Explore

Learning Loss Learning Loss

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

Spotlight

Pandemic
“Innovation & recovery”
Pandemic

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

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins

More Stories

Untangle Your Mind!

Sign up for our free newsletter and start your day with clear-headed reporting on the latest topics in education.
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

Explore Our News Series

The 74 Interview

Future of High School

Following the COVID Money

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.

Following the COVID Money

An ongoing investigative series on how school districts are spending $190 billion in federal pandemic relief money.

View All
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
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
COVID Slide

COVID Learning Loss: Missouri Scores Show Dramatic Drop in Student Performance

Joshua Parrish
Union Report

Here We Go Again: L.A. Adds Instructional Days to Fight Learning Loss, Union Balks

Mike Antonucci
commentary

Students in 4-Day-a-Week Schools Can Suffer COVID-Level Learning Losses

Christopher Doss, Andrea Phillips & Rebecca Kilburn
New York

Hochul’s Proposal for Small-Group Tutoring Blocked by NY State Legislature

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
COVID Slide

Less Classroom Time For Students? New Washington Bill Would Trim 4 Hours a Week

Joshua Parrish
Union Report

As Schools Close for 3-Day Walkout, Could L.A. Strike Accelerate Learning Loss?

Mike Antonucci
learning loss

In Rare Move, New Mexico Adds Weeks’ Worth of Extra K-12 Class Time

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Virginia

Gov. Youngkin Announces New Slate of Efforts to Address Learning Loss in Virginia

Nathaniel Klein, Virginia Mercury
COVID Slide

Iowa Schools Cutting Budgets, Bracing for 2024 Financial Pain as COVID Aid Ends

Joshua Parrish
The 74 Interview

Q&A: Education Expert on Tutoring, Learning Recovery & Schools’ Staffing Woes

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
Analysis

Done Right, Tutoring Can Greatly Boost Student Learning. How Do We Get There?

Kevin Huffman
Author: Kevin Huffman
commentary

Principal’s View: How Alabama Is Leading the Way in Solving the Math Crisis

Dilhani Uswatte
Author: Dilhani Uswatte
Pandemic

Exclusive: Despite K-2 Reading Gains, Results Flat for 3rd Grade ‘COVID Kids’

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
COVID Slide

COVID’s Missing Kids: How Connecticut Is Successfully Reengaging Absent Students

Joshua Parrish
The Big Picture

NCES: 49% of Students Started Year Below Grade Level, Usually in Math, Reading

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Analysis

Indy Summer Program Proves Acceleration, Not Remediation, Is Key for Students

Brandon Brown
Author: Brandon Brown
New Jersey

New Jersey Lawmaker Wants to Create a State ‘Learning Loss Czar’

Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor
The Big Picture

Global Learning Loss: Top 4 Takeaways from Latest International COVID Research

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
learning loss

Relationships, Recognition, Shared Vision: Principals Can Ease Teacher Stress

Alyssa Gallagher & Tara O’Brien
National School Choice Week

Scores Show ‘Personalized Learning’ Schools in CA Kept Kids on Track Amid COVID

Paul Keefer
Author: Paul Keefer
learning loss

Cardona’s Tutoring Charge, 1 Year Later: Some Progress, but Obstacles Remain

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
The Big Picture

Irked by Skyrocketing Costs, Fewer Americans See K-12 as Route to Higher Ed

Greg Toppo
Author: Greg Toppo
Opinion

‘DARPA for Education’ Is a Good Start. Now, Congress Must Do More

Dan Correa
Author: Dan Correa
tutoring

A New Playbook to Recruit Tutors: Tap Teachers in Training

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
Analysis

3 Ways for Schools to Make Sure They Get What They Pay for in Learning Recovery

Amanda Neitzel & Jen Krajewski
learning loss

99 Days After Hurricane, Hundreds of Florida Students Still Without Classrooms

Jo Napolitano
Author: Jo Napolitano
learning loss

Quarantines, Not School Closures, Led to Devastating Losses in Math and Reading

John Bailey
Author: John Bailey
school attendance

School Attendance Problems Are Complex, and Our Solutions Need to be as Well

Jess Whitley & Beth Saggers
Best of 2022

Big Ideas About America’s Schools: The Year's Most Memorable Education Essays

Bev Weintraub
Author: Bev Weintraub
Analysis

How 14 States Are Making Sure Teachers Have High-Quality Materials Students Need

Jocelyn Pickford
Author: Jocelyn Pickford
Big Picture

14 Charts This Year That Helped Explain COVID’s Impact on America’s Schools

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Analysis

Learning Loss Is Worse than NAEP Showed. Middle School Math Must Be the Priority

David Wakelyn
Author: David Wakelyn
learning loss

'Miles Ahead': St. Paul Tracks Recovery Spending, Adjusts Programs on the Fly

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins
learning loss

Is Your CA District Ready to Fix Learning Loss? New Database Has Some Answers

Arun K. Ramanathan
Author: Arun K. Ramanathan
The Big Picture

Schools Face ‘Urgency Gap’ on Pandemic Recovery: 5 Takeaways from New Study

Greg Toppo
Author: Greg Toppo
Pandemic

Why Schools’ Going Back to ‘Normal’ Won’t Work for Students of Color

Adriana Villavicencio, University of California, Irvine
learning loss

LAUSD’s Test Scores Reveal Large Drops For Latino & Female Students

Joshua Bay
Author: Joshua Bay
Opinion

$10 Million For 31 Groups Working to Make Tutoring More Available & Affordable

Kevin Huffman
Author: Kevin Huffman
A Nation Divided

How Educational Inequities Are Further Tearing Apart the Country

Conor P. Williams & Shantel Meek
districts

Experts: Dismal NAEP Scores Offer Districts Chance to ‘Pivot’ on Relief Funds

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Analysis

3 Misconceptions About Pandemic-Related Learning Loss

Sarah Cashdollar, Mariana Barragan Torres & Meg Bates
learning loss

‘The Bottom Has Dropped Out’: Study Confirms Fears of Growing Learning Gaps

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins
Analysis

To Improve the Nation’s Schools, First Close the Honesty Gap

Rianna Saslow
Author: Rianna Saslow
NAEP

Can Districts Rise to the Challenge of New NAEP Results? Outlook’s Not So Good

Robin Lake & Paul Hill
COVID Policy Briefing

COVID Brief: COVID’s ‘Sweeping Toll on Kids’ by the Numbers

John Bailey
Author: John Bailey
Pandemic

Data: Rural Schools Fared Better in Math, Worse in Reading Than Urban Districts

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
tutoring

Free SAT Boot Camp & Tutoring Platform Is Getting Noticed by States, Colleges

Tim Newcomb
Author: Tim Newcomb
NAEP

Study: Damage from NAEP Math Losses Could Total Nearly $1 Trillion

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
education recovery scorecard

New Learning Loss Scorecard Shows Parents How Pandemic Impacted Their Schools

The 74
Pandemic

Learning Acceleration and Assessment Strategies in 100 Large Urban Districts

Cara Pangelinan
Author: Cara Pangelinan
NAEP

Strong Link in Big City Districts’ 4th-Grade Math Scores to School Closures

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
4Fams

All Struggling Students Deserve Tutoring — Like My Daughter Gets from Her Dad

Alina Adams
Author: Alina Adams
NAEP

Nation’s Declining Report Card Mirrors Drops in State Standardized Test Scores

Bella DiMarco
Author: Bella DiMarco
NAEP

Parents Are Owed the Truth About Learning Loss. NAEP Proves It

Andrew J. Rotherham
Author: Andrew J. Rotherham
literacy

Exclusive Literacy Data: Small Gains Since Last Fall, But No Reading Rebound

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
COVID Slide

Can Afterschool Programs Help Students With Learning Recovery, Mental Health?

Joshua Parrish
EDlection 2022

More Parents Motivated to Vote in Midterms, Poll Finds

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Indiana

New Indiana Tutoring Program Empowers Parents, Encourages School Collaboration

Wayne D’Orio
Pandemic

ACT Scores Fall to Lowest Level In 30 Years

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
Pandemic

$700B: That’s How Much It Will Cost to Fix Pandemic Learning Loss, Study Says

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Georgia

Education Spending, Funds for Learning Recovery in Election-Year Spotlight

Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder
ELA

4 Big Takeaways on the Pandemic’s Mixed Effects on NYC Students’ Test Scores

Mark Keierleber
Author: Mark Keierleber
learning loss

High-Quality Classwork + Tutoring: Proven Recipe for Closing the Learning Gap

Amanda Neitzel
Author: Amanda Neitzel
Pandemic

EXCLUSIVE: CRPE Situation Report — State of the American Student, September 2022

Robin Lake & Travis Pillow
California School Boards Association

Facing Pandemic Learning Crisis, Districts Spend Relief Funds at a Snail’s Pace

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
learning loss

Experts Say Kids Are Far Behind After COVID; Parents Shrug. Why the Disconnect?

Morgan Polikoff & David M. Houston
learning loss

A New Initiative to Tackle Education’s Big Problems

Andrew J. Rotherham
Author: Andrew J. Rotherham
Academic Recovery

‘Too Good to Be True’: NH Gives Students $1,000 for Tutoring — Yet Sign-Ups Lag

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
The 74 Interview

Q&A: Education Reporter Anya Kamenetz on COVID Failures & Students’ Stolen Year

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Academic Recovery

New Data: Was 2022’s Summer Learning ‘Explosion’ Enough To Reverse COVID Losses?

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
Summer Learning Sprint

Gifted Summer Programs Skew White & Wealthy. Not Baltimore’s — And It’s Free

Asher Lehrer-Small
Author: Asher Lehrer-Small
Pandemic

Kids Catch Up Best With Grade-Level Work — But Keep Getting Easier Assignments

Beth Hawkins
Author: Beth Hawkins
Indianapolis

Brown: Students Are Making Modest Learning Gains. That’s Not Good Enough

Brandon Brown
Author: Brandon Brown
The Big Picture

New Research: Summer Learning Boosts Math Performance, College Graduation

Kevin Mahnken
Author: Kevin Mahnken
Pandemic

New Data: Despite Progress, a Third of Students Finished Year Below Grade Level

Linda Jacobson
Author: Linda Jacobson
Load More