This week, an educational analysis institution reported that only one-third of K-12 schools in the United States have successfully regained pre-pandemic levels in math or reading. Additionally, schools in rural areas have the highest recovery rate nationwide.
This result comes from the latest study released by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) on February 24. The organization analyzed the scores of over 9,326 schools and more than 5 million students across the country. After comparing the scores between 2019 and 2024, it was found that only one-seventh of schools have achieved pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading.
NWEA pointed out that schools in disadvantaged and impoverished communities have shown the greatest improvement in scores over the past five years, but overall performance still lags behind the pre-pandemic levels. The report also indicates that compared to urban and suburban schools, schools in rural areas have the highest rate of academic recovery in the nation.
Emily Morton, the Chief Research Scientist at NWEA, stated in a press release, “Our research shows that there is not just one path to recovery.” She explained, “Some schools successfully avoided score decline from the start and smoothly recovered, while others made significant progress and bounced back strongly. These ‘turnaround schools’ offer important insights and investment strategies to help students catch up on their learning progress and continue to improve.”
Although NWEA did not disclose specific school district performance in the report or list successful practices from certain districts, the organization strongly urges schools that have made significant improvements in math and reading scores to proactively share their experiences of “learning recovery” so that more classrooms can get back on track.
At the same time, NWEA also appeals to education authorities to identify the schools that are lagging furthest behind in progress and allocate more resources to help them catch up.
In fact, the latest “Report Card” of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released last year also highlighted concerns about many American high school students not meeting grade-level standards in math or reading but still being able to obtain a diploma. The report further indicated that up to 69% of eighth-grade students did not meet proficiency standards in science.
This federal agency under the U.S. Department of Education also noted that 69% of fourth graders and 70% of eighth graders nationwide did not meet reading standards, while 61% of fourth graders and 72% of eighth graders did not meet math standards.
By March 20th this year, approximately 600,000 students across the United States will take standardized tests, including math and reading assessments for fourth and eighth graders, as well as a U.S. history and civics exam for eighth graders. Before the next federal “Report Card” is released, school districts have several months to exchange successful or unsuccessful experiences.
NAEP officials announced in January that starting this year, students can use school-provided tablets or computers for testing, eliminating the need for NAEP-provided devices, and the test content will be more aligned with current math and reading curriculum focus areas.
It is worth noting that this year’s reading assessment will also include the evaluation of understanding science and social studies texts for the first time, not just literary works. The results of the 2026 math and reading assessments are expected to be released in early 2027, while the scores for U.S. history and civics subjects are projected to be available in the summer of 2027.