikely Ed Allies Join Forces to Cut Chronic Absenteeism in Half

Amanda Geduld
Author: Amanda Geduld
Indianapolis

Growing ‘What Works’: Indianapolis Summer Learning Goes Statewide

Patrick O’Donnell
Author: Patrick O’Donnell
achievement gap

NYC Bets New, Uniform High School Math Curriculum Will Boost Student Test Scores

Jo Napolitano
Author: Jo Napolitano
The Big Picture

Studies: Pandemic Aid Lifted Scores, But Not Enough To Make Up for Lost Learning

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
childhood poverty

‘Astonishing’ Absenteeism, Trauma Rates Root of Academic Crisis

Marianna McMurdock
Author: Marianna McMurdock
learning loss

‘Summer Boost’ Shows Promise in Halting COVID Slide

Greg Toppo
Author: Greg Toppo
Analysis

Schools Can Close Summer Learning Gaps with These 4 Strategies

Rhea Almeida, The Conversation
Hope Rises in Pine Bluff

Learning Amid Chaos in the Arkansas Delta: What the School Research Shows Us

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
analysis

Gaps Widening Between Indiana’s Highest- and Lowest-Performing Students

Chad Aldeman
Author: Chad Aldeman
Analysis

Study: Lengthy School Closures Were Especially Hard on High-Achieving Students

Brandon L. Wright
Author: Brandon L. Wright
tutoring

After Literacy Wins, Oakland REACH’s Parent ‘Liberators’ Take on Math Tutoring

Jo Napolitano
Author: Jo Napolitano
analysis

Schools' New Normal Post-COVID Must Emphasize Attendance, Tutoring, Summer Class

Lindsay Dworkin
Author: Lindsay Dworkin
STEM superstars

Inspiring: 4 Teen ‘STEM Superstars’ Build Inventions to Address Cancer, Suicide

The 74
Opinion

Americans Have Yet to Accept COVID’s Tragedy — And Are Taking It Out On Schools

Conor P. Williams
Author: Conor P. Williams
California

These Fed-Up Parents Fought California’s Pandemic Schooling and Won. Now What?

Carolyn Jones
learning loss

Lost Learning = Lost Earning, an Equation that Could Cost the U.S. $31 Trillion

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

Interactive: See How Student Achievement Gaps Are Growing in Your State

Chad Aldeman
Author: Chad Aldeman
Opinion

4 Barriers to Student Success that Educators Need to Be Talking About

Bridget Hamre
Author: Bridget Hamre
Analysis

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Redesign the New American High School

Robin Lake
Author: Robin Lake
commentary

Academic Recovery’s a Long-Term Challenge. Tutoring Must Be Part of the Solution

Kevin Huffman
Author: Kevin Huffman
Analysis

Helping Teens Succeed: We Must Blur the Lines Between HS, College & Careers

Jared Polis
Author: Jared Polis
Analysis

6 Ways Schools Can Better Engage Parents Worried About COVID Learning Loss

Keri Rodrigues
Author: Keri Rodrigues
parent engagement

When Getting Good Grades and Working at Grade Level Are Not the Same Thing

Lauren Wagner
Author: Lauren Wagner
tutoring

One-on-One Tutoring Program Bets Big on Teaching Kindergartners to Read

Julian Roberts-Grmela
learning loss

Rose-Colored Recovery: Study Says Parents Don’t Grasp Scope of Learning Loss

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
A Way Forward for Schools After COVID

Closing Education’s ‘Honesty Gap’: Greater Transparency for Parents After COVID

Aimee Guidera
Author: Aimee Guidera
commentary

Learning Loss, AI and the Future of Education: Our 24 Most-Read Essays of 2023

Bev Weintraub
Author: Bev Weintraub
Analysis

America Must Recommit to a Learning Recovery Moonshot With High-Dosage Tutoring

Nakia Towns
Author: Nakia Towns
The Big Picture

American Math Scores Fall on International Test — But Many Other Countries Suffered More

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

10 Teens Talk Mental Health, AI & What It’s Like to Be a Student in 2023

Cara Pangelinan
Author: Cara Pangelinan
The 74 Interview

As Students Struggle With Math, One Indiana High Schooler Refinds Her Footing

Jo Napolitano
Author: Jo Napolitano
Opinion

Team Teaching Is the Best Use of ESSER Funds to Boost Student Learning after COVID

Emily Ayscue Hassel & Bryan C. Hassel
Ohio

A Tale of Extremes: More High & Low Scores in Ohio’s K-Shaped Learning Recovery

Patrick O’Donnell
Author: Patrick O’Donnell
St. Paul

Public Invited to Help Decide What Stays and Goes in St. Paul School Budget

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins
Rhode Island

Test Scores Show Rhode Island Students Still Recovering to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Janine Weisman
Maryland

Latest Maryland Test Results Show Wide Achievement Disparities

William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
The 74 Interview

74 Interview: Stanford Economist Eric Hanushek on COVID’s Trillion-Dollar Impact on Students

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
absenteeism

Attendance Gap: New Data from Minnesota Reveals Chasm in Chronic Absenteeism

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins
Analysis

How States Can Make Summer Learning Programs Meaningful and Open to All Students

Allison Crean Davis
Author: Allison Crean Davis
tutoring

Grant-Winning Nonprofit Sees Volunteer Tutors as Key to Closing Math Learning Gap

Sierra Lyons
Author: Sierra Lyons
COVID Policy Briefing

Many Parents Don’t Know How Kids Are Doing in School: 9 Insights into Pandemic Recovery & Aftermath

John Bailey
Author: John Bailey
Opinion

Who Makes a Good Tutor? You Don’t Need a College Degree to Be Great

Amanda Neitzel & Jen Krajewski
COVID Policy Briefing

How Schools Can Recover Fully: 10 Insights into Pandemic Aftermath in U.S. Education

John Bailey
Author: John Bailey
Analysis

New Study: Kids Who Scored Worst on NAEP Missed the Most School Before the Test

Phyllis W. Jordan
Author: Phyllis W. Jordan
COVID Policy Briefing

Slow Literacy Gains, Long COVID in Kids: 7 Insights into Pandemic Recovery and Aftermath in U.S. Schools

John Bailey
Author: John Bailey
Analysis

Pandemic Emergency May Be Officially Over, but Education’s Long COVID Continues

Lindsay Dworkin
Author: Lindsay Dworkin
learning loss

A Hearing on Learning Loss and a Preview of the Election Battle to Come

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
New Hampshire

COVID Learning Recovery: New Hampshire Kids Now Learning Faster Than in 2019

Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin
pandemic

Crisis in Teaching Quality May Explain Stagnant Learning Recovery, Report Finds

Marianna McMurdock
Author: Marianna McMurdock
Analysis

Experts: COVID Hurt Kids’ Math Learning More Than Reading and Writing

Scott A. Imberman & Katharine O. Strunk
Opinion

America’s Education System Is a Mess, and It’s Students Who Are Paying the Price

David Steiner
Author: David Steiner
Indiana

New Indiana ILEARN Scores Show Improvement, but Still No Pre-Pandemic Bounce-Back

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Opinion

Schools Must Know If Their Learning-Loss Programs Work — Before ESSER Funds End

Anu Malipatil
Author: Anu Malipatil
Following the COVID Money

This Rural Illinois District Curbed Learning Loss With Help From a Burmese Church

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
learning loss

New Research Underscores Widespread, Pandemic-Fueled Learning Loss in Indiana

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle
blog post

Tutoring Groups in 20 States Receive Grants to Expand & Help More Kids Catch Up

The 74
Analysis

The Terrible Truth: Current Solutions to COVID Learning Loss Are Doomed to Fail

Margaret Raymond
Author: Margaret Raymond
The 74 Interview

Exclusive 74 Interview: Bill Gates Calls U.S. Education a ‘Challenged Space’

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

How Are DC Schools Regaining Progress for Students? New Dashboard Has Some Clues

Bisi Oyedele
Author: Bisi Oyedele
Analysis

How Should Schools Spend ESSER Summer School Funds? RI Case Study Has Some Clues

Sara Kerr & Nate Schwartz
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