About a Third of Public School Students Ended the 2023–24 School Year Behind Grade Level in at Least One Academic Subject, Principals Say

WASHINGTON (August 15, 2024) — Public school leaders nationwide estimated that, on average, 32 percent of their students ended the 2023–24 school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject, which is not measurably different than the 33 percent reported at the end of the 2021–22 school year, according to data released today from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. The new data shed light on learning recovery and student attendance in 2023–24. Forty-nine percent of public school leaders reported that student absences decreased at their schools compared to the 2022–23 school year.

“In the latest data from the School Pulse Panel survey we are seeing signs of change in the areas of learning recovery and student absences in public schools.” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “Nearly one-half of public school leaders responded that compared to last school year their student absences decreased. Additionally, the percentage of students reported by public school leaders that ended the school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject is not measurably different between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years. These new data are encouraging and give insight into strategies schools are using to promote recovery.”

Below are a few highlights. All data released today can be found on the School Pulse Panel dashboard.

• Public school leaders were asked about the strategies their school had used to support learning recovery for their students. More than eighty percent of schools used: identifying individual student academic needs with diagnostic assessment data (88 percent of public schools), identifying individual student academic needs with formative assessment data (85 percent), or remedial instruction (e.g., using content from prior years to teach concepts or skills) (82 percent).
• There was a 23-point increase in the percentage of public schools that reported having extended the school day, the school week, or the school year to accommodate learning recovery activities compared to the end of the 2021–22 school year (14 percent to 37 percent).
• When asked about possible reasons students missed too much school, 78 percent of schools reported students stayed home unnecessarily for minor symptoms, 61 percent reported students missed too much school due to physical illness, and 55 percent reported students missed too much school due to a mental health issue. Four percent of school leaders reported that their students did not miss too much school.

The findings released today, which also include data on learning modes during the 2023–24 school year, are part of an experimental data product from the School Pulse Panel, NCES’s innovative approach to delivering timely information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on public K–12 schools in the U.S. The data, collected between June 11–25, came from 1,651 participating public K–12 schools from every state and the District of Columbia.

Additional data collected from 99 public K–12 schools in the U.S. outlying areas—American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—are also available. Results from this collection include the finding that 25 percent of those public schools extended the school year to accommodate learning recovery activities.

Experimental data products are innovative statistical tools created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data may not meet all of NCES’s quality standards but are of sufficient benefit to data users in the absence of other relevant products to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental data products upon their release.

Learning Strategies and Recovery

• Public school leaders estimated that 32 percent of their students ended the 2023-24 school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject (33 percent of students were estimated to be behind grade level in at least one academic subject at the end of the 2021-22 school year).
  • Compared to the national estimate (32 percent), public schools with the following characteristics reported higher percentages of students ending the 2023-24 school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject:
    • with a student body made up of greater than 75 percent students of color (42 percent of their students);
    • in high-poverty neighborhoods (42 percent of their students);
    • in the West (39 percent of their students);
    • in cities (38 percent of their students);
    • with 300–499 students enrolled (37 percent of their students); or
    • elementary schools (36 percent of their students).
  • Compared to the national estimate (32 percent), public schools with the following characteristics reported lower percentages of students ending the 2023-24 school year behind grade level in at least one academic subject:
    • with a student body made up of less than 25 percent students of color (22 percent of their students);
    • high schools or secondary schools (22 percent of their students);
    • with 1,000 or more students enrolled (24 percent of their students); or
    • in rural areas (26 percent of their students).
  • Public school leaders were asked about the strategies their school had used to support learning recovery for their students. More than 80 percent of schools used: identifying individual student academic needs with diagnostic assessment data (88 percent of public schools), identifying individual student academic needs with formative assessment data (85 percent), or remedial instruction (e.g., using content from prior years to teach concepts or skills) (82 percent).
  • There was a 23-point increase in the percentage of public schools that reported having extended the school day, the school week, or the school year to accommodate learning recovery activities compared to the end of the 2021–22 school year (14 percent to 37 percent).

Student Attendance and Absences

• Forty-nine percent of public school leaders reported that student absences have decreased at their schools compared to last school year (2022-23), 35 percent reported student absences remained about the same, and 16 percent reported student absences increased compared to last school year.
• When asked about possible reasons students missed too much school, 78 percent of schools reported students stayed home unnecessarily for minor symptoms, 61 percent reported students missed too much school due to physical illness, and 55 percent reported students missed too much school due to a mental health issue. Four percent of school leaders reported that their students did not miss too much school.

Learning Modes

• Of public schools offering in-person learning for students during the 2023–24 school year (98 percent),
  • Seventeen percent reported switching to virtual learning for at least one day during the school year in response to having to cancel in-person learning on short or unexpected notice for at least one day.
  • Forty-three percent reported not holding any classes for at least one day during the school year in response to having to cancel in-person learning on short or unexpected notice for at least one day.

Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and non-sampling error. All comparisons in this statistical press release have been tested and found to be statistically significant unless otherwise noted. NCES statistical tests are generally conducted at a 95 percent level of confidence.

Additional details regarding the methodology, including the survey questionnaire, can be found on the School Pulse Panel methodology web page.