https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ERS-2025-National-PR_FINAL.pdf
- As of Spring 2024, the average U.S. student remained nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in math and reading. Students are even further behind in reading than they were in 2022.
- Although no state scored above 2019 levels on the NAEP assessment in both math and reading, a number of districts are scoring above 2019 levels in both subjects. 17 percent of students in grades 3 to 8 are in districts with mean math achievement above 2019, 11 percent are in districts that have recovered in reading, and 6 percent are in districts which have recovered in both subjects.
- District-level data reveal pockets of success and continued struggle in most states. For instance, the NAEP reported that only one state, Alabama, had average achievement above 2019 levels in 4 th grade math. Yet, even in Alabama, about one-third of students (38 percent) are enrolled in districts whose math achievement remains below 2019 levels. A number of districts in Alabama, such as Montgomery, remain 40 percent or more of a grade level behind their own achievement in 2019. Meanwhile, some high poverty districts such as Birmingham have nearly recovered in both math and reading.