Latest Renaissance Study Shows Student Learning Loss Slowing in Fall 2021

Renaissance, a global provider of preK–12 assessment, literacy, and math solutions, has released the 2022 edition of its How Kids Are Performing report, showing that COVID-19 learning losses continued in Fall 2021 but appears to be slowing down, according to a news release.

The latest How Kids Are Performing compares performance and growth data from the first half of the current school year with data from the same period the year before, in K–12 reading and 1–12 math, documenting “the extent to which the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect student achievement,” Renaissance said.

The report’s findings illustrate the pandemic’s “profoundly disruptive effect on education” that continues currently, with overall student performance in the second year of the pandemic coming in even lower than during the first year, Renaissance said.

But “there are encouraging signs in many grades” that student growth picked up in fall 2021 when compared to student growth rates during the fall 2020, the report stated.

The report includes student growth results by demographics and school groups as well as “concerning results” observed among first-graders’ development of foundational literacy skills.

The data used in the report relies on the same computer-adaptive Star Assessments for early literacy, reading, or math, from the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years, Renaissance said. The data included 4.4 million assessment results in early literacy or reading, from 19,046 schools, and 2.9 million math assessments from 12,754 schools, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Renaissance said.

The full How Kid Are Performing report is available at Renaissance.com/How-Kids-Are-Performing.

About the Author

Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].


Featured

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    Nonprofit LawZero to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • abstract pattern of cybersecurity, ai and cloud imagery

    Report Identifies Malicious Use of AI in Cloud-Based Cyber Threats

    A recent report from OpenAI identifies the misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, social engineering, and influence operations, particularly those targeting or operating through cloud infrastructure. In "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: June 2025," the company outlines how threat actors are weaponizing large language models for malicious ends — and how OpenAI is pushing back.

  • tutor and student working together at a laptop

    You've Paid for Tutoring. Here's How to Make Sure It Works.

    As districts and states nationwide invest in tutoring, it remains one of the best tools in our educational toolkit, yielding positive impacts on student learning at scale. But to maximize return on investment, both financially and academically, we must focus on improving implementation.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.