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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

More Stories

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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

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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learning loss

Unlikely Ed Allies Join Forces to Cut Chronic Absenteeism in Half

Amanda Geduld
Author: Amanda Geduld
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
Indianapolis

Growing ‘What Works’: Indianapolis Summer Learning Goes Statewide

Patrick O’Donnell
Author: Patrick O’Donnell
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
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
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
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