Learning loss

Nation’s Report Card: Latest results are showing troubling gaps

Higher-achievers have recovered in math and reading but lower-performers classmates are lagging, Nation's Report Card shows.

Reasons high school graduation rates are where they are

The majority of states had lower graduation rates in 2022 than they did before the pandemic. Here's why.

State of the American student: Here are 2 perspectives

There is some good news but more not-so-good news in a pair of wide-ranging reports on how students across the U.S. are faring academically and civically this fall.

Making the most of tutoring: 4 strategies for success

Some early proponents of tutoring as a post-pandemic silver bullet have recently tempered their expectations, in part because of implementation challenges at a large scale.

State of the American student: Here are 2 big perspectives

There is some good news but more not-so-good news in a pair of wide-ranging reports on how students across the U.S. are faring academically and civically this fall.

5 reasons your tutoring program may fail this school year

At schools that provided tutoring sessions multiple times a week with the same tutor over the course of several months, students saw their academic achievements skyrocket.

Learning loss: How big are the achievement gaps heading into 2024-25?

Test scores from approximately 7.7 million students in grades 3 through 8 show "academic recovery remains elusive" based on pre-pandemic trends, according to the latest analysis of the 2023-24 school year by the assessment firm, NWEA.

High-impact tutoring: 3 ways novices can improve their skills

Building positive relationships, choosing appropriate tasks and using strategic questioning are the top three high-leverage strategies tutor should deploy.

Reversing pandemic slides: How does your state compare?

Learn where your state ranks in areas like math and reading proficiency, as well as five recommendations to get students get back on track.

Your paraprofessionals can offer high-quality—and fun—tutoring

Denver Public Schools launched Acceleration Academies that pair students who are significantly below grade level with paraprofessionals who are receiving coaching and professional development.

We know tutoring works. Here’s how to make it work better

Most K12 leaders would agree that high-dosage tutoring is now a key part of instruction. Most would also note difficulties with finding adequate space and funding, hiring high-quality tutors and encouraging students to attend. 

Accelerating Literacy: Using Digital Tools to Elevate Student Choice and Voice

Date & Time: Tuesday, May 7th at 2 pm ET

In this 20-minute DA Ed Talk, the District Instructional Librarian for St. Vrain Valley Schools will share some actionable strategies for incorporating digital books and audiobooks into curriculum, elevating student choice, agency and voice, and quickly accelerating literacy across a school or district.  

‘Talking out of School’ podcast: Addressing a complexity of needs

Transforming K12 into a more fully student-centered system is the wicked problem facing public schools, says Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

School boards are now spending more time on these 5 topics

Is your school board focused on the same topics that are of growing concern at their counterparts' meetings in other districts and states?

The pandemic’s impact still worries K12 parents. Here’s why

"The way school went with COVID got my twins so far behind," one parent said in a new report. Which interventions can help reverse its effects?

4 ways to close learning gaps before the ESSER deadline

School districts such as Alabama's Birmingham City Schools are taking innovative steps to ensure a sustained academic rebound, a new report finds. Here's how.

U.S. math scores take a hit in global assessment. But there’s good news

Some countries suffered the equivalent of one year of learning loss in math in 2022, a new global report suggests. How did our students fare?

“We are failing older students.” Are high schoolers running out of time?

The 2023 “State of the American Student" contains reports from district and other experts on new approaches that "center instruction and support on what students need most."

This superintendent wonders when educators stopped being viewed as heroes

How the public went so quickly from calling educators the heroes of the pandemic to "villains" and "groomers" bothers Papillion La Vista Community Schools Superintendent Andrew Rikli.

Are English learners catching up with the big lift offered by ESSER?

How districts in five states are using relief funds to expand tutoring, family outreach and develop more multilingual teachers.

Classroom quality: Why teaching recovery is key to getting students back on track

A "crisis in the quality of classroom teaching" is the biggest barrier to providing students with the support they need to overcome unfinished learning, according to a poll of district leaders that was conducted by the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Recovery on hold? How academic growth sputtered in 2022-23

The road to recovery remains rocky as the academic growth that most students made in the 2022-23 school year failed to match pre-pandemic norms, according to data on grades 3-8 released Tuesday.

Math scores for this one group of students show historic, long-term decline

There are no "green shoots’" of academic recovery emerging, with the Nation's Report Card showing the largest-ever drop in math scores by 13-year-old students and decreases in reading.

Can year-round schooling help reverse pandemic-related learning loss?

Several large districts are planning modifications to their school calendars in the coming years as students continue to struggle academically one year post-Covid.

By the numbers: The pandemic and its ‘complicated’ toll on K12 education

Among the rather dim conclusions drawn from the report are the pandemic's widespread impact on teacher shortages in 2020-21 along with districts' difficulties in hiring mental health support staff.

Most students would rather ask ChatGPT for help than a tutor. Here’s why

ChatGPT is quickly intervening as a personal homework assistant for students with 9 in 10 saying they prefer to study with AI than with a tutor, according to a new survey.

Are 4-day school weeks worth attracting teachers if learning suffers?

The 4-day school week, seen as a powerful recruitment tool, could cause as much learning loss as the pandemic but over a protracted period of time, according to a new Rand Corporation analysis.

8th-graders are failing to grasp how democracy works, report card shows

First-ever decline in civics scores raises alarms about students' ability become "full participants in American democracy,” say Nation's Report Card officials.

4 solutions for driving digital transformation in your school

Students pay the greatest price when schools rely on outdated methods of teaching and learning. Elevating your district's use of digital technologies will ultimately give teachers and students the tools they need to close historical gaps.

5 questions to assess the effectiveness of your student tutoring model

Not all student tutoring delivers the same impact. To close achievement gaps and optimize effectiveness, K12 leaders should ensure their students have access to high-impact tutoring.

ESSER pressure: How one district intends to spend wisely as deadline looms

"The ESSER money is a lot, but it’s not as much as everybody thinks," says Bernard McCune, Denver Public School's associate chief of academics. "Everyone thinks that schools are just flush with money and they throw everything at schools without intentionality. What we’ve done is use ESSER as an opportunity to innovate."

What superintendents need to know about 3 after-school program challenges

Almost all after-school programs have reopened, but staffing shortages and related issues mean one in four are still not operating at the capacity they were prior to COVID.

Post-pandemic positivity: Student self-reliance and teacher appreciation are up

The negative impacts of the pandemic on education are numerous and exhausting but here's a surprise for superintendents and their teams: teacher appreciation did not suffer.

Half of all students started this school year one grade level behind

Most notably, nearly every school that reported having students that were behind academically cited English (99%) or math (99%) as the most common subjects students are struggling in.

ESSER III funds: Here’s how districts are spending them

Learning loss and staff recruitment and retention continue to be the two most expensive categories according to Burbio, which collected data from 6,000 school districts on how they plan to allocate their ESSER III funds.