Most students lag half a grade behind in reading scores: Report

Students across the United States remain nearly half a grade level behind in reading, according to a new report from researchers at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Dartmouth College, who warned the country is now facing a yearslong “learning recession.”

The study, which analyzed state test scores for students in grades three through eight across more than 5,000 school districts in 38 states, found that academic achievement had already begun to decline years before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted classrooms nationwide.

“The pandemic was the mudslide that had followed seven years of steady erosion in achievement,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor and researcher on the Education Scorecard project.

Researchers found that only five states and the District of Columbia improved their reading scores between 2022 and 2025. Nationwide, students remain significantly behind pre-pandemic reading levels, while math scores have shown only modest improvement.

Kane said the decline mirrors what economists describe as