Data: How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted learning loss across Pennsylvania, New Jersey

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted education nationwide, setting students back in their studies. On average, U.S. students fell behind about half a year in math and a quarter of a year in reading from 2019 to 2022. Changes in achievement differed by state and school district, with learning losses greatest in poorer districts and those that spent longer periods in remote instruction.

Students in Camden, New Jersey, fell behind a year and a half in math -- among the 30 worst declines in all U.S. school districts, according to a 6abc analysis of data from the Education Recovery Scorecard, a project by researchers at Harvard and Stanford. Camden students also lost half a grade level in reading proficiency, the analysis found.

Across the river, Philadelphia students fared only slightly better. They lost nearly a full grade level in math -- worse than the statewide average -- but less than a third of a year in reading, a smaller loss than the average across Pennsylvania.

Suburban school districts with fewer low-income students saw less learning loss than did Philadelphia and Camden: In Radnor, Pennsylvania, where just one in 10 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, students lost about half a year in math and less than a fifth of a year in reading. In neighboring Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, where only one in 15 students are eligible for lunch subsidies, students had slightly less learning loss in math and virtually no learning loss in reading.

In Haddonfield, New Jersey, where almost no students qualify for subsidized lunch, learners lost just a tenth of a grade level in math and actually gained a fifth of a year in reading.

Philadelphia area suburbs with predominantly low-income student bodies -- like Upper Darby and Norristown in Pennsylvania and Lindenwold in New Jersey -- lost about a year in math and half a year in reading on average.

Across the country, school districts that kept their students out of the classroom for longer tended to have worse declines in math and reading proficiency, researchers found. Those negative effects of remote instruction were most pronounced in districts with fewer resources, compounding learning loss disparities.

Researchers concluded that these factors contributed to learning loss at a community level, rather than at a household level. That means where children lived mattered more than family demographics like income level and race.

The researchers also studied pre-pandemic instances where students' test scores fell following learning disruptions, and they found that these losses often lingered for years -- a worrisome sign for the millions of U.S. children who are now struggling to recover lost ground.