Research brief
Education’s long COVID: 2022–23 achievement data reveal stalled progress toward pandemic recovery
July 2023
Description
This new research brief continues the ongoing research by NWEA examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement and progress toward academic recovery.
Using data from 6.7 million U.S. public school students currently in grades 3 – 8, the study examined academic gains in the 2022-23 school year relative to pre-pandemic years. It also tracked the gap in achievement between the COVID year student group compared to their pre-pandemic peers.
Key findings show that while learning did continue, progress toward academic recovery stalled in the 2022-23 school year. Significant achievement gaps persist at the end of the 2022-23 school year, and the average student will need the equivalent of 4.1 additional months of schooling to catch up in reading and 4.5 months in math.
See MoreTopics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity
Associated Research
Related Topics
NWEA research report examining the impacts of the pandemic’s disruptions to learning and the status of academic recovery. This report features data from the 2023-24 academic year and underscores that unfinished learning continues to be a challenge due to lower achievement gains compared to pre-pandemic trends. This report is part of series tracking the on-going impacts.
Products: MAP Growth
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Growth
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Products: MAP Growth
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