Louisiana students are recovering successfully from the COVID-19 pandemic, which ultimately resulted in significant learning loss in America’s education system. According to the Education Recovery Scorecard, Louisiana students, since 2019, have led the country in growth in reading and rank 2nd in math. As Andrew Greenstein with the Louisiana Radio Network reports, Louisiana Education Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley says it’s a testament to the hard work that teachers are putting in. But Brumley says the job is not done. “Never has our state ranked higher nationally in a state that has been long challenged educationally. And so, we are certainly pleased, but not satisfied, understanding that we have more work to do.” The Recovery Scorecard is a prominent national study by both Harvard and Stanford, which issues its annual report on district-level student growth in math and reading.
But the study also documents a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (defined as students missing more than 10% of a school year) in Louisiana, from 18% of students in 2019 to 25% in 2024. Researchers conclude the rise in chronic absenteeism “significantly slowing recovery efforts in some districts.” One of the project leaders, economist Tom Kane at Harvard, recommends, “Lowering absenteeism generates tremendous bang-for-the-buck. Regular attendance benefits the student as well as her classmates,” as Kane adds, “And taxpayers are paying for the seat whether it’s occupied or not.” Kane concludes, “If the pandemic was the earthquake, the subsequent rise in absenteeism has been a tsunami that is continuing to disrupt learning.
Texas Rankings:
The Education Recovery Scorecard for Texas ranks the state 31st in math recovery and 8th in Reading between 2019 and 2024. The assessment reveals that the average student achievement in Texas remains over half a grade level below 2019 levels in math and almost one third of a grade level below in reading. Texas has also experienced a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism from 11% of students in 2019 before the pandemic to 26% in 2022 (down to 21% in 2023). Researchers note that this increase in absenteeism, “is slowing recovery in many districts in Texas.”
Arkansas Rankings:
The Education Recovery Scorecard for Arkansas ranks the state 23rd in math recovery and 19th in in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024. Researchers assess that the average student achievement in Arkansas remains 45% of a grade equivalent below 2019 levels in math and 42% of a grade equivalent in reading. The same pattern of increased chronic absenteeism is also seen in Arkansas, from 22% of students missing more than 10% of a school year in 2019 to 28% in 2022.
Scorecard Findings:
Overall, the scorecard examined testing results for individual school districts enrolling 35 million students in 43 states. Their findings reveal that students are moving in the “wrong direction” in reading, and that tutoring appears to reward investment. The report stated, “The results are disappointing, but they are not surprising, given the small increase in scheduled instructional time.” It also referred to student absenteeism as having “increased substantially (which emerged only after the pandemic)--meaning that students were spending less time in school,” as the report added, “And teachers lost more time reteaching when absent students returned.” Researchers say their work also reveals:
* A direct connection between federal pandemic relief aid and academic recovery.
* Pandemic learning loss impacted whole communities, regardless of race or income.
* Learning loss will become permanent if schools and parents do not expand learning time this summer and next year.
