Yet many districts are likely to remain behind when federal
aid expires in September. To complete the recovery, states should
target resources on academic interventions, such as tutoring and
summer learning, and reducing absenteeism.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from the
Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity
Project at Stanford University reveals
a direct connection between federal pandemic relief aid and
academic recovery in K-12 schools.
During 2020 and 2021, Congress provided nearly $190 billion to elementary and secondary schools
for pandemic recovery efforts (ESSER). The relief dollars were
targeted at higher-poverty districts using the Title I formula,
which varies by state. The researchers used variation in the amount
of federal relief provided to otherwise similar districts to
measure the effect of the relief.
The researchers found that each $1,000 difference in relief spending per student
was associated with a 0.03 grade equivalent increase in math
achievement, which is approximately 6 days of learning, and 0.018
grade equivalents increase in reading, which is approximately 3
days of learning. These findings are similar to pre-pandemic
research on the effect of education spending.
Given the strong relationship between K-12 test scores and
subsequent earnings, the researchers conclude that the boost in
future earnings associated with a 0.03 grade equivalent rise in
achievement would be sufficient to justify the $1,000 investment.
The federal dollars are helping to close gaps which widened
during the pandemic. The highest poverty districts received
$7,700 per student in federal aid,
while the most affluent districts received very little.
Dr. Thomas Kane, Faculty Director
of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and one of the study's
co-authors, said, "The federal aid was like the first stage of a
rocket, it got us going, but had a broad focus and was ultimately
insufficient to get us all the way. To complete the recovery,
states will need to step up, focusing on academic catch-up efforts,
such as tutoring and summer learning, and lowering
absenteeism."
"The federal investment in helping public school students
recover from the pandemic's academic fallout has paid off. Not only
did it lead to increased test score gains, but the investment also
significantly reduced the educational inequality generated by the
pandemic," said Sean Reardon,
Professor of Poverty and Inequality, Stanford Graduate School of
Education, and one of the study's co-authors.
The researchers recommend that state and district education
leaders consider the following steps to complete their students'
recoveries:
- Informing parents if their child is below grade level in
math or reading. Too many parents are under the false
impression that their children are not behind, and as a
result, they do not sign up for tutoring, summer learning and
after-school programs or request the help their children need.
- Coordinating efforts to lower student absenteeism. In
the 2022-23 school year, an estimated 26% of U.S. students
were chronically absent. This means that the share of students
chronically absent has increased by more than 70 percent since
2018-19. One of the most valuable contributions that mayors,
employers, and other community leaders can make to schools'
recovery efforts would be to help reduce absenteeism. Indiana and Rhode Island are two national leaders in
the effort to lower student absenteeism.
- Taking advantage of the federal set aside that allows states
to direct up to 3% of Title I funding for direct student services,
such as tutoring. Only one state, Ohio, currently exercises its authority to
reserve such dollars for direct student services. By
exercising that authority, states could expand tutoring efforts
with federal dollars.
- Incentivizing specific academic recovery efforts rather than
providing across-the-board funding (like ESSER). When the
American Rescue Plan passed in Spring 2021, there was uncertainty
about the cost of reopening and the magnitude of achievement losses
(since students had not been assessed). Because of that
uncertainty, lawmakers gave local decision-makers maximum
flexibility in spending the pandemic relief dollars. Now that
schools are reopened and the academic consequences are clear, state
leaders can direct state funds to academic catchup. This could
include subsidizing local schools to expand summer learning, as
Texas has done, or providing
tutors to students behind grade-level such as programs underway in
Maryland and Virginia.
About the Education Recovery Scorecard
The Education
Recovery Scorecard is a collaboration between the Center for
Education Policy Research at Harvard,
Stanford's Educational Opportunity Project, and Douglas Staiger at Dartmouth College. For the past two years, these
research teams have provided district level analysis and
comparisons of pandemic related learning loss and recovery. The
interactive maps and corresponding data on
educationrecoveryscorecard.org provide insights on time spent in
remote instruction, federal ESSER allocations and instructional
spending per student. When available, achievement data are
disaggregated by race and poverty status to provide a complete
picture of the disparities in learning loss across the country.
The Education Recovery Scorecard receives philanthropic support
from Citadel founder and CEO Ken
Griffin and Griffin Catalyst, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and
Carnegie Corporation of New York. The study used data assembled by
the Stanford Educational Opportunity Project, which receives
support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
About The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University
The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University has built the first national
database of academic performance. The EOP creates applications,
research reports, and interactive articles to enable anyone to
explore and understand the data.
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SOURCE Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University