[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-586216-105":3,"doc-detail-586216-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","from-loss-to-recovery-diverging-paths-and-uneven-gains-across-schools-brief","From loss to recovery - Diverging paths and uneven gains across schools - Brief","","Brief examining how school learning recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic varies across math and reading. It analyzes longitudinal NWEA MAP Growth test score data from over 5 million students across 9,326 schools, defining recovery as post-2024 achievement at least matching fall 2019 levels. Findings show about one-third of schools recovered in either subject and fewer recovered in both, with larger gains since 2021 for higher-poverty and historically marginalized students despite lower recovery likelihood.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/from-loss-to-recovery-diverging-paths-and-uneven-gains-across-schools-brief/586216/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/from-loss-to-recovery-diverging-paths-and-uneven-gains-across-schools-brief/586216.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Taylor Morgan","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-12","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"How is a school defined as “recovered” in this brief?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"A school is considered recovered if its average achievement in fall 2024 is at least as high as it was before the pandemic, in fall 2019.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What share of schools recovered in math and reading?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"By fall 2024, about 32% of schools have returned to prepandemic levels in math or reading, while about 14% recovered in both subjects. Recovery rates are 22% for math and 24% for reading.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What explains differences in recovery paths across schools?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The brief shows recovery reflects a mix of smaller-than-typical initial declines during the pandemic and stronger-than-typical improvements afterward, with variation by subject and school context.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},586216,1792062408,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":92,"language":93,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":94,"faqs":95,"seo_title":96,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":97,"read_time":98,"preview_page_count":4},1099523885336,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c",8,"BRIEF  \nFrom loss to recovery: Diverging paths and uneven gains across schools  \nEmily Morton, Megan Kuhfeld, Ayesha K. Hashim, and Scott J. Peters  \nFebruary 2026  \nKEY FINDINGS  \n• About 1 in 3 schools have recovered in either math or reading, and 1 in 7 schools have recovered in both subjects.  \n• While recovery was more common among schools with smaller initial declines, some schools rebounded after deep losses.  \n• Schools serving higher-poverty and historically marginalized students are less likely to be recovered, but they have made the largest gains since the pandemic.  \nThe COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions to schooling and sharp declines in student achievement that have now been documented extensively. As the education system moves beyond emergency response, the central question is no longer how much learning was lost, but where and how recovery is occurring. This brief intentionally shifts our focus from learning about loss to recognizing recovery.  \nExisting research shows the gap between pre-and postpandemic test scores has closed only slightly in math and has widened in reading. State assessment data from spring 2024 indicate just 17% of students attend districts that have recovered to their 2019 math levels, and only 11% in reading.  \nThese broad patterns, however, provide limited insight into variation in recovery across schools. Understanding which schools have recovered and how different recovery paths unfolded can inform decisions about resource allocation, intervention design, and expectations for the pace of continued improvement.  \nWe use a longitudinal sample of NWEA® MAP® Growth™ test score data from over 5 million students across 9,326 schools to identify where and how recovery is occurring across schools.1 We define a school as having“recovered” if its average achievement in fall 2024 is at least as high as it was before the pandemic, in fall 2019.  \nTo better understand how recovery unfolded, we examine two components of schools’ recovery: their “initial declines” in average achievement from fall 2019 to fall 2021 and their “postpandemic gains” in average achievement from fall 2021 to fall 2024.2 We then describe how schools’ recovery rates and trajectories vary by subject and school context.  \nBy highlighting groups of schools that are demonstrating stronger-than-typical recovery, this analysis helps clarify where progress is occurring, where gaps persist, and why a one-size-fits-all approach to postpandemic recovery is unlikely to succeed. As policymakers and education leaders reassess COVID-era investments and plan for long-term improvement, understanding these different recovery patterns offers aroadmap for sustaining momentum and targeting support where it is needed most.  \n1 Additional details about the data and methods used in this brief can be found in the technical appendix. Descriptive statistics for the analytic sample compared to US public schools are presented in Table 1 in the technical appendix.  \n2 We separate recovery into the two periods: “initial declines” during the pandemic (fall 2019 to fall 2021) and “postpandemic  \nachievement gains”(fall 2021 to fall 2024), for the sake of clarity and brevity throughout the brief, but we acknowledge that some schools experienced increases in average achievement levels during the pandemic and/or experienced declines during the postpandemic period.  \nNWEA From loss to recovery: Diverging paths and uneven gains across schools | 2  \nAbout 1 in 3 schools have recovered in either math or  \nreading, and 1 in 7 schools have recovered in both subjects.  \nBy fall 2024, many schools made progress toward regaining prepandemic achievement levels, but full recovery remains uneven. About one-third of schools (32%) have returned to prepandemic achievement levels in math or reading, and only 14% have recovered in both subjects (see Figure 1) .  \nFigure 1. 1 in 3 schools have recovered in either math or reading, and 1 in 7 schools have recovered ","cbCaiapkqZuYaIfB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiapkqZuYaIfB","pdf",1195936,10,"English","# Key findings\n## Recovery rates across math and reading\n## Recovery patterns and trajectories\n## Methods and data definitions","[{\"question\":\"How is a school defined as “recovered” in this brief?\",\"answer\":\"A school is considered recovered if its average achievement in fall 2024 is at least as high as it was before the pandemic, in fall 2019.\"},{\"question\":\"What share of schools recovered in math and reading?\",\"answer\":\"By fall 2024, about 32% of schools have returned to prepandemic levels in math or reading, while about 14% recovered in both subjects. Recovery rates are 22% for math and 24% for reading.\"},{\"question\":\"What explains differences in recovery paths across schools?\",\"answer\":\"The brief shows recovery reflects a mix of smaller-than-typical initial declines during the pandemic and stronger-than-typical improvements afterward, with variation by subject and school context.\"}]","From loss to recovery - Diverging paths and uneven gains across schools - Brief | PDF",1792057262,25,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":100},[101,105,109,113,118,123,128,131,136,139,142],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":129,"slug":130},30,"research-report",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":134,"slug":135},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":134,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":134,"slug":138},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":92,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":140,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":141},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":143,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":144,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":145},19,"General","general"]