SACRAMENTO, United States, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Nearly five years after COVID-19 disrupted American education, student achievements remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels despite massive federal aid, according to a latest Harvard-Stanford study.

The study, released Monday, analyzed data from 8,719 school districts across 43 states, representing about 79 percent of all U.S. students in grades 3-8. Seven states, including Alaska, Colorado, Maine and New York, were excluded due to data limitations.

The Education Recovery Scorecard found that the average U.S. student is about half a grade level behind in math and reading compared to 2019 results.

The study also revealed stark disparities between affluent and poor districts. High-income districts were nearly four times more likely to have recovered to pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading compared to the poorest districts -- 14.1 percent versus 3.9 percent recovery rates.

In some struggling districts, the situation is particularly dire. Montgomery in the state of Alabama remains 40 percent of a grade level behind its own 2019 achievement levels despite Alabama being the only state showing improvement in fourth-grade math on national assessments.

Rising absenteeism has complicated recovery efforts. The national rate of students missing more than 10 percent of school days nearly doubled from 14 percent in 2019 to 26 percent in 2022, and it slightly improved to 23 percent in 2024, according to the report.

The U.S. Congress provided an unprecedented 190 billion dollars in federal pandemic relief for K-12 schools. However, while helpful, researchers found the aid was insufficient to fully address learning losses. Districts were only required to spend 20 percent on academic recovery programs.

Thomas Kane, faculty director at Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research, warned that "unless state and local leaders step up now, the achievement losses will be the longest lasting -- and most inequitable --legacy of the pandemic." Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)