What did we get for $190 billion in school aid? Very little

Ninety-four percent of elementary and middle schoolers live in districts that haven't returned to pre-pandemic reading and math levels, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard, a project led by top education researchers. "The average pupil is still half a year behind in each core subject compared with children in 2019," reports Kevin Mahnken on The 74.

"Given all the money that's been spent," -- $190 billion in pandemic aid from 2021 to 2024 -- you'd expect "some bounce-back in reading, says Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor of economics and education. “But no, actually. Students continued to lose ground, especially at the bottom end.” 

The continued learning slide is like a tsunami after an earthquake, says Kane.

The federal aid helped a little, analysts say. But not much.

In affluent Boston suburbs, such as Lexington and Newton, achievement scores have rebounded, says Kane. In working-class cities, such as Everett and Revere, the average student is more than a year behind the pre-pandemic average. "In Lynn, one of the most troubled school districts in the state, elementary and middle schoolers are two years behind in math and over 1.5 years behind in reading," Mahnken writes.

It's "very grim," says Joshua Goodman, an economist at Boston University. He worries that education leaders will consider the widening achievement gaps the “new normal.”

States are "hiding from the truth," charges Tim Daly, co-founder of Ed Navigator. "Some districts and states have no plan to reverse the sad patterns because they barely acknowledge the patterns exist."

One of the "hard lessons," he writes, is that "the case for investing more in schools is very weak right now because it’s not clear that new resources will yield better results."

Birmingham, Alabama schools used federal Covid aid to add learning time for students.

There are some high-poverty districts that made the scorecard's list success stories, ranging from the District of Columbia Public Schools to districts in New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and California.

Tutoring has made a difference in Compton, California, a mostly Hispanic district near Los Angeles, report Annie Ma and Jocelyn Gecker on Chalkbeat. The district hired more than "250 tutors that specialize in math, reading and students learning English," they write. "Schools offer tutoring before, during and after school," on Saturdays and in the summer.

The District of Columbia invested aid in tutoring, and in "identifying and targeting support at students in greatest need." Tutoring helped improve learning and cut the absentee rate.

Training and supporting teachers was a priority in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Master teachers helped teachers in every school, and teachers were trained in the "science of reading" to enable them to use a new "high-quality curriculum" effectively. A new data system monitored students progress.

Birmingham, Alabama schools added intersessions to provide more learning time for students. Students got "direct and explicit whole group and small group instruction" provided by teachers, enrichment programs and high-dosage tutoring.