Kids' test scores began declining way before COVID. These schools are making gains

"The pandemic-era backslide in math and reading scores for students across the U.S. was not a sudden catastrophe but the continuation of a brutal, decade-long "learning recession" that began years before COVID-19's arrival."

"For nearly a quarter-century, from 1990 to 2013, math achievement among fourth- and eighth-graders "rose steadily," according to the Scorecard's analysis. So steadily that "the average fourth grader in 2013 could perform the same math skills as the average sixth grader could in 1990. That's enormous progress," says Stanford University's Sean Reardon, one of the Scorecard's authors."

"Among the report's takeaways: Most states are finally making gains in math; federal relief dollars likely helped the lowest-income districts mount a hearty comeback; and, while most states have yet to make gains in reading, those that have all made legislative changes to how it's taught in their schools."

"one caveat: The annual Education Scorecard includes data from the vast majority of states and Washington D.C. drawn from their own state tests as opposed to the Nation's Report Card. But some states were excluded for various reasons, including if their state assessments had changed recently (Illinois, Kansas), if test opt-out rates were too high (New York, Colorado) or if a state didn't publish district-level data with enough detail."

Math and reading performance declines during the pandemic reflect a longer “learning recession” that began before COVID-19. Data from state tests across most states and Washington, D.C. show that math achievement rose steadily from 1990 to 2013, with later declines reversing that progress. Federal relief funding likely supported the lowest-income districts in recovering. Most states are now making gains in math, while most states have not yet made gains in reading. States that have made legislative changes to how reading is taught have been the ones showing reading improvements. Some states were excluded due to assessment changes, high opt-out rates, or insufficient district-level reporting detail.

Read at www.npr.org