The COVID pandemic was particularly tough on students. But new research reveals young people are starting to recover from learning loss albeit slowly. Data showed students lost, on average, about half a grade in math and a quarter in reading between 2019 and 2022.
Progress & Promise Convening
In June, the Joyce Foundation hosted a convening with civic, business, philanthropic, non-profit, and policy leaders highlighting post-pandemic academic achievements among Chicago Public Schools students. According to the data, CPS elementary school students are recovering faster than most districts nationwide in reading and improving faster in math than many large urban districts. Despite the progress, there are still significant achievement gaps across the district.
Tom Kane, the Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics at Harvard Graduate School of Education, presented data from the Education Recovery Scorecard detailing progress in Chicago and across Illinois. The study shows that between 2022 and 2023, Chicago students made up about 35 percent of a grade equivalent in math after losing three-quarters of a grade equivalent during the pandemic. In reading, CPS students made enough ground to exceed their 2019 achievement level. Elaine Allensworth, the Lewis-Sebring Executive Director of the UChicago Consortium, provided context on the district's decade-long improvement in other areas, such as high school graduation and college attendance. A lively panel followed with CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and former CPS CEOs Janice K. Jackson and Arne Duncan. It was moderated by WTTW's Brandis Friedman. CEO Martinez attributed the recent post-COVID progress to additional academic interventionists, tutoring, after-school and summer programs, and academic coaches for teachers in schools with high teacher turnover.
View video of the two-hour panel below, or the shortened video here: https://youtu.be/iV68wkA71Yo.
Photos of Convening
Past Progress & Promise Research Report
In 2018, we released a Joyce-funded report highlighting the progress of Chicago Public Schools, including improvements in test scores, higher high school graduation rates, and increased college enrollment compared to other districts nationwide.
About The Joyce Foundation
Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.