Student Test Scores Drop in Math Since Covid-19 Pandemic

Leslie Brody and Yoree Koh:

American children started school this fall significantly behind expectations in math, and modestly behind in some grades in reading, according to one of the first reports on widely used tests since the coronavirus pandemic shut schools in March.

It would take students in grades five and six at least 12 weeks on average to catch up to where they were expected to be in the fall in math, compared with pre-pandemic skills, the report found. Children in grades two and three would need four to seven weeks to catch up in math, while those in grades four, seven and eight would need eight to 11 weeks.

The report was released by Renaissance Learning Inc., an online testing program used by thousands of U.S. schools to assess students several times yearly and track their progress.