State of Student Learning in 2025

• In Event: Data-Driven Approaches to Supporting Striving Learners in the Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

Objectives
This study examined post-COVID trends in student performance relative to pre-pandemic benchmarks using nationally representative data sources.

Conceptual Perspectives
Five years post-pandemic, student achievement remains below pre-pandemic levels (Curriculum Associates, 2023; Curriculum Associates, 2024, Young & Young, 2024; Lewis & Kuhfeld, 2023; US Department of Education, 2023). However, the effects of the pandemic and subsequent recovery vary substantially across student populations. Recent National Association of Education Progress (NAEP) data show increasingly large learning gaps between lower and higher performing students (U.S. Department of Education, 2025). To get a more accurate picture of the complex recovery path for unique student populations, it is critical to offer a timely assessment of national and disaggregated student performance. This study provides a longitudinal analysis of student grade-level achievement, scores changes, and fall-to-spring growth using a nationally representative sample defined by key characteristics known to impact achievement.

Methods
We employed a stratified sampling technique to create a nationally representative sample, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the U.S. Census. The makeup of the US public school population was approximated based on region, locale, race/ethnicity, and median household income. The total sample included 11,799,225 students for reading and 13,483,062 students for mathematics across all grades and school years. To contextualize changes from pre- and post-pandemic, we referenced both normative and criterion-referenced performance, examining changes in scale score by percentile, the percentage of students reaching grade level standards, and annual growth (gain scores). Data were further disaggregated by performance level (percentile and grade-level placement).

Data Sources
This study utilizes i-Ready Diagnostic data from five K–8 samples: one pre-pandemic year (2018-2019), and all four complete school years since (2021-2025). All samples are nationally representative by grade and subject (reading or math) based on school-level characteristics, including region, locale, median income, and demographic makeup. Diagnostic data includes fall and spring scale score, relative grade level placement on overall reading and mathematics, and domain-specific performance.

Results and Conclusions
Five years removed from the pandemic, national achievement remains below pre-pandemic levels, though these lower levels have stabilized over time and vary across student groups. A consistent theme is that higher- and lower-performing students are moving further from each other. Disaggregating the data helps identify which groups may be driving these trends. Students in lower percentiles experienced larger score declines, and those performing two or more grade levels below their enrolled grade are not demonstrating growth at historical rates.

Significance
These findings highlight the need for a more individualized approach to analyzing student performance. Though overall sample trends largely mirror those of the prior spring, subgroup analyses reveal variance by school and community characteristics and highlight which specific groups of students may require continued and potentially more targeted support. Changes to post-pandemic achievement were much larger among lower-performing students, exacerbating longstanding gaps in performance. As we enter a new era of academic performance, it is essential to interpret performance through a nuanced, data-driven lens and tackle educational recovery with tailored support and strategies.

Authors

• Kelsey Young, Curriculum Associates

• Ethan Young, Curriculum Associates