Because of postponed assessments, some schools are only now recognizing the full scope of the learning loss but they have time to adjust acceleration efforts.

Increasing the capacity of its school leaders, expanding academic programming and nurturing positive school climates have been driving forces behind the improvements in three districts.

"It's bad," is how an assistant high school principal in Tennessee characterizes the level of teacher turnover the nation is grappling with after more than two years of COVID.

Tuesday's report comes from six K-12 audits conducted since 2016 and identifies five key risks that could undermine promising new efforts to boost student success.