Learning Recession: How U.S. Schools Struggled Before and During COVID

American education has been struggling long before COVID-19 became a household name, according to a new report that sheds light on a decade-long decline in student performance. While the pandemic certainly didn't help, the real problem might have started years earlier.

A Decade of Troubles

Let’s rewind to 2013, the year when signs of trouble began emerging in U.S. education. A shift in policies, like the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act, marked a significant change from previous accountability measures. School districts gradually realized there was less oversight on their performance. This was a period when smartphones were just beginning to become ubiquitous in the lives of students. By 2022, Pew Research found that the number of teens saying they were online almost constantly had doubled since 2014.

As students became more engrossed in their phones, their attention in classrooms waned. The disruption wasn’t limited to classes. It seeped into homework times, reading habits, and even affected sleep. Schools across the U.S. attempted to combat this digital distraction by banning phones, yet the results were mixed at best.

Alongside these digital challenges, policy shifts from the No Child Left Behind Act to the Every Student Succeeds Act gave states more autonomy but also diluted the strict testing criteria. Schools adapted to new standards but perhaps not in the way intended. This lack of stringent oversight, paired with the increasing digital distractions, laid the groundwork for what experts now call a 'learning recession.'

The Impact of COVID-19

When the pandemic hit in 2020, it was akin to pouring gasoline on a smoldering fire. Schools scrambled to adapt to online learning, and the fallout was swift. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported the largest single decline in test scores for nine-year-olds since 1990. Reading scores dropped by five points, and math went down by seven.

The pandemic's impact didn't stop at test scores. Remote learning led to increased absenteeism, with about 30% of students consistently missing classes, nearly double the pre-pandemic rate. Mental health also took a hit, with many students reporting poor mental health due to isolation and the uncertainty of the times.

Interestingly, while the pandemic exacerbated these issues, it also highlighted a need for alternative learning approaches. Some states started shifting from a 'whole language' method to a 'science of reading,' focusing on phonics. This strategy, adopted by states like Louisiana, is showing promising results, particularly in reading recovery.

So, who wins in this scenario? For states like Louisiana, adopting targeted approaches has paid off. They not only halted the decline but reversed it, placing them among the nation's leaders in reading improvement.

What's Next for U.S. Education?

Now, the question is, where do we go from here? The Education Scorecard, a collaboration between researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth, suggests that the recovery has begun. But it won't happen overnight. From 2022 to 2025, most states reported improvements in math scores, though reading remains stubbornly stagnant.

How will educators and policymakers close the gap? Should more states adopt the phonics-based reading approach that's shown success in Louisiana and D.C.? And how will phone use be managed effectively by schools? These questions remain key as schools grapple with the new normal.

One thing is clear: there's no quick fix. But there's a path forward. As Tom Kane, an economist and education professor, pointed out, we're at a juncture. The recovery of U.S. education isn't just possible. it's happening. But it needs concerted effort from educators, policymakers, and communities alike to sustain and accelerate this recovery.