Nearly six years after classrooms went dark due to COVID-19, a new national analysis shows academic recovery is still uneven across the country.
Fresh data from NWEA, a nonprofit education research organization, found that just one in three schools has rebounded in either reading or math since pandemic disruptions first sent students home. Even more striking, only about 14 percent of schools have returned to pre-pandemic performance levels in both subjects.
Researchers defined full recovery as schools earning the same or higher test scores in fall 2024 compared to fall 2019.
Schools serving historically marginalized students are more likely to remain behind pre-pandemic benchmarks. However, many of those same campuses have posted some of the strongest improvement gains since 2020. Meanwhile, schools that fully recovered often experienced smaller academic drops when closures first began.
“Our findings show there was not a single path to recovery,” said Emily Morton, lead research scientist at NWEA. “While some schools recovered by avoiding initial declines, others rebounded with remarkable growth. These ‘Rebounder’ schools offer critical lessons about the practices and investments that can help students regain lost ground and continue moving forward.”
The research also found that schools with majority white or Asian student populations are more likely to report full recovery, followed by majority Black or Hispanic schools. Rural districts show higher recovery rates than suburban and urban schools.
NWEA said the results highlight the need for state and local leaders to set clear academic benchmarks and invest in strategies that strengthen schools ahead of future disruptions.
