NWEA Survey Tracks Progress of COVID Academic Recovery

• By Matt Jones
• 07/23/24

NWEA recently released the latest in a series of research reports studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning and academic recovery, according to a news release. The report incorporates data from the 2023–24 school year, and the results indicate that learning loss, unfinished learning, and low achievement gains — especially among middle schoolers — continue to plague students. It analyzed test scores from about 7.7 million U.S. students between grades 3–8 in more than 22,000 public schools who took the MAP Growth assessment test during the 2023–24 school year.

The students' scores were compared to a group of 10 million students in grades 3–8 who took the same test between 2016–19. The results illustrated continued achievement gaps in nearly all grades, especially among older students, the news release reports. The gap between the pre-COVID and COVID test score averages widened during the most recent school year in almost all grades, with an average 36-percent-differene in reading and 18 percent in math. An average student would require the equivalent of an extra 4.8 months of school to catch up in reading and 4.4 months to catch up in math.

"Achievement disparities that predate the pandemic have been starkly exacerbated over the last four years, and marginalized students are still the furthest from recovery," said Dr. Karyn Lewis, director of research and policy partnerships at NWEA. "Pandemic fatigue is real, but accepting a new normal of lower achievement and widened inequities is not an option. We must remain committed to using data-driven strategies, providing our schools with the right scale of support, and integrating sustained recovery efforts into our educational framework so we can make lasting change."

Current middle schoolers who were in elementary school during the pandemic show the widest achievement gap compared to their pre-pandemic peers. The group would need an estimated 6–9 extra months of school to catch up, the report estimates.

"As millions of students continue to fall behind academically, schools across the country are grappling with an impending ESSER financial cliff as federal COVID relief funds run out this September," said Lindsay Dworkin, NWEA's senior vice president of policy & government affairs. "Even as resources dwindle, districts must try to continue investing in evidence-based strategies that have been proven to improve student outcomes: keeping kids in school, providing high-dosage tutoring, and offering expanded instructional time over the summer or after school. State and federal policymakers also need to recognize the continued urgency and step up with more funding. We must collectively rise to the challenge of supporting this generation of students to reach their full potential."