WASHINGTON — Researchers from Harvard University, Stanford University and Dartmouth College released the 2025 Education Scorecard, concluding that the United States entered a learning recession around 2013, when gains in math and reading stalled and student achievement began declining. The report found that eighth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are at their lowest levels since 1990, and fourth-grade reading scores have fallen to pre-2003 levels.

The analysis drew on test scores from roughly 35 million students in grades 3 through 8 between 2022 and 2025. It found that reading scores had been falling well before the pandemic, with losses between 2017 and 2019 matching the pace of declines seen during the pandemic years.

"The pandemic was the mudslide that followed seven years of erosion in student achievement," said Tom Kane, faculty director of Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research. "The 'learning recession' started a decade ago, after policymakers switched off the early warning system of test-based accountability and social media took over children's lives."

The post-pandemic recovery has been U-shaped, with the largest improvements in the wealthiest and poorest districts. Middle-income districts, where 30% to 70% of students receive federally subsidized lunches, saw the least academic improvement on average. Federal pandemic relief funding likely helped drive recovery in the highest-poverty districts, according to the report, which concluded that many low-income districts would have remained at 2022 achievement levels without that aid.

Math scores rebounded more quickly after the pandemic, returning to pre-2013 improvement rates between 2022 and 2024. Reading scores continued to decline through 2024 before showing early signs of improvement in 2025. Researchers linked many of the reading gains to science of reading reforms, which focus on evidence-based reading instruction. Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky showed reading improvements while implementing comprehensive literacy reforms.

The report identified chronic absenteeism as an ongoing barrier to academic recovery. About 23% of students were chronically absent during the 2024-25 school year, down from pandemic highs but above pre-pandemic levels of 15%. The scorecard also identified 108 Districts on the Rise that posted large improvement in both math and reading despite facing demographic and economic challenges similar to those of neighboring districts.