Across the country, the US is catching up the decline of the learning economy — the slide in students' reading skills predates the pandemic's school disruptions, but there are a few bright spots in California that include the Modesto, Compton and Los Angeles school districts, researchers said.
Scholars at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth analyzed state test scores from grades three through eight in more than 5,000 school districts in 38 states, allowing comparisons across school districts and states across the country. Academic scorecard.
What they found was troubling: Only five states and the District of Columbia experienced meaningful growth in reading test scores from 2022 to 2025, a time when schools were challenged to recover from pandemic-era problems. Like many states, California's tuition scores have declined.
Statistical results were better, with many states showing improvement over that period.
The researchers were able to pull enough data from 35 states to compare reading scores, and California ranked 29th in educational growth. California ranks 19th in education growth among the 38 states with adequate statistical data.
Another way to measure progress is to look at how much students learn in a typical teaching year.
Teacher Nancy Barajas points out how to track student growth and achievement during her classroom at Fairview Elementary School on May 6, 2026, in Modesto.
(Annie Barker/Associated Press)
Nationally, students remain about half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading scores as of 2019 and slightly better in math.
In California, students are about a third of a year behind pre-pandemic levels in reading. There is still about a quarter of the year to go in the calculations, the survey showed. A quarter of an instructional year translates to approximately 45 school days or approximately nine weeks of the school year.
Reading test scores have been declining since 2013 for eighth graders and 2015 for fourth graders — before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also called the National Report Card, which tests a sample of students across the country.
“This pandemic has been a landslide that followed seven years of continuous erosion,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor who helped develop the academic map.
Still, some districts and school districts are making progress – and a common trend has been to shift to sound-based education and provide more support in other ways and for struggling students.
The picture is starker in math, where nearly every state, including California, saw improvements in math test scores from 2022 to 2025. Student absenteeism has also decreased in many states.
Bright spots in California
The new analysis confirmed in a national comparison what was evident in California's testing system: In LA Unified, students exceeded pre-pandemic test scores in both reading and math. Improvements were more focused and included English learners, black students, Latino students and students with disabilities.
“Los Angeles Unified remains focused on ensuring that every student receives a strong literacy education, targeted academic support, and quality learning opportunities,” said Acting Supt. Andres Chait, who praised the work of teachers, learning based on phonics and actions including intensive intervention for struggling students.
In LA Unified, the percentage of students who scored proficient or better on state tests was slightly lower than the state average. But the score is progressing at a rapid pace. For reading, the figure was 46.5% for LA Unified and 48.8% for the state. Statistically, the figure was 36.8% for LA Unified and 37.3% for the state.
At Compton, students now exceed state averages, with 51% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts; 41.1% in mathematics. In terms of improvement, Compton has risen above all of the state's school systems.
“Our continued success is not the result of a one-off or a short-term recovery strategy,” said Compton Supt. Darin Brawley. “It was the result of building a unified teaching program focused on high expectations, continuous improvement, frequent evaluation, rapid intervention…. During and after the pandemic, we did not reduce rigor. We strengthened discipline.”
Another hotbed of progress is the Modesto City Elementary School District.
Reading and math scores in the Central Valley school system of about 15,000 students have grown steadily over the past few years.
The district revamped reading instruction during the violence, as well as math a few years earlier. This effort included creating a new department to help students who are still learning English. Schools also stepped up teacher training, paying teachers $5,000 to complete a comprehensive phonics-based “science of learning” program.
At Fairview Elementary, for example, students practice reading speed and reading fluency every day in sixth grade teacher Nancy Barajas' classroom. English language learners are paired with native English speakers, and each child gets a chance to study with Barajas.
“Finally, you get a voice like water,” said another boy in Barajas' class. “You're just saying it's smooth.”
Modesto's test scores increased enough to represent 18 more weeks of learning in math and 13 weeks in reading. Still, the district still has a ways to go: The overall score remains well below grade level.
Sixth graders read a passage and give constructive feedback to their peers during class in Modesto.
(Annie Barker/Associated Press)
Switching to sounds
Researchers are still debating the causes of the decline in the learning economy — and which factors are most important in regions with above-average growth.
Another possible factor in the slide, researchers say, is the rise of social media on smartphones and related devices. drop in reading for fun.
States have also backed away from tougher outcomes for schools with students who fail to make progress on standardized tests, Kane said.
The states that developed reading scores — Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana — had one thing in common: they mandated schools to teach in a phonics-based approach known as “learning science.”
In the past decade, the South has come to the fore as a region the best in audio support changes in education and other research-based statistical changes. Louisiana and Alabama are the only states where math scores were higher in 2025 than before the pandemic. Louisiana is also the only state to beat its pre-pandemic average in reading.
For years, schools taught reading using methods that de-emphasized phonics and encouraged strategies such as guessing words based on context clues. As reading scores have fallen over the past decade, parents, professors and literacy advocates have pushed for teaching methods that are consistent with decades of research on how children learn to read — especially through phonics.
Along with changing teaching methods, states – including California – have also required schools to screen for learning disabilities such as dyslexia and hire coaches to help teachers improve their reading instruction.
That said, the “learning science” reforms did not guarantee success. Some states, including Florida, Arizona and Nebraska, have changed parts of their reading instruction but are still seeing test scores fall.
Lurye and Gecker wrote for the Associated Press.
