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Here are the average U.S. test scores in math. Each year, they fluctuate a little.

From 2019 to 2022, test scores plunged: Students lost more than half a year of learning.

Students have now recovered about a third of what they lost in math, and even less in reading.

Students Are Making a ‘Surprising’ Rebound From Pandemic Closures. But Some May Never Catch Up.

By Claire Cain Miller ,  Sarah Mervosh and Francesca Paris

Elementary and middle-school students have made up significant ground since pandemic school closings in 2020 — but they are nowhere close to being fully caught up, according to the first detailed national study of how much U.S. students are recovering.

Listen to this article

Overall in math, a subject where learning loss has been greatest, students have made up about a third of what they lost. In reading, they have made up a quarter, according to the new analysis of standardized test score data led by researchers at Stanford and Harvard.

The findings suggest that the United States has averted a dire outcome — stagnating at pandemic lows — but that many students are not on pace to catch up before the expiration of a $122 billion federal aid package in September. That money — the single largest federal investment in public education in the country’s history — has paid for extra help, like tutoring and summer school, at schools nationwide.

Even with the federal funds, the gains were larger than researchers expected, based on prior research on extra money for schools. Recovery was not a given , judging from past unexpected school closures, like for natural disasters or teachers’ strikes.

Still, the gap between students from rich and poor communities — already huge before the pandemic — has widened.

“One of the big and surprising findings is there actually has been a substantial recovery,” said Sean F. Reardon, a professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford, who conducted the new analysis with Thomas J. Kane, an economist at Harvard; Erin Fahle, executive director of the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford; and Douglas O. Staiger, an economist at Dartmouth.

“But it’s an unevenly felt recovery,” Professor Reardon said, “so the worry there is that means inequality is getting baked in.”

Some children may never catch up and could enter adulthood without the full set of skills they need to succeed in the work force and life.

The students most at risk are those in poor districts, whose test scores fell further during the pandemic. Though the new data shows that they have begun to catch up, they had much more to make up than their peers from higher-income families, who are already closer to a recovery.

The result: Students in poor communities are at a greater disadvantage today than they were five years ago.

Yet there is significant variation. Some wealthy districts have barely improved. Some poorer districts have made remarkable recoveries, offering lessons for what has worked. In places like Durham, N.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Delano, Calif., students are now about fully caught up.

See How Your School District Is Recovering From the Pandemic

Look up data from the first detailed national study of learning loss and academic recovery since the pandemic.

The data does not include any progress students may be making this school year, which will be measured in state tests this spring.

But the study suggests that many students will still need significant support, just as federal aid is running out.

“We seemed to have lost the urgency in this crisis,” said Karyn Lewis, who has studied pandemic learning declines for NWEA, a research and student assessment group. “It is problematic for the average kid. It is catastrophic for the kids who were hardest hit.”

Why Inequality Has Widened

The analysis looked at test score data for third- through eighth-grade students in about 30 states — representing about 60 percent of the U.S. public school population in those grades. It examined pandemic declines from 2019 to 2022 , and measured recovery as of spring 2023. It offers the first national comparison of recovery at a school district level. (It did not include high school students.)

Test scores fell most in poor districts. School closures, though not the only driver of pandemic losses , were a major factor: Schools in poor communities stayed remote for longer in the 2020-21 school year, and students suffered bigger declines when they did .

But once schools reopened, the pace of recovery was similar across districts, the analysis shows. Both the richest and poorest districts managed to teach more than in a usual school year — about 17 percent more in math, and 8 percent more in reading — as schools raced to help students recover.

Yet because poor districts had lost more ground, their progress was not nearly enough to outpace wealthier districts, widening the gulf between them. The typical rich district is about a fifth of a grade level behind where it was in 2019. The typical poor district: nearly half a grade.

Another factor is widened inequality within districts.

When looking at data available in 15 states, researchers found that in a given district — poor or rich — children across backgrounds lost similar ground, but students from richer families recovered faster.

One possible explanation: Even within districts, individual schools have become increasingly segregated by income and race in recent years, said Ann Owens, a sociologist at the University of Southern California. When this happens, she has found, achievement gaps grow , largely because students from wealthier families benefit from a concentration of resources.

Schools made up mostly of high-income families attract more experienced teachers. High-earning parents are more likely to invest in tutors or enrichment outside of school.

Even when schools offered interventions to help students catch up, lower-income families might have been less able to rearrange schedules or transportation to ensure their children attended. (This is one reason experts advise scheduling tutoring during the school day, not after.)

Racial gaps in student scores have also grown, with white students pulling further ahead.

Black students, on average, are now recovering at a faster pace than white or Hispanic students, the analysis suggests — but because they lost more ground than white students, they remain further behind. The gap between white and Hispanic students has also grown, and Hispanic students appear to have had a relatively weak recovery overall. The analysis did not include Asian students, who represent 5 percent of public school students.

Where Students Are and Are Not Recovering

Another factor in recovery: where students live.

Take Massachusetts, which has some of the nation’s best math and reading scores , but wide inequality. The recovery there was led by wealthier districts. Test scores for students in poor districts have shown little improvement, and in some cases, kept falling, leaving Massachusetts with one of the largest increases in the achievement gap. (Officials in Massachusetts hope that an increase in state funding for K-12 schools last year, as part of a plan to direct more money to poor districts, will help close gaps.)

In states like Kentucky and Tennessee that have traditionally had more middling test scores, but with less inequality, poor students have recovered remarkably well.

In Oregon, test scores appeared not to recover. State officials pointed to investments they hope will show results in the future, including permanent funding for early literacy . “We are definitely not satisfied with where we are,” said Charlene Williams, director of the Oregon Department of Education. She added, “We need every minute of instruction we can get.”

Math scores in 2019,

2022 and 2023

Some states, including Mississippi , had strong recoveries.

Some states are excluded because of lower test participation rates, lack of sufficiently detailed public data or changes to their tests between 2022 and 2023. Source: Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford

Across the country, richer districts overall saw gains. But some have made little to no recovery, including Forsyth County on the outskirts of Atlanta, and Rochester, Mich., in suburban Detroit; and Lake Oswego, Ore., near Portland.

And some poorer districts did better than expected, including large urban districts like Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia, which saw big drops during the pandemic, but have had above-average recoveries.

In the years before the pandemic, big-city school districts often outpaced the nation in learning gains , even as they served larger shares of poor students and more students learning English as a second language.

“We have had to be more innovative,” said Raymond Hart, executive director for the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents 78 large urban school districts.

Bright Spots: What Has Worked?

Birmingham, Ala., prioritized extra time for learning over school breaks. Mark Sullivan, the superintendent, said some parents initially balked, but have come to love the program.

Bob Miller for The New York Times

When it comes to success, no one strategy appeared to lead the way.

In interviews in a sample of districts with outsize recovery, educators described multiple approaches. Some focused on spending more federal dollars on academics — and less, for instance, on renovating school buildings . Some prioritized adding instruction time — via intensive tutoring , summer school or other sessions — which research shows can produce significant gains . Many experimented, coming up with new strategies to help students, including their mental health.

“I stopped looking for these silver bullets,” said Alberto M. Carvalho, the superintendent in Los Angeles, which has seen above-average recovery compared with the rest of California, including strong recoveries for Black and Hispanic children. “More often than not, it is the compound effect of good strategies.”

The $122 billion federal aid package has helped fund this effort, especially in poor communities. The poorest districts received about $6,200 per student in aid , compared with $1,350 for the most affluent districts.

But the law required only 20 percent of the money be spent on learning loss, with no mandate to invest in the most effective strategies and little national accounting of how the money was spent. That has made it hard to evaluate the impact of federal dollars nationally.

One strategy some districts used was spending much more than 20 percent of their funds on academic recovery.

For example, Weakley County, Tenn., a lower-income and mostly white rural district, allocated more than three-fourths. ( Tennessee gave districts incentives to spend at least half of their federal dollars on academics.) Today, Weakley County’s math and reading scores are fully recovered.

Its main focus was a tutoring program — students who are behind meet with experienced tutors in groups of three, twice a week. The district also hired instructional coaches, social workers and educational assistants who teach small groups in classrooms. “If you ask a teacher and say, ‘In a perfect world, if I have $30,000, what would you like me to buy?’ every teacher would say, ‘Another person in this classroom to help,’” said Betsi Foster, assistant director of schools.

Other districts focused on adding more hours of school, including Birmingham, Ala., a majority Black district where most students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

The superintendent, Mark Sullivan, said he first wanted to make school year-round, a dramatic solution that found little support among families and teachers. So he offered a compromise: The district would hold extra instructional sessions available to all students during fall, winter and spring breaks, in addition to summer school.

Mr. Sullivan said some parents initially balked, but have come to love the program, in part because it provides child care during school breaks. More than a quarter of students typically participate.

Combined with other tactics, like hiring local college students as tutors, Birmingham made up for its pandemic losses in math.

The pandemic also spurred educators to innovate.

Among other strategies, Durham, N.C., a racially and economically diverse district that is now fully recovered, asked its most effective teachers to teach summer school and paid $40 an hour, up from the usual $25 rate.

It is one example of setting high expectations, which the superintendent, Pascal Mubenga, said was integral to recovery. “We did not just give that opportunity to any person; we recruited the best,” he said.

In the Delano Union school district, which serves mostly poor Hispanic students in central California, employees began making daily visits to the homes of students who were frequently absent — a ballooning national problem since the pandemic. The district’s absenteeism rate has fallen under 10 percent, from 29 percent.

The district focused on student well-being as a prerequisite for academics. For example, teachers now ask students to write down how they are feeling each week, a simple and free strategy that has helped uncover obstacles to learning — a fight with a friend, money problems at home.

“If a child is not mentally OK, no matter how good my lesson is, my students will not learn,” said Maria Ceja, who teaches fourth grade.

Students in Maria Ceja’s fourth-grade class in Delano, Calif., with Rosalina Rivera, the superintendent. Since the pandemic, teachers have begun using hands-on tools during math lessons, a strategy they said is helping children after online learning.

Adam Perez for The New York Times

Despite the successes, the pace of national recovery has been “too little,” said Margaret Spellings, a former secretary of education under George W. Bush. “We’re slowly recovering, but not fast enough.”

Congress has shown little appetite to add more funding, and many districts will soon end or cut back programs.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Biden administration did not push for more federal dollars, and instead renewed its call for states to take a greater role, both in financing programs and tracking the number of students receiving intensive tutoring or summer school.

Professor Kane, one of the researchers, advised schools to notify the parents of all children who are behind, in time to sign up for summer school. Despite setbacks on standardized tests, report card grades have remained stable, and polling indicates most parents believe their children are on track .

And what if students never catch up?

While test scores are just one measure, lower achievement in eighth grade has real impact in adulthood. It is associated with lower lifetime earnings , as well as a higher risk of unemployment and incarceration, research has shown.

At this rate, the United States will have a less skilled work force in the future, leading to lower economic output, said Eric Hanushek, an education economist at the Hoover Institution.

The highest-achieving students are likely to be least affected, said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University — perhaps fewer will study advanced math and science and enter rigorous professions like engineering.

Students in the vast middle — some who may otherwise have become nurses or electricians, for example — could lose opportunities to establish middle-class lives. Community college enrollment is down from 2019 .

And the lowest-achieving students may further disengage from school, making it harder to graduate from high school and hold down even low-wage jobs.

As the pandemic generation enters adulthood, they may face a lifetime of lost opportunities.

Update, Feb. 8, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect a change to the data from researchers at Stanford and Harvard. On Monday, the researchers removed Oregon from the data set because its test participation rates were slightly below their threshold of 94 percent in 2022 and 2023. This article previously said that test scores continued to decline there from 2022 to 2023. The researchers said even with the lower test score participation, the data showed that Oregon students, including in the Lake Oswego district, made a near-zero recovery. Source: The Educational Opportunity Project, Stanford University and the Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard University

Math and reading average test scores are calculated for students from third through eighth grade in about 30 states, which account for about 60 percent of the U.S. public school population in those grades.

Researchers excluded school districts in states that do not provide sufficiently detailed test data on their public websites, and in states for years where participation rates were below 94 percent. Some small districts and charter schools were also excluded due to insufficient data.

To develop a consistent scale across states and over time, researchers link test results with the results of a federal exam, the National Assessment of Educational Progress . Since there was no NAEP test in 2023, researchers relied on the stability of state tests and proficiency definitions for recovery estimates; states that changed their exams between 2021-22 and 2022-23 were excluded from the 2023 data.

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California advances bill banning food additives in school meals

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Ads for U.S. political groups, candidates appear under racist posts on X

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HealthWatch

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See the current Paralympic medal count for the 2024 Paris Games

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Entertainment

"Dancing With the Stars" dancer arrested on domestic violence charge

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Big names in south India movie industry face sexual assault allegations

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CIA deputy says Taylor Swift plotters hoped to kill "tens of thousands"

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Amazon launching paid-version of Alexa

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Is plastic recycling effective?

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Is plastic recycling a myth?

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Teen seen driving fast days before fatal crash

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SpaceX rocket's first stage crashes

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What education policy experts are watching for in 2022

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, daphna bassok , daphna bassok nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy stephanie riegg cellini , stephanie riegg cellini nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy michael hansen , michael hansen senior fellow - brown center on education policy , the herman and george r. brown chair - governance studies douglas n. harris , douglas n. harris nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy , professor and chair, department of economics - tulane university jon valant , and jon valant director - brown center on education policy , senior fellow - governance studies kenneth k. wong kenneth k. wong nonresident senior fellow - governance studies , brown center on education policy.

January 7, 2022

Entering 2022, the world of education policy and practice is at a turning point. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the day-to-day learning for children across the nation, bringing anxiety and uncertainty to yet another year. Contentious school-board meetings attract headlines as controversy swirls around critical race theory and transgender students’ rights. The looming midterm elections threaten to upend the balance of power in Washington, with serious implications for the federal education landscape. All of these issues—and many more—will have a tremendous impact on students, teachers, families, and American society as a whole; whether that impact is positive or negative remains to be seen.

Below, experts from the Brown Center on Education Policy identify the education stories that they’ll be following in 2022, providing analysis on how these issues could shape the learning landscape for the next 12 months—and possibly well into the future.

I will also be watching the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking sessions and following any subsequent regulatory changes to federal student-aid programs. I expect to see changes to income-driven repayment plans and will be monitoring debates over regulations governing institutional and programmatic eligibility for federal student-loan programs. Notably, the Department of Education will be re-evaluating Gainful Employment regulations—put in place by the Obama administration and rescinded by the Trump administration—which tied eligibility for federal funding to graduates’ earnings and debt.

But the biggest and most concerning hole has been in the  substitute teacher force —and the ripple effects on school communities have been broad and deep. Based on personal communications with Nicola Soares, president of  Kelly Education , the largest education staffing provider in the country, the pandemic is exacerbating several problematic trends that have been quietly simmering for years. These are: (1) a growing reliance on long-term substitutes to fill permanent teacher positions; (2) a shrinking supply of qualified individuals willing to fill short-term substitute vacancies; and, (3) steadily declining fill rates for schools’ substitute requests. Many schools in high-need settings have long faced challenges with adequate, reliable substitutes, and the pandemic has turned these localized trouble spots into a widespread catastrophe. Though federal pandemic-relief funds could be used to meet the short-term weakness in the substitute labor market (and mainline teacher compensation, too ), this is an area where we sorely need more research and policy solutions for a permanent fix.

First, what’s to come of the vaccine for ages 0-4? This is now the main impediment to resuming in-person activity. This is the only large group that currently cannot be vaccinated. Also, outbreaks are triggering day-care closures, which has a significant impact on parents (especially mothers), including teachers and other school staff.

Second, will schools (and day cares) require the vaccine for the fall of 2022? Kudos to my hometown of New Orleans, which still appears to be the nation’s only district to require vaccination. Schools normally require a wide variety of other vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccines are very effective. However, this issue is unfortunately going to trigger a new round of intense political conflict and opposition that will likely delay the end of the pandemic.

Third, will we start to see signs of permanent changes in schooling a result of COVID-19? In a previous post on this blog, I proposed some possibilities. There are some real opportunities before us, but whether we can take advantage of them depends on the first two questions. We can’t know about these long-term effects on schooling until we address the COVID-19 crisis so that people get beyond survival mode and start planning and looking ahead again. I’m hopeful, though not especially optimistic, that we’ll start to see this during 2022.

The CTC and universal pre-K top my list for 2022, but it’s a long list. I’ll also be watching the Supreme Court’s ruling on vouchers in Carson v. Makin , how issues like critical race theory and detracking play into the 2022 elections, and whether we start to see more signs of school/district innovation in response to COVID-19 and the recovery funds that followed.

Electoral dynamics will affect several important issues: the selection of state superintendents; the use of American Rescue Plan funds; the management of safe return to in-person learning for students; the integration of racial justice and diversity into curriculum; the growth of charter schools; and, above all, the extent to which education issues are leveraged to polarize rather than heal the growing divisions among the American public.

Early Childhood Education Education Policy Higher Education

Governance Studies

Brown Center on Education Policy

Lydia Wilbard

August 29, 2024

Zachary Billot, Annie Vong, Nicole Dias Del Valle, Emily Markovich Morris

August 26, 2024

Brian A. Jacob, Cristina Stanojevich

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Student Podcast Challenge

Hear here our list of the best podcasts by fourth graders.

August 30, 2024 • For the first time ever, NPR presents the fourth grade winners of the Student Podcast Challenge.

A new survey finds middle- and high-schoolers feel much less engaged in school than they did just last year. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images hide caption

Teens are losing interest in school, and say they hear about college 'a lot'

August 29, 2024 • A new poll finds Gen Z teens are optimistic about the future but feeling less engaged at school.

Survey results: Teens don't feel challenged in school and feel unprepared for future

The Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington, Nov. 6, 2020. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

Supreme Court rebuffs Biden administration plea to restore SAVE student debt plan

August 28, 2024 • The justices rejected an administration request to put most of the latest multibillion-dollar plan back into effect while lawsuits make their way through lower courts.

Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students

New to podcasting? Don't panic.

A child receives care against head lice. LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Were you sent home from school for head lice? Here’s why that’s no longer recommended

August 28, 2024 • Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says kids can stay in school. A pediatrician explains why that makes sense.

Heads Up: The CDC has changed its guidance on school kids and head lice

Students take part in pro-Palestinian protests in November. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Campus protests over the Gaza war

'institutional neutrality': how one university walks a fine line on gaza protests.

August 28, 2024 • School is back in session, and the line between providing campus security and allowing for free speech is still extremely thin.

The head of Vanderbilt on the upcoming school year

Planet Money Summer School

Quiz: do you know your economic history.

August 27, 2024 • Time to show your economic history skills based on what we’ve covered in Planet Money Summer School 2024: An Incomplete Economic History of the World. Make it through the quiz, and receive a — and we cannot stress this enough — totally fake (yet well-earned) diploma.

Today’s teens struggle with big feelings — and their parents struggle to have hard conversations with them, according to a recent Gallup poll. Teen psychologist Lisa Damour explains how parents can better support their kids as a new school year begins. Annika McFarlane/Getty Images hide caption

Want to help support your Gen Z kids? Talking really helps

August 27, 2024 • A recent Gallup poll offers parents fresh insights into the emotional landscape of Gen Z youth, just in time for the new school year and all the changes it may bring.

How to help your Gen Z kid cope with their back-to-school emotions

Pro-Palestinian supporters on the campus of Columbia University on April 30, 2024 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Consider This from NPR

The fine line between providing campus security and allowing for free speech.

August 23, 2024 • College students are trickling back onto campuses for the fall semester, just months after protests exploded across the U.S. over Israel's war in Gaza.

Most community college students plan to get 4-year degrees. Few actually do

August 22, 2024 • Community college is often touted as an affordable start for students who want to earn bachelor’s degrees. But according to federal data, only 13% of students actually reach that goal.

[WFYI] Community college transfer numbers 

Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at the 46th International Convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Aug. 13 in Los Angeles. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

Year of Global Elections

Tim walz made an impression in china, students and teachers say.

August 20, 2024 • Vice President Harris’ running mate has lived in China and traveled there many times. His relationship with the country has been under scrutiny, especially from Republicans.

Democratic VP nominee Walz gets flak from the right for his relationship with China

Braille literacy is directly linked to higher rates of academic success and better employment outcomes for blind and low vision adults. Hill Street Studios/Getty Images hide caption

Transforming braille education could help millions of visually impaired Americans

August 19, 2024 • For blind and low vision adults, the ability to read braille can be life-changing. Braille literacy is directly linked to higher rates of academic success and better employment outcomes for them. But there's a problem. The U.S. is facing a national shortage of qualified braille teachers and there's a lack of scientific research around braille overall. An interdisciplinary team led by linguist Robert Englebretson wants to change that.

A student raises their hand in a classroom at Tussahaw Elementary school Aug. 4, 2021, in McDonough, Ga. Brynn Anderson/AP/AP hide caption

Up First Newsletter

Here's back-to-school advice from elementary to high school students.

August 18, 2024 • NPR asked elementary to high school students heading back to school to weigh in on what they're doing to prepare for the upcoming school year. They answered the call with advice for their peers.

A teenage girl wearing a face mask, head scarf and long black robe, listens to a math teacher at a tutoring center in Kabul. The center was established by a women's rights activist to circumvent a Taliban ban on girls attending secondary school. The activist said she has informal permission by Taliban authorities to run the center as long as teenage girls abide by a strict dress code. Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption

Goats and Soda

Many afghan men believe in women's rights. but they're afraid to speak out.

August 16, 2024 • Men rarely speak out to protest the Taliban's stripping away of the rights of girls and women. A new study finds that many believe those lost rights should be restored.

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik testifies during a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing about antisemitism on college campuses on April 17 in Washington, D.C. Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigns after 'period of turmoil'

August 14, 2024 • Shafik is the third Ivy League university president to leave her job following criticism over how she has handled campus protests regarding the Israel-Hamas war. She held the job for 13 months.

COLUMBIA'S PRESIDENT RESIGNS

Police and security stand outside the Center for Jewish Living at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in early November, after antisemitic threats left the community on edge. Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images hide caption

A former Cornell student is sentenced to 21 months for threatening to kill Jews

August 13, 2024 • Patrick Dai admitted to posting anonymous threats against Jews on campus in October. His lawyer argued it was a "misguided attempt to highlight Hamas’ genocidal beliefs and garner support for Israel.”

The transition back to school can be overwhelming for kids. Explaining the changes and setting expectations can help them feel more prepared to take on the year. Urbazon/Getty Images hide caption

Snuggles, pep talks and love notes: 10 ways to calm your kid’s back-to-school jitters

August 12, 2024 • Teachers, pediatricians and child development experts share loving, creative advice on how to ease children (and their parents!) into a new school year.

Pro-Palestinian students and activists face police officers after protesters were evicted from the library at Portland State University in Portland, Ore., in May. John Rudoff/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

With a new semester, colleges brace for more antiwar protests from students

August 12, 2024 • The Israel-Hamas war has prompted some of the most volatile campus protests in decades. This summer, student organizers are rethinking strategies, as are counter-protesters and college administrators.

The statue of Alma Mater on the campus of Columbia University in New York. Diane Bondareff/AP hide caption

3 Columbia deans resign over texts that 'touched on ... antisemitic tropes'

August 8, 2024 • The three deans were texting sarcastic and mocking messages about students’ complaints of antisemitism during a panel discussion on Jewish life on campus last May.

Since the new FAFSA launched on Dec. 30, 2023, the form has only been available for short periods of time. That changed this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. Education Department said applicants will now have 24-hour access. Screenshot by NPR hide caption

The rollout for the updated FAFSA application has been delayed — again

August 8, 2024 • The availability of last year's application, and subsequently students' aid packages, was delayed several times while the Department of Education worked to update the form.

Back-to-school season can still be an opportunity for a refresh, even if you're not headed back to the classroom. Maria Korneeva/Getty Images/Moment RF hide caption

6 ways grown-ups can recreate that fresh, buzzy feeling of a new school year

August 6, 2024 • Refreshing ideas that harness the excitement of going back to school -- like learning new things, packing a school lunch and playing at recess -- updated for the adult version of you. 

Bloomington High School South science teacher Kirstin Milks leads a lesson on human-caused climate change and technologies that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Chris Elberfeld/WFYI hide caption

In the face of global warming, students are dreaming up a better climate future

August 5, 2024 • With heat waves and extreme weather becoming more and more common, one Indiana teacher wants to empower her students with information, and the creative freedom to imagine big ideas.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson led a news conference with Republican committee chairs, including House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, on April 30 to decry reports of antisemitism happening at university protests across the country. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Columbia University threatened with subpoenas over U.S. House antisemitism investigation

August 1, 2024 • A Republican-led House committee says it would issue subpoenas to Columbia University to get documents it requested months ago for its investigation into reports of antisemitism on campus.

He has a badge and a gun — and he investigates school truancy

July 31, 2024 • When students miss lots of school without an excuse, it’s known as truancy — and in Madison County, Ind., it can lead to a visit from truancy investigator Mitch Carroll.

In one Indiana county, kids who miss school are paid a visit by the truancy officer

In 1994, young people wearing "True Love Waits" T-shirts hammer pledge cards stating they'll abstain from sex until marriage into the lawn of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Richard Ross hide caption

30 years later, the evangelical purity movement still impacts sex education

July 31, 2024 • In 1994 on the National Mall, thousands of American teens pledged abstinence until marriage. The movement it created has influenced sex education in schools to this day.

30 years of Abstinence pledge

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Policy & Legal

Education Department sued over race-based criteria for McNair grants

Young America's Foundation, a conservative activist group, argued that the program’s eligibility requirements violate the Constitution.

California ban on legacy and donor admissions at private colleges heads to governor

The proposal would require institutions that violate the ban to report on the racial, geographic and financial diversity of their admitted students.

Diversity and Equity

Explore trends in diversity and equity and what they mean for the higher education sector.

Then and now: Two eras of protests at Columbia University in photos

The Ivy League institution found itself at the center of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in 2024, echoing the anti-war protests there in 1968.

For too many learners, working while in college is a barrier to career growth

Many on-campus jobs offer little career development, but these opportunities can be reimagined to align with students’ professional goals, one expert says. 

NYU says anti-Zionist discrimination could violate student conduct rules

Discrimination against people with Zionist beliefs, such as denying their entry to open events, could violate the university’s policy.

A failed IT project cost UMGC $25.7M. Was poor oversight to blame?

Noncompetitive contracts and a lack of monitoring have marked dealings between the university and a spin-off entity, a state report found.

House Republicans press colleges on protest policies for fall

The lawmakers’ request signals that they will closely scrutinize how campus leaders manage expected unrest during the term. 

UVA tightens protest rules after chaotic spring

The state flagship will ban encampments and require people wearing masks to provide identification on request.

UNC Charlotte shutters its three DEI offices amid demand for ‘neutrality’

The university said it is complying with a new systemwide policy barring institutions from having offices focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. 

University of Kentucky disbands DEI center, will reassign employees

State lawmakers indicated further legislative attacks on DEI could be forthcoming, President Eli Capilouto said Tuesday.

University of California and Cal State tighten protest rules ahead of fall term

Officials from both systems said their institutions won't allow encampments or protesters to wear masks to conceal their identities.

Universities of Wisconsin president calls for $855M in new state funding

The public network’s leader unveiled a proposal to use a boost in funding to freeze tuition and increase employee salaries. 

Supreme Court blocks partial enforcement of final Title IX rule

Justices rebuffed an emergency request to allow uncontroversial parts of the regulations to move forward in some states with injunctions.

State officials call for probe into Ben Sasse’s spending at the University of Florida

Spending at the president's office tripled year over year during Sasse's tenure, a student newspaper investigation found.

Chevron doctrine’s death leads 5th Circuit to ask: Is DOL’s salary test for overtime eligibility safe?

Judges questioned whether the agency’s consideration of salary exceeds the authority delegated by Congress.

Federal government extends Form I-9 expiration date to 2027

Employers, including colleges, must ensure their forms bear the revised expiration date by July 31, 2026.

Education Department: 2025-26 FAFSA to fully debut by Dec. 1

To avoid a repeat of this year's glitches, the agency plans to release the form for testing starting Oct. 1 with a limited number of students and institutions. 

How college leaders can engage with conservative lawmakers on DEI

Rachel Boone, TJ Bliss and Geoffrey Landward shared their strategies for getting a seat at the negotiating table during the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s policy conference.

Senate committee offers slight increase for Education Department in FY 2025

The $80 billion proposal would bump up the maximum Pell Grant to $7,495, an increase of $100. 

Title IX rule blocked in more than half of states — just as it takes effect

The Education Department clarified on Thursday that it will continue enforcing the 2020 rule in states where the new rule is paused.

Education Department reverses course on batch FAFSA corrections

The change could increase colleges’ administrative burden and leave some students without financial aid this fall, one industry association said.

Federal judge blocks Title IX rule in another 6 states

With the ruling, the regulations have now been put on pause in at least 21 states. 

House panel subpoenas Education Department for FAFSA rollout records

The move comes after two top Republicans accused the agency of stonewalling a government watchdog’s probe into the rocky debut of the new form.

Warren, Democratic lawmakers introduce bill to resurrect Chevron doctrine

The proposal would codify the Chevron doctrine, which required federal courts to give deference to agencies’ reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes.

AFT sues MOHELA, alleging student loan servicer ‘misleads and misinforms’ borrowers

The Missouri nonprofit has come under attack by advocacy groups and lawmakers following high-profile billing mistakes.

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• IPR Intranet

INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH

New ipr research: august 2024, get all our news.

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This month’s new research from our faculty experts investigates how a family-centered education program in Tulsa supports student parents, visibility and wellbeing in the bi+ community, perceptions of a living wage, and how parent-child discussions can help address subtle racism.

Education and Human Development

A Family-Centered Approach to Helping Student Parents Succeed in Higher Education

Approximately four million people juggle parenthood and college in the United States. How can a family-centered education program in Tulsa support these student parents? IPR faculty researchers Lauren Tighe , Teresa Eckrich Sommer , Terri Sabol , and Lindsay Chase-Lansdale investigate the effects of the program in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences . The Community Action Project of Tulsa’s Career Advance program provides education and career training in healthcare to low-income parents with children. Its original model was centered in Head Start and helped parents achieve postsecondary education while their young children received early education programming. The program also provided numerous supportive services such as free tuition and childcare. The second model, which was based in an adult education and workforce agency and designed to serve the broader Tulsa population, began offering parents similar family-centered support and assistance The IPR team conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate the impacts of the adult model. They surveyed 277 racially and ethnically diverse parents, mostly mothers, 191 of whom received access to the program and 86 who did not. After a year in the program, parent participants were more likely to have obtained a vocational certificate or an associate degree compared to those who did not participate. The study is one of the first to show experimentally that a two-generation program might be effective in promoting student parents’ educational success.

Health Inequalities

Visibility, Relationship Dynamics, and Wellbeing the Bi+ Community

Bi+ people—those who are attracted to more than one gender—are the largest group within the LGBTQ+ community, but they often feel invisible. They also experience greater mental health challenges than people who identify as heterosexual, gay, or lesbian. A study by Emma McGorray, IPR social psychologist Eli Finkel , and Brian Feinstein in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity explores associations between bi+ individuals’ feelings of invisibility and their quality of life, particularly in the context of romantic relationships. The researchers focus on two main questions: whether feeling visible as a bi+ person is linked to greater wellbeing, and which features of romantic relationships are associated with greater feelings of visibility. The team surveyed 450 bi+ individuals who were single, in same-gender relationships, or in mixed-gender relationships. They found that feeling recognized as a bi+ person was linked to higher levels of wellbeing, especially for those who consider their sexual orientation central to their sense of self. Participants in mixed-gender relationships with heterosexual partners reported a lower sense of visibility compared to those in same-gender relationships and those with bi+ partners. The study also revealed that a bi+ individual may feel invisible even when their partner affirms and recognizes their identity. The researchers encourage clinicians working with bi+ individuals to pay attention to their romantic relationships and partner characteristics and to assess how visible and central these individuals consider their bi+ identity. Finkel is a Morton O. Schapiro IPR Faculty Fellow.

Race, Poverty, and Inequality

Perceptions of a Living Wage  

How much money is enough to live on is fundamental to many basic life decisions. In a working paper, IPR adjunct professor Michael Kraus and his colleagues examine how people estimate a living wage, how income shapes their estimates, and how it influences their support for government policies. The researchers asked 1,000 adults across the United States several questions, including what they think is a living wage, the average wage of working adults, and the average wage of workers earning the minimum wage. The participants also reported what they consider to be a basic need, their monthly spending, and their support for redistributive policies. The researchers find that people’s estimates of a living wage are higher than the federal poverty line, the state and federal minimum wage, a popular cost of living calculator called the MIT living wage calculator, and the proposed minimum wage standard of $15 per hour. Participants who reported higher estimates of a living wage were more likely to support redistributive policies, such as expanding programs that improve the living standards of disadvantaged groups or creating a federal job guarantee program. The results show that people generally report a living wage as higher than the federal standard and their beliefs about economic conditions are shaped by their own socioeconomic experiences. Future research should continue to explore income’s influence on perceptions of a living wage and how people calculate leisure as part of a living wage, given its importance for wellbeing.

Parent-Child Discussions Can Help Address Subtle Racism  

Experts recommend that White parents discuss racism with their children to reduce racial bias. However, many parents fail to do so. In a study published in  Developmental Psychology,  IPR psychologist Sylvia Perry and her colleagues  investigate  what sort of language White parents used in guided discussions of race with their 8–12-year-old children and whether the conversations effectively decreased bias.  The researchers recruited 84 White parent and child pairs who participated in a guided discussion task.  Parents and their children watched interactions between a White and Black child that showcased overt prejudice, subtle prejudice, or neutral interactions. Following this, parents used suggested discussion prompts meant to facilitate color-conscious conversations, where prejudice was acknowledged, and discourage colorblind conversations, where prejudice was downplayed. Parents and children separately completed implicit association tests to measure their anti-Black bias before and after the task. The results indicated that parents and children who had discussed race showed a significant decrease in anti-Black bias, with parents’ implicit bias score decreasing from 0.53 to 0.34 and children's implicit bias score decreasing from 0.41 to 0.16. Moreover, over 90% of parents and children used color-conscious language during their discussion, and this was associated with decreased bias in both parents and children. Although some parents also used colorblind language during the guided task, this language weakened but did not erase the positive effects of the color-conscious language on bias reduction. Researchers suggest that it is critical for parents to have honest conversations with their children about racism, even from a young age.

Neighborhoods and Community Safety

Officer-Involved Killings of Unarmed Black People and Racial Disparities in Sleep

Research shows that Black Americans are more likely to report that they sleep less than White Americans, putting them at risk for worse physical and mental health outcomes. In a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, IPR sociologist Andrew Papachristos and his colleagues investigate whether exposure to police officer-involved killings of unarmed Black people is linked to sleep duration in Black communities. The researchers use data on sleep duration from two nationally representative surveys: the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) and the American Time Use Surveys (ATUS). They examined responses from 181,865 Black and 1,799,757 White adults in the BRFSS and 9,858 Black and 46,532 White adults in the ATUS between 2013 and 2019. They also reviewed data from Mapping Police Violence (MPV), an online database tracking officer-involved killings since 2013. They then used data from both surveys to examine changes in sleep duration for Black adults before and after exposure to officer-involved killings of unarmed Black Americans in their area of residence and nationally. The evidence reveals that Black Americans are more likely to report that they got short sleep—less than seven hours of sleep—or very short sleep—less than six hours of sleep—compared to White Americans after police killed an unarmed Black person. Black Americans reported less sleep when the killing was in the state where they lived. These findings highlight the role police violence can play in shaping racial disparities in sleep duration.

Photo credit: Unsplash

Published: August 28, 2024.

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