Fewer elementary and middle school students in the District are on track to pass standardized exams in math this academic year and literacy has dropped significantly among the city’s youngest learners, according to a study published Thursday.

The findings from EmpowerK12, a non-profit that analyzes education data, are another sign virtual learning is a struggle for many of the city’s public schoolchildren, especially those who face the most persistent barriers to learning. Students from low-income families have fared worse academically during the pandemic than their more well-off peers, widening achievement gaps, the report says. 

Joshua Boots, founder and executive director of Empower K12, said schools can use the data to begin determining ways to make up for the learning loss, including extending the school day once campuses reopen. 

“The key to coming back is going to be developing that love and joy of learning again,” he said.  “We need to find ways to bring students back when it’s safe and healthy, and engage them.” 

The nonprofit analyzed scores on three assessments that were administered to more than 30,000 public school students, traditional and charter, this fall. Taken together, the scores show elementary and middle school students are four months behind in math compared to where they would be in a typical school year, and one month behind in reading, according to the report.  

The findings match national trends. A report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company found students, on average, could lose five to nine months of learning during the pandemic, especially in math. Students of color could fall between six and 12 months behind. 

Each fall in the District, students in grades 3 through 8 are given assessments to project how they will fare on annual exams called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which are normally administered in the spring. City education officials canceled PARCC exams last academic year because of the public health crisis, but plan to administer them this year.

Twenty-eight percent of students are expected to pass PARCC assessments in math for the current school year, according to the study. At this point in 2019-2020, 33 percent of students were on track to pass the exams.

Forty-two percent of students are on track to pass PARCC reading exams, which is on par with where students were at this point last year.  Some student groups are expected to improve on reading assessments but passing rates for Black students and children who are part of low-income families are expected to fall.

Literacy among students in kindergarten through second grade has also plummeted. Thirty-six percent of the 5,100 children who took early literacy assessments this fall were considered proficient in reading, a 12 percentage point drop from last year, according to the report. 

That matched data released by D.C. Public Schools earlier this school year that showed fewer students in kindergarten through second grade were meeting expectations in early literacy, with Black and Latino students falling behind faster than white children. 

City education leaders have argued the drops in student performance indicate a need for more in-person instruction, despite pushback from many teachers and families who fear it is not safe to return as coronavirus cases surge across the region. 

Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn said the decline in early literacy led D.C. schools to create CARE classrooms, where hundreds of elementary school students are learning virtually from a school building under the supervision of an adult. Several charter schools are also providing in-person instruction to small groups of children.  

Kihn said the city is developing plans for helping students recover learning loss. 

“This report validates our firm belief that students learn best in the classroom and highlights the importance of our efforts to provide in-person learning experiences for the students who need it most,” he said.