The latest Education Recovery Scorecard was released on May 13, 2026, by the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Stanford Educational Opportunity Project, and Dartmouth College. The report analyzes assessment data from roughly 35 million students in grades 3–8 to track changes in math and reading achievement from 2019 through 2025 at the state and district levels.
One of the report’s central findings is that the nation is experiencing a “learning recession,” particularly in reading, that began before COVID-19 and worsened during the pandemic. Here are three key takeaways from the report:
- WE HAVE A NATIONAL READING CRISIS: Across the country, students remain nearly half a grade level behind in reading compared with pre-pandemic levels, resulting in less than a third of U.S. students reading at grade level. Researchers describe the current moment as a “reading recession” that began around 2013 and accelerated during COVID-19.
- The decline has been especially severe among the nation’s lowest-performing students. A growing number of students is scoring at the bottom levels on reading assessments, and many are falling further behind rather than catching up. While average scores may appear relatively stable, the widening gap between struggling students and their peers signals a deeper problem: too many students are not developing strong foundational reading skills early enough, and systems are not identifying or addressing those gaps quickly enough.
- STRONG IMPLEMENTATION OF READING REFORMS IS CRITICAL: The Education Scorecard also shows that significant reading recovery can occur when states pair good policy with disciplined implementation. It highlights five states plus Washington, D.C., which demonstrated meaningful reading gains between 2022 and 2025. These states have focused not only on adopting reading policies grounded in the science of reading, but also on building the systems and supports to implement them effectively, including teacher preparation and training, high-quality instructional materials, and targeted interventions for struggling students.
- Forty-two states have enacted laws requiring evidence-based literacy instruction, making the challenge increasingly about building district and program capacity to implement reforms with fidelity. As states like Mississippi have shown, lasting improvement requires sustained attention to implementation, data, and continuous improvement over time.
- ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS: The Education Recovery Scorecard also underscores the importance of strong, student-centered accountability systems. The report notes that declines in student achievement began around 2013, as federal accountability requirements loosened and states gained greater flexibility under NCLB waivers and the transition to ESSA. Researchers connect this reduced focus on student outcomes to the beginning of the broader “learning recession,” particularly in reading.
- The report argues – and we agree – that states and districts need clear expectations, transparent public reporting, and strong systems for monitoring student progress to drive improvement and identify struggling students early. Effective accountability systems help ensure that policies lead to better outcomes for students, especially those most at risk of falling behind.
