They include Tabitha Sue James, whose son has been following an online curriculum at home since 2020. 

鈥淚 applied the first day,鈥� she said. 鈥淚’ve paid thousands of dollars in property taxes to schools. Why shouldn’t we be able to have 鈥� homeschool choice?

While families won鈥檛 know until early April whether they have received funding, she could be among the nearly two-thirds of homeschooling families who say they use public dollars to educate their children, according to from the Rand Corp., shared exclusively with 社区黑料.  

Of those who live in a state without education savings accounts or tax credits for private education, more than 70% said they would use public funds to offset homeschooling costs if they could, the data show. 

RAND鈥檚 American Life Panel on homeschool ESA use of parents who homeschool at least one child:

The similarity between the two figures is significant, said Angela Watson, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Homeschool Research Lab.

鈥淭hat gives some confidence that these responses are accurate,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes people will say they might do something when in reality, they wouldn鈥檛 actually do it. But here we see that people say and do things at the same rates.鈥�

The lab commissioned Rand to ask the questions as part of its American Life Panel, a nationally representative sample of more than 2,400 parents with K-12 students. While homeschoolers only represented about 10% of the respondents, the data are among the first to independently measure their views on ESAs. The results follow from the 鈥嬧�婣rkansas Department of Education and the University of Arkansas showing that about a quarter of students who used that state鈥檚 ESA program last school year were homeschoolers. 

Most existing data come from advocates who private school choice, an issue that still sharply divides homeschoolers. Some remain strongly opposed to ESA programs and warn that they threaten parents鈥� rights to educate their children as they see fit. 鈥淕overnment cheese always comes in a trap,鈥� one parent posted in the Texans for Homeschool Freedom Facebook group. 

On the topic of ESAs 鈥渢here are not a lot of indifferent people,鈥� said Kevin Boden, director of legal and legislative advocacy for the Home School Legal Defense Association. 鈥淭hey either think it鈥檚 the greatest thing that’s ever happened in education, or they think that it’s the thing to be most feared.鈥�

James, for one, is grateful for the financial support. She wants to add music lessons and buy materials for STEM projects. The Texas program 鈥渕akes those opportunities possible for us.鈥�

Under the program, she鈥檚 eligible to receive $2,000 annually. But parents who choose an accredited private school will receive $10,474 or up to $30,000 for a child with a disability. 

While James prefers the 鈥渓ow-stress鈥� environment of homeschooling, that funding gap is enough of an incentive to make some homeschoolers rethink their educational model.

鈥淢aybe the family has always wanted to get into an accredited private school and now they can,鈥� said Jeremy Newman, vice president of policy and engagement with the Texas Homeschool Coalition, which supports the state鈥檚 new program. 鈥淭here are other families who say 鈥楬omeschooling is what would have been best for my child but we can’t afford what the child needs, so we’re going to have to go to this other option.鈥� 鈥� 

Erin Flynn, lead instructor at , an Austin-area microschool for seventh through 12th graders, said she鈥檚 received several calls over the past few months from homeschooling families inquiring whether she will be accepting Education Freedom Accounts for tuition. 

Operating out of a converted house with a large porch, she offers a twice-a-week option for $600 per month and a full-time program for $950. She described the curriculum, which focuses on humanities, STEM and art, as 鈥渟elf-directed.鈥� 

鈥淲e want to put the power back in students鈥� hands so that they aren’t just learning the canon; they’re learning how to identify what it is that they love,鈥� said Flynn, a former English teacher. She was the principal of a charter school until she founded Hedge during the pandemic.

Microschools, she said, can be 鈥渁 bridge鈥� between homeschooling and traditional private school because they often allow students to attend part time. 

鈥楽o many options鈥�

According to Travis Pillow, spokesman for the Texas comptroller鈥檚 office, which runs the program, there鈥檚 no 鈥渟eat time requirement.鈥� As long as students are enrolled in a on the state鈥檚 list and take an annual assessment, they qualify as a private school student. 

To Pillow, who previously worked for the nonprofit running Florida鈥檚 school choice program, the different funding levels in Texas have been an adjustment. Florida鈥檚 program doesn鈥檛 differentiate between homeschoolers and private school students.

鈥淚 saw a lot of virtue in that idea because there are just so many options that don’t necessarily fit in a traditional box anymore,鈥� he said. It鈥檚 hard in some cases, he said, to draw 鈥渁 bright line鈥� between schooling and homeschooling.

Some applicants educating their kids at home, he said, will likely enroll in approved online schools, which would qualify them for the larger award. But Newman, with the Coalition, also expects homeschoolers to pressure lawmakers to increase the amount for their children鈥檚 educational expenses. He thinks the proportion of homeschool applicants would be 鈥渄ramatically higher鈥� if the funds weren’t capped at $2,000.

鈥淢any families homeschool because they have special needs children,鈥� he said. Some types of therapy, 鈥渃an very quickly surpass $2,000.鈥� 

鈥極ut of necessity鈥�

Texas isn鈥檛 the only state that offers different amounts for private school students and homeschoolers. Alabama鈥檚 awards $7,000 per student toward private school tuition and $2,000 for a 鈥渉ome education program.鈥� Homeschooling families are capped at $4,000 even if they have more than two school-age children.

Texas and Alabama are 鈥渋ncentivizing people to go to private school and not to homeschool,鈥� said Watson, with Johns Hopkins. But that could be a challenge for families living in rural areas without a lot of private school options, she said.

Like Florida, Arizona took a different approach when it passed the nation鈥檚 first universal ESA program in 2022. The base funding amount, which typically ranges between $7,000 and $8,000, is the same whether parents choose homeschooling or private school. Arizona parent Kathy Visser, whose son has disabilities, said $2,000 wouldn鈥檛 cover a month of his tutoring costs. In total, he receives about $40,000. Her daughter, formerly homeschooled, is now in a private school and receives $9,000.

鈥淔or families who choose to homeschool out of personal preference, I am sure the $2,000 is welcome,鈥� she said. 鈥淔or families like mine who homeschool out of necessity, because we could not find any traditional school that came close to meeting either of our kids鈥� needs, it wouldn鈥檛 go far.鈥�

Arizona, however, is the state ESA critics most often point to for examples of a lack of guardrails on spending. A of expenditures turned up a number of 鈥渦nallowable鈥� items, like diamond jewelry, expensive gaming consoles and designer purses. State Superintendent Tom Horne of the program, but his methods for determining whether purchases violate the letter, or at least the spirit, of the law. 

Pillow said Texas limited homeschool awards to $2,000 because those families don鈥檛 have the 鈥渂ig ticket expense鈥� of tuition. But another reason was to avoid 鈥減olitically hard-to-explain purchases.鈥� Parents also have to shop for supplies and materials within a 鈥渃losed marketplace.鈥� 

鈥淟egos are legitimate educational items,鈥� he said, noting purchases that have in Arizona. 鈥淏ut are we going to curate that marketplace with the latest and greatest collectors鈥� item? The $500 Harry Potter set is not necessarily going to be available.鈥� 

Newman, with the Texas Homeschool Coalition, added that there鈥檚 much less 鈥渁dministrative weight鈥� on the program when parents primarily spend the money on tuition. But both he and Pillow agreed that the state is likely to revisit the issue.

Don Huffines, who won the Republican nomination for comptroller, and is expected to easily win the general election in November, has said he the program. 

But the staunch conservative is also a . Newman said he hopes that means Huffines鈥� will be open to addressing the 鈥渄isparities.鈥�

鈥淧eople have this idea of what they think homeschooling is,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s the people who have done it who really understand.鈥� 

But new studies bolster the evidence that done well, virtual models can be just as effective at moving students forward as face-to-face instruction.

In Massachusetts, first graders who spent 15 minutes a day online with a tutor from stayed on track a year later without additional tutoring, according to exclusively with 社区黑料. Students gained, on average, at least five additional months of learning over their expected growth. 

Another virtual program, , produced positive results for the lowest-performing students in the Kansas City, Missouri, schools. Students who received one-on-one tutoring from certified teachers made greater progress than those who didn鈥檛 receive the extra help, .听

鈥淰irtual models are getting stronger,鈥� said Amanda Neitzel, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of the Ignite Reading study. 鈥淚f you go back just a few years, we had no examples of evidence-proven models and now we are getting them.鈥�

In addition to following Ignite Reading for two years, she recently published a study showing that elementary school students in Texas and Louisiana who received virtual tutoring from , outperformed their peers and gained nearly three additional months of learning.

Results like those have broadened the conversation about how to bring students who are missing critical reading skills up to speed. 

鈥淭utoring can work in many ways and in different settings,鈥� Kevin Huffman, CEO of Accelerate, said earlier this month at the nonprofit鈥檚 annual conference. 

When the organization began funding tutoring research four years ago, there were doubts, he said, about whether virtual programs could compete with in-person models. There鈥檚 more confidence in online versions now, but as with tutoring in general, progress depends on whether providers feature the components of a high-dosage program 鈥� meaning they were offered for roughly 90 minutes a week, during the school day with a trained tutor. Ensuring kids get all the tutoring hours a program is designed to deliver is also key.

鈥淲e obsess over student attendance,鈥� said Jessica Reid Sliwerski, Ignite Reading’s founder. Now in 24 states, the program focuses on building phonics skills and reading fluency.

In the Johns Hopkins Ignite Reading study, which focused on 13 Massachusetts school districts, 85% of students who mastered foundational reading skills 鈥渄uring the crucial first grade window鈥� were still keeping up at the end of second grade, Neitzel wrote. But if students didn鈥檛 meet expectations on time, they couldn鈥檛 catch up. Some were just too far behind.

鈥淢any kids start our program still not knowing basic kindergarten skills, like letter names and sounds,鈥� Sliwerski said. That means tutors have two years of content to get through.

To Sliwerski, the findings demonstrate that third grade, when many states decide whether students are strong enough readers to advance, is too late to intervene. If kids struggle to decode unfamiliar words, they won鈥檛 be able to comprehend more complex reading assignments. 

鈥淲e are so caught up in 鈥榬eading by grade three鈥� that we aren鈥檛 honoring that kids are actually supposed to have fully cracked the code and be able to fluently read grade-level text at the end of first grade,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e act like kids have all the time in the world, when they don鈥檛.鈥� 

The 5,700-student Chelsea Public Schools was among the Massachusetts districts using Ignite Reading as part of a project funded by One8, a nonprofit that helped schools get high-dosage tutoring off the ground. The state the program.  

At first, 鈥渙ur teachers were a little skeptical,鈥� said Superintendent Almi Abeyta, a former kindergarten and first grade teacher. 鈥淭hey were like, 鈥榃e just got off of remote learning. Why are we going to put kids on a computer again?鈥� 鈥� 

Then they saw the data. Students made similar gains on DIBELS, a widely used early literacy assessment, whether they were Black, Hispanic, English learners or had a disability, the study found.

鈥楢 great opportunity鈥�

Results like those are why the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, near San Diego, California, is now spreading the program to all of its elementary schools as part of its First Grade Promise initiative. 

In a pilot, Fallbrook STEM Academy, which serves a high-poverty population, enrolled 20 second graders in the program. Many of the students speak Spanish at home, didn鈥檛 attend preschool and lack access to books, flash cards and other early reading materials, said Principal Ana Arias. She called each parent to ask that they get their children to school a little early so they could meet with a tutor.

鈥淚 phrased it as an opportunity 鈥� a great opportunity 鈥� but I needed their commitment,鈥� Arias said. 鈥淲e have so many kids in the classroom and there’s so much need. It’s very rare to have a teacher meet one-on-one with a student every single day.鈥� 

At the beginning of this school year, the 20 students were reading at a kindergarten level. By November, 19 had advanced to a first grade level, and she鈥檚 hoping they鈥檒l be on par with their peers by the end of the school year. 

鈥楾ranscend time zones鈥� 

The latest findings build on those that Harvard University and City University of New York researchers published last year. Whether tutoring is remote or in-person, , matters less than whether the tutor is well qualified and students attend sessions regularly.

Virtual models even have some advantages over in-person programs, experts say. Schools have to pay an in-person tutor whether or not the student is present. But virtual programs 鈥渢ranscend time zones,鈥� Sliwerski said, and can redeploy a tutor to meet with another student.  

If the tutor is absent, 鈥渨e have a substitute ready to go,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he technology underpinning the program ensures the child receives the exact lesson they were supposed to get.鈥�

In Kansas City, consistency was key to the strong results. Students in first through fourth grade across 14 schools met with their tutors for 30-minute sessions at least three times a week for 20 weeks during the 2024-25 school year. The more sessions completed, the stronger the growth. Some students gained more than two months of additional learning and were less likely to be placed in special education. 

On average, the students who participated in the Hoot program and those in the comparison group began the school year two grade levels behind. While many are still struggling readers, their progress was significant, said Carly Robinson, a senior researcher at Stanford University and a co-author of the study.

鈥淭his wasn’t a boutique pilot,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s tutoring operating inside a district system that is messy, and it still proved to be effective.鈥�

The district had to contend with technical glitches and unexpected snow days that forced students to miss some sessions.

Not all virtual programs have been able to overcome disruptions. 

In a large suburban district in Texas, some students meeting with virtual tutors during the 2021-22 school year did worse in reading than their peers who didn鈥檛 receive the intervention. Scheduling conflicts, like school assemblies, and tutor turnover, contributed to the disappointing results.

鈥楢 higher bar鈥�

Those challenges grow even more complex in the middle grades with electives and block schedules where students don鈥檛 have the same classes every day. But Rahul Kalita, co-founder of Tutored by Teachers, said maintaining relationships between tutors and students is essential. 

He hopes to contribute to the research base on virtual tutoring by participating in a randomized controlled study, funded by Accelerate and focused on math in two large Indianapolis middle schools. 

鈥淚t felt like the right opportunity to test our model under a higher bar of rigor,鈥� he said.

On top of virtual programs refining their practices, districts, he said, 鈥渉ave also become more sophisticated buyers of tutoring.鈥� Multiple districts across the country pay providers higher rates if students make measurable progress or pass state tests. 

In addition, there鈥檚 growing agreement that literacy tutoring, whether virtual or not, is more effective if it’s part of a strong early reading program that includes a curriculum based on the science of reading and screening students for dyslexia or other learning difficulties. 

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 throw tutoring at the problem,鈥� Sliwerski said at the Accelerate conference. 鈥淚t has to be part of a very intentional system.鈥�

Many discovered their children were better suited for learning outside traditional schools and stuck with it. Others said schools were pushing and wanted to teach their own values. These parents help to explain why homeschooling during the pandemic and shows no sign of retreating to pre-COVID rates.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean those families have completely left public schools behind, according to the latest data from researchers at Johns Hopkins University.  More than a third of families with at least one homeschooled child also have a student enrolled in a traditional district school. Another 9% of homeschoolers have a child in a charter.

Angela Watson, an assistant professor and director of the university鈥檚 Homeschool Research Lab, called a 鈥渂ig deal.鈥� 

The data is 鈥渆vidence that there鈥檚 not this rejection of public schooling that people frame it as,鈥� she said. She doesn鈥檛 know whether  many families were 鈥渕ixing鈥� different forms of education before the pandemic. 鈥淭o my knowledge, no one has thought to ask this question before. Folks just assumed homeschool families were homeschool families.鈥� 

As more families choose to educate their children at home, Watson鈥檚 post-COVID analysis of responses from nearly 3,200 parents reflects the within the population. Less than half of homeschoolers identify as Republicans, whereas, , this group outnumbered Democrats 3 to 1. A quarter say they are politically liberal, and a third say they never attend religious services. That鈥檚 a big shift from 2012, when of parents said imparting their religious beliefs to their children was a primary reason for homeschooling.

鈥淭hat really changes the conversation for Democrats to see how diverse this group is,鈥� Watson said. 

Families often turn to homeschooling after struggling to get adequate services in the public system for children with disabilities. Education savings accounts 鈥� public funds that pay for private school tuition or homeschooling costs 鈥� have made that decision even easier. 

Angela Faber pulled her youngest child, who has autism, out of the Deer Valley Unified School District, near Phoenix, during the pandemic. Remote learning had allowed Faber to see up close the extent of her daughter鈥檚 delays. She was in fourth grade, but reading at a kindergarten level and getting just 30 minutes of extra help each week.  

With state funds, her daughter now learns at home with a private teacher and receives horseback riding therapy, which helps with balance, coordination and focus. 

But she鈥檚 sometimes envious of her older sister, who attends what Faber described as a 鈥減retty darn liberal鈥� charter school and manages a hectic extracurricular schedule. As a basketball player, she鈥檚 out the door some mornings at 6 a.m. and not back until after dark.

鈥淭he youngest is like 鈥業 want to go to school and play all these sports.鈥� But she just doesn’t like people and she knows that,鈥� Faber said. 鈥淚 don’t know any family that really has kids who learn the same way.鈥�

鈥楴ot a fit for all situations鈥�

One complication for families juggling the mix is that the rhythms of homeschooling and public school don鈥檛 necessarily mesh. 

When Audria Ausbern, from the west Texas town of Tahoka, homeschooled her two sons, the family used to avoid vacation crowds by scheduling trips after public schools started in the fall. That鈥檚 what they did in 2019 when Talon, their oldest, insisted they visit Boston, the site of the of 1919. He learned about the bizarre event from the 鈥淚 Survived鈥� of books.

For five years, they took off in their RV whenever they wanted, with excursions to the Pacific Northwest, Florida, and Minnesota, where they biked the Grand Marais trail. But once Talon entered public school in 2022, they had to plan their adventures around the school calendar. At 6-foot-6, he wanted to play high school basketball and get used to the dynamics of a typical classroom so he鈥檇 be better prepared for college.

The transition came with hiccups. The school didn鈥檛 accept all of his credits 鈥� like sign language for a foreign language 鈥� and he had to take an extra science class, Ausbern said. The counselor wasn鈥檛 pleased that Talon didn鈥檛 take social studies courses in the same order as district kids, and she required him to double up on English when she decided his at-home curriculum didn鈥檛 include enough paperwork.

鈥淪ince English is Talon’s weaker subject, and he had room in his schedule, we decided not to fight the issue,鈥� his mother said. 

Now Weston, his younger brother, is weighing whether he too will spend his senior year in a public school.

Homeschooling 鈥渋s not a fit for all situations,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd we had some great experiences with public education.鈥�

In the future, families鈥� preferences may even change 鈥測ear by year,鈥� said Jeremy Newman, vice president of policy and engagement at the Texas Home School Coalition, an advocacy group. 

鈥淚t’s not the case anymore that the average student is going to one form of education for their whole K-12 education,鈥� he said. That doesn鈥檛 mean, however, that the 鈥渘atural suspicion鈥� some homeschoolers have toward the public system is gone, he said. 鈥淚t was just like 30, 40 years ago when states were trying to prosecute homeschoolers just for homeschooling.鈥� 

Two attorneys the Home School Legal Defense Association in 1983 for that reason, and the organization still fights legal challenges today. For example, a bill proposed in Illinois in this year鈥檚 session recently reignited parents鈥� mistrust toward the government.

The Democratic-backed would have required parents to have a high school diploma to homeschool and to alert their local district if they intended to do so. Sponsors said they want to ensure children are safe and learning, but families and have . 

Kevin Boden, an attorney with the association, thinks the growing racial, economic, cultural and diversity of homeschoolers is one reason why the legislation died this year. While he spends his time protecting parents鈥� right to educate their children at home, he said he鈥檚 not surprised that so many families also have a child in public school. 

鈥業 needed help鈥�

Aime茅 Fletcher, a Nashville-area mom, took remote learning during COVID as a chance to rethink how her children were being educated. After the pandemic, she put her two sons, Noah and Nash, in private school. Now homeschooled, they follow a Bible-themed curriculum with a study group two days a week and spend the rest completing assignments on the couch or at the dining room table. The flexibility allows Noah, a sophomore this fall, time to paint, teach himself guitar and work part-time at a local farm.

鈥淏oth boys seem to have settled and are thriving in the homeschool environment,鈥� she said. 

Their sister Sara has very different needs, which for now, Fletcher thinks the public schools are in the best position to meet. Adopted from Colombia, the rising fifth grader has cerebral palsy, was orphaned and didn鈥檛 know English when she arrived in 2020. With her learning still delayed, she depends on more than 1,000 minutes a week of one-on-one and small group support in reading and math.

A homeschool advocate who works for a conservative nonprofit, Fletcher tried to teach Sara letters and numbers. But she determined that enrolling her at Amanda North Elementary, in the Williamson County district, was the best option.

鈥淚 needed help and I still do, honestly,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淗er story is different from my boys, and so is her schooling.鈥�

In 2020, for example, 10 states had graduation rates of 90% or higher, but only five did in 2022, according to Tuesday鈥檚 analysis from the , a network of nonprofits working to improve student outcomes. 

But the report suggests that the full impact of COVID school closures on graduation rates has yet to be realized. This year鈥檚 seniors, for example, were seventh graders when the pandemic hit in March, 2020 and likely spent much of eighth grade learning remotely or in a cycle of on-again, off-again in-person learning. 

That鈥檚 why the pandemic鈥檚 effects on graduation rates and college enrollment could have a 鈥渓ong tail,鈥� the report says. 

鈥淕raduating from high school is a long process,鈥� said Robert Balfanz, director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, which supports the Grad Partnership. 鈥淚t’s the younger kids that may be more impacted.鈥�

The pandemic disturbed a trend of rising graduation rates that began in 2011, driven largely by gains among minorities. But an overall increase following the pandemic was due to state and local efforts to minimize the impact of the COVID emergency rather than actual educational improvement, Balfanz said.

State and local decisions to relax grading policies, accept late work and drop exit exam requirements gave the appearance that more students were meeting expectations. That鈥檚 why additional information, like whether ninth graders have earned enough credits to advance to 10th grade, chronic absenteeism data and the rates of students taking advanced courses have become increasingly valuable indicators of whether students are on track. 

Meanwhile, states and districts varied widely on how deeply COVID affected families, how long schools were closed and whether they were equipped to respond to the crisis. 

鈥淲e know some schools took extraordinary efforts to make sure their seniors graduated,鈥� Balfanz said. 鈥淥thers may not have had that capacity.鈥� 

Some students lacked stable Wi-Fi at home or had to go to work when parents were sick, while other families had the resources to hire tutors and form pods or attended schools that reopened in the fall of 2020.

Ohio saw the largest increase in rates between 2019 and 2022 鈥� from 82% to 86.2%, while New Jersey saw the greatest decline, from 90.6% to 85.2%. But actions in two large states 鈥� and 鈥� actually pushed the national rate to an all-time high, from 85.8% in 2019 to 86.6%.

Both states waived graduation requirements, like required courses and exams, for students. Meanwhile, New Jersey鈥檚 stricter definition of on-time graduation for students with disabilities likely contributed to the drop, the report said. 

At the district level, rates varied widely. Of the nearly 7,000 districts included in the analysis, about a third saw higher graduation rates in 2022 than in 2019, while roughly the same percentage saw a decline. Rates were stable in about 38% of districts.

But the data, Balfanz said, suggests that districts should start as soon as students enter high school to make sure they鈥檙e making progress toward graduation. 

 As part of their state accountability systems, six states currently monitor whether ninth graders are having a successful first year in high school. Data from five of those states 鈥� Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Oregon and Washington 鈥� shows significantly fewer students were on track in 2021-22 than in 2018-19.

鈥淭hese students may bear more of the brunt of the pandemic鈥檚 impact on high school graduation rates than students who experienced the pandemic as 10th and 11th graders,鈥� the report said.

Chronic absenteeism, which remains in some states, is also tougher to get under control at the high school level than in earlier grades and is 鈥渢he wild card for a prolonged period of pandemic impacts on educational attainment,鈥� the report said. 

鈥楬ybrid and weird鈥�

Adam Larsen, assistant superintendent of the Oregon Community School District in Illinois, west of Chicago, remembers how much students who were seventh graders when schools shut down struggled in their freshman year. 

鈥淭hat eighth grade year was hybrid and weird. We had social distancing and no vaccine,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ocially, they just didn’t mature. Freshman year tried to be normal, and they weren’t ready for normal.鈥�

The Oregon district also offers an afterschool mentoring program, called Hawks Take Flight, designed to prevent students from falling so far behind, because of absenteeism or missing work, that they can鈥檛 graduate on time. 

At the weekly sessions, students talk about what鈥檚 getting in their way. If they meet their goals for the week, they earn prizes.

鈥淥ur graduation rate has been high and remains high because of the amount of support that we put in there,鈥� Larsen said. 鈥淲e have made it impossibly hard for students to fail unless they’ve chosen to fail.鈥� 

鈥楳ake the diploma meaningful鈥�

The way districts used their $190 billion in pandemic relief money also determined whether students received enough help to keep up with their work. 

Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, in Fall River, Massachusetts, near the border with Rhode Island, hired virtual tutors, conducted home visits and 鈥渓ooked at the crisis as an opportunity to use funds to support students,鈥� said Andrew Rebello, who was principal at the school until this past August. 

In 2021, without any diploma expectations waived, the school hit a record 98% . Massachusetts, however, just changed those expectations. In the general election, voters decided to scrap the requirement that students pass exams in English, science and math in order to graduate.

The vote is a sign that the shift toward waiving high-stakes tests wasn鈥檛 limited to the pandemic.

Harry Felder, executive director of FairTest, which advocates against standardized testing, celebrated the outcome. 鈥淧arents, educators and policymakers realize that these tests fail as drivers of education that our young people need to thrive in the modern world.鈥� he said in a . 

But Rebello, now assistant superintendent in another district, said he thinks the state needs to add a different requirement to 鈥渕ake the diploma meaningful.鈥�

The growing backlash against high-stakes testing also creates the opportunity for a fresh 鈥渃onversation about what really matters for high school graduation rates,鈥� Balfanz said. 

While shows that getting good grades and taking rigorous courses might be greater predictors of success in college than a single test score, there are also concerns that no longer reflect subject mastery. 

鈥淭his is a huge debate,鈥� Balfanz said. 鈥淏ut, post-pandemic, we do need to revise what we expect of our kids.鈥�

The White House, which has faced criticism for not doing enough for students who fell dramatically behind in math and reading, had something to show for it Thursday. An estimated 323,000 college students, volunteers and school staff signed up 鈥� not only exceeding the administration鈥檚 goal, but hitting it ahead of schedule. 

鈥淭his problem is not getting solved by somebody in Washington D.C. We launched the vision. We sent out money,鈥� Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten said at an event to celebrate the milestone. But those resources, she said, 鈥渉elped to galvanize鈥� volunteers and staff at the local level. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud that we can see the results of this collective effort.鈥�

In the 2023-24 school year, over a quarter of principals reported offering more tutoring, mentoring or other support services than they did the previous year, according to a of over a thousand school leaders released ahead of the event. In all, roughly 24,500 schools added an average of 5.5 additional adults focused on supporting students.

While it鈥檚 too early to determine what effect the extra help had on student performance, over 30% of principals said they were able to employ research-backed, high-dosage tutoring, according to from the Rand Corp. That means trained tutors worked with the same students over time for at least 90 minutes per week.

Demand for tutors has received significant national attention, given students鈥� steep decline in learning. But the White House count also reflects a variety of added positions, including mentors to help re-engage chronically absent students and those who help students navigate college applications. About $20 million in federal relief money, flowing through AmeriCorps, the national service organization, fueled the partnership鈥檚 work. Districts also dipped in to other COVID funding to support the extra positions.

But the initiative, led by the National Partnership for Student Success at Johns Hopkins University, faces an uncertain future. Districts are using up what鈥檚 left of that money, and Republicans want to for AmeriCorps, as they have for years.

鈥淥ne hundred percent depends on the election,鈥� said Robert Balfanz, the Johns Hopkins professor who leads the partnership. He expects the effort to continue 鈥渋n some form鈥� if Vice President Kamala Harris wins. 

It鈥檚 unclear whether Donald Trump would do the same, but the educational effects of the pandemic will linger regardless of who鈥檚 in office, he said. 

鈥淲e have kids that are disengaged. We have kids that have greater out-of-school problems. We have kids that are more confused about what they want to do after high school,鈥� Balfanz said. 鈥淚t’s very hard to address those kids with your school staff alone.鈥� 

Launched six months after U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona issued the charge for more tutors, the initiative serves as a hub for connecting local groups and individuals to schools that need them. Some leaders from the partnership鈥檚 national network of 200 districts have tried new strategies to motivate students.

In hopes of reducing a chronic absenteeism rate of about 30%, Principal Scott Hale at Johnstown High School, north of Albany, New York, tapped existing staff members, like teaching assistants, secretaries and coaches, to serve as mentors.

鈥淪uccess mentors鈥� at the school are matched with students to better understand why they鈥檙e absent and what incentives might lure them back. Keeping track of absences on a simple paper calendar drives home how quickly they can add up, Hale said.

鈥淢any students don’t realize how many days they have missed until they see it,鈥� he said. Reducing schoolwide chronic absenteeism has been tough, he added. But over half of the 125 students with mentors increased their attendance. 鈥淭o see a kid improve from 80 absences to 30 is a huge win for us.鈥�

鈥楳ust be doing the right thing鈥� 

College students, who saw their own educations disrupted by the pandemic, have been integral to school recovery efforts, said Josh Fryday, for California Volunteers. 

鈥淭his generation experienced COVID in high school,鈥� Fryday said. 鈥淚 think they understand how important it is to be connected and have this extra support.鈥�

Devin Blankenship was among those who signed up for the organization鈥檚 College Corps. She was earning a degree in sociology from Vanguard University, south of Los Angeles, and wanted some nonprofit experience. To avoid commuting through Los Angeles traffic, she took a virtual tutoring position with Los Angeles-based Step Up Tutoring. 

Over the next year, she worked with a third grader from the Los Angeles Unified School District whose reading skills had been so severely impacted by school closures that he barely knew letter sounds. Before she could focus on a lesson, another student confided in Blankenship about getting bullied at school.

鈥淪tudents told me they were excited to come to tutoring for that hour,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ow, I must be doing the right thing.鈥� 鈥� 

Blankenship鈥檚 experience also points to some of the challenges tutors have faced, especially in a district as large as Los Angeles. At times, she didn鈥檛 know where to go with questions about helping a student or working with a family. She said she had to initiate Zoom or phone calls with her supervisor for answers. 

There were also moments when she felt ill-equipped to help. She recalls watching YouTube videos on improper fractions late at night while trying to meet a midnight deadline for a college paper.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥楳an, I wish there were tutoring sessions for me,鈥� 鈥� she said.

With interest in a career in education, she sometimes felt frustrated that she didn鈥檛 have more interaction with students鈥� teachers. But those limitations didn鈥檛 drive Blankenship away. She now works as a teaching assistant in a special education class at Palms Elementary School in Perris, California, east of Los Angeles. She鈥檚 part of a program that fast-tracks interns into classroom positions to help address a teaching shortage.

鈥楽olved the problem鈥� 

In addition to giving future teachers practical experience, the national effort has spawned connections between tutoring organizations and college students looking for work. 

Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, struggled while schools were closed to find community service jobs for its students. Then an official who runs its federal work-study program learned about Step Up Tutoring through a local .

Pepperdine was 鈥渞eally interested in partnering with Step Up because we solved the problem for them,鈥� said Sam Olivieri, Step Up鈥檚 CEO. 鈥淲e were able during COVID to fill those community service slots through a virtual program.鈥�

Word of their partnership spread and Step Up Tutoring now draws college students from 17 institutions. Virtual tutoring options have helped universities meet Cardona鈥檚 2023 for higher education leaders to spend 15% of their work-study funds on community service 鈥� more than double the .

Olivieri thinks that the higher commitment from colleges to helping K-12 students will be a 鈥渄urable鈥� impact of the partnership鈥檚 work. 

Rand鈥檚 data shows that despite the additional funding and personnel, a third of principals said only some of the students who needed the services received them.

鈥淭he waters are not receding,鈥� Balfanz said at the event. 鈥淭he challenge remains.鈥�

Mike Bloomberg, the media mogul and former New York City mayor, has given Johns Hopkins University for most its current and future medical students, the school and announced on July 8, 2024. The gift will also expand financial aid for students studying several other fields at Bloomberg鈥檚 alma mater. He .

But even that prediction rests on optimistic assumptions about continued improvement in the coming years. For some states, it could take longer. In Louisiana, Oregon and South Carolina, for example, the percentage of students chronically absent for at least 10% of the school year went up in 2022-23, from the American Enterprise Institute.听

The report, based on available data from 39 states, calls chronic absenteeism 鈥渟chools鈥� greatest post-pandemic challenge.鈥� 

鈥淲e need to make a hard pivot moving forward,鈥� said Nat Malkus, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank. Minor decreases in chronic absenteeism rates are not enough to stave off 鈥渁 disaster for the long term鈥� he said, especially in low-performing and high-poverty districts that had serious absenteeism problems before the pandemic.

Malkus, a former middle school teacher, called for districts to make attendance a high priority, especially among elementary educators. Parents, he said, are more likely to respond to messages from children鈥檚 teachers than from 鈥渁 stranger from the school district.鈥� 

The report, one of two separate studies of chronic absenteeism released Wednesday, further underscores the enormity of a national crisis that is hindering students鈥� ability to recover academically from the pandemic. The second analysis shows a substantial increase in the share of districts where at least 30% of students missed 18 or more days of school. 

The review of federal data breaks down the rates into five levels of chronic absenteeism, with extreme being the highest. 

鈥淲e came up with these categories before the pandemic,鈥� said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works. At that point, nearly 11% of districts nationally had extreme levels. 鈥淭hen the pandemic hit, and it was like 鈥極h my God.鈥� 鈥�

By 2021-22, the rate had more than tripled to almost 39%, , the final installment in a three-part from Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. The data 鈥渃ompels action from state education agencies and policymakers,鈥� researchers wrote.听

鈥業t鈥檚 alarming鈥�

Some state lawmakers share that sense of urgency. So far, eight bills in seven states aim to reestablish good attendance habits among the nation鈥檚 students. 

Earlier this month, a Maryland called interim state chief Carey Wright to testify about whether news reports of shockingly high rates 鈥� with over half of students repeatedly missing school 鈥� were true.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 alarming,鈥� she told the members, after sharing district and state-level data. 鈥淲e have a lot of children who are chronically absent at very young grades, and that’s a real concern, particularly when you’re thinking that they’re starting their educational career.鈥�

In Maryland, 274 schools out of 1,388 had an extreme chronic absenteeism rate in 2017-18. By 2021-22, that number had reached 700.

Lori Phelps, principal of Woodbridge Elementary in Catonsville, joined Wright to explain how her staff reduced its rate from 28% in 2021-22 to just over 9% in 2022-23.

Identifying patterns that increase absences is part of the answer, she added. For example, students were more likely to miss school on early-release days, so the staff worked with parent leaders to offer an afternoon program on those days. The PTA charged $10, but waived the fee for students with the most absences.

鈥淲e all want to prioritize those very important state scores,鈥� Phelps said, 鈥渂ut we made a decision two years ago to prioritize attendance.鈥�

No buses

But even parents determined to get their children to school face significant obstacles if they don鈥檛 have transportation. In Colorado, every district has to save money or because of driver shortages, said Michelle Exstrom, education director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. She serves on a expected to propose transportation solutions by the end of the year.  

鈥淚n rural areas all over the country, where kids don’t have a ride to school, it’s like, duh, they’re not going to be at school,鈥� she said. A lot of parents can鈥檛 leave work at 2:30 to pick up their children, she said, and even high school students with cars often can鈥檛 drive to school because there鈥檚 not enough parking, she said.

In Ohio, two lawmakers think some might reduce chronic absenteeism in kindergarten and ninth grade, two grade levels with rates around 30%. 

The bill, from Democrat Rep. Dani Isaacsohn and Republican Rep. Bill Seitz, would offer $500 annually to families in low-income districts to boost attendance rates in those grades and ideally save money on dropout recovery services in the long run. If passes, it would start as a pilot this fall .

Seitz told 社区黑料 he expects 鈥渟ignificant supportive testimony,鈥� based on the success of a similar program led by a .

Another proposal in , which had a 30% chronic absenteeism rate last year, would provide for home visits and tutoring to keep frequently absent high school students on track for graduation. And a would update the definition of 鈥渆ducational neglect鈥� to include a parent鈥檚 failure to comply with attendance requirements.

鈥楽tudied in real time鈥�

But both Malkus and Chang expressed skepticism of state solutions that fail to factor in the highly localized nature of the problem. , for example, one reason chronic absenteeism levels haven鈥檛 dropped is because 鈥渢here are whole communities still feeling the effects of wildfires,鈥� said Marc Siegel, spokesman for the state education department. In general, Malkus said it鈥檚 unlikely state legislation would be 鈥渁 rapid-enough response.鈥� And Chang worried that legislators could be 鈥渢oo prescriptive.鈥�

鈥淚 think folks have to have local flexibility to unpack the issues,鈥� she said. 

But she does think states are helping in at least one critical area: producing more accurate and timely data. 

In the past, it was often June before states released chronic absenteeism data from the year before 鈥� a fact that delayed efforts to help students. In Rhode Island, the public can the percentage of students at each school on track to be chronically absent by the end of the year. Malkus would like to see more leaders take that approach.

 鈥淚f we want to address it with eyes wide open,鈥� he wrote, 鈥渃hronic absenteeism needs to be studied in real time.鈥�

Two out of three students were enrolled in schools with high or extreme rates of chronic absenteeism during the 2021-22 school year 鈥� more than double the rate in 2017-18, the report found. Students who miss at least 10% of the school year, or roughly 18 days, are considered chronically absent.

, from Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, shows a fivefold increase in the percentage of elementary and middle schools with extreme rates, where at least 30% of students are chronically absent. 

In addition, the researchers released an at 2022-23 figures from . The data shows that overall chronic absenteeism levels remain extremely high at 28%  鈥� well above the pre-pandemic level of 16%.

Empty desks have a on both teachers and students who are still trying to make up for lost learning during the pandemic, said Hedy Chang, founder and executive director of Attendance Works.  

鈥淚t makes teaching and learning much harder,鈥� she said. She finds the increase at the elementary level especially alarming because absenteeism becomes 鈥渉abit forming.鈥�

Many students started preschool and kindergarten remotely during the early years of COVID and missed out on a normal transition into school. 鈥淲hen they start off not ever having a routine of attendance, what does that mean for addressing it in middle and high school?鈥� she asked. 

The analysis 鈥� the first of three researchers plan to release on the federal data 鈥� shows that the percentage of high schools with extreme rates increased from 31% to 56% during that time period. A November release will focus on demographic disparities and one in January will examine state-level trends.

Soaring absenteeism rates have contributed to declines in math and reading scores on national tests, the said last month. Despite billions available to schools to address learning loss, students of extra help if they鈥檙e not in school. Districts are tackling the problem by dedicating staff to attendance, offering home visits with families and targeting voicemail messages to alert parents that their children鈥檚 absences are piling up. Experts say it takes multiple strategies to make a dent in what might seem an insurmountable challenge.

鈥淚f we aren鈥檛 careful, the problem can feel overwhelming,鈥� said Terri Clark, literacy director at Read On Arizona. The nonprofit began efforts to improve attendance seven years ago when that reading performance declined as chronic absenteeism increased. But when schools tailor their strategies to students鈥� needs, they can make progress, Clark said. 

鈥淥ften the focus is on awareness and getting the word out,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut you can鈥檛 stop there. What if a family can鈥檛 get [to school] everyday?鈥�

Her organization is working with about 60 districts across the state to better identify the barriers that keep students from attending school regularly. One is the Tanque Verde Unified School District, near Tucson, where chronic absenteeism has more than doubled to 27% since 2018. Superintendent Scott Hagerman pointed to a practice that he hopes will bring the rate back down. 

When students are absent, teachers are required to make sure they get their assignments. He knows from experience how important that connection can be to a student.

鈥淲hen I was a kid, I had a chronic health issue, and the back and forth, in and out of school, without any idea of what was happening when I was gone made coming back harder,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are trying to deal with that issue 鈥� absences causing more absences.鈥�

Health- and transportation-related issues before the pandemic, Chang said. But now a school has further complicated daily commutes. And in , she鈥檚 heard from kindergarten parents who are confused about when they can send children back to school after a fever or illness.

鈥淭hese are lingering effects of COVID protocols that aren鈥檛 helpful,鈥� she said. She stressed the need for frequent, two-way communication between parents and school staff and the importance of reversing a 鈥渕ore-relaxed attitude鈥� about attendance that has permeated school culture. 

The risk of 鈥榳asting precious time鈥�

Sometimes a robocall from an NFL player emphasizing the importance of daily attendance is the added boost a student needs. That鈥檚 one of the methods an Ohio district used as part of the Cleveland Browns Foundation鈥檚 initiative.

鈥淚f you want to make your dreams become a reality, whether that’s getting into college, getting a good job or even becoming a champion on the playing field, it all starts with hard work,鈥� said cornerback Greg Newsome II, one of three players to record the same message. 

The East Cleveland City Schools found that the player鈥檚 messages caused a 1.6% decrease in absenteeism among students who had missed school within the previous two weeks. That鈥檚 on top of a 6.3% reduction in absences after families received an automated message from a district staff member. 

The experiment was part of a Harvard University effort to help schools find the right combination of strategies to address absenteeism. 

鈥淗ow do we layer in the right supports, at the right intensity, for the right students, at the right time?鈥� asked Amber Humm Patnode, interim director of Proving Ground, a project of Harvard鈥檚 Center for Education Policy Research. The team works with districts to test solutions before scaling them districtwide. Without gathering evidence on what works, Patnode said, 鈥渨e risk wasting precious time, resources and energy on things that may not result in actual reduced absences.鈥�

The Euclid City School District has also participated in Stay in the Game. One kindergartner last year received three tickets to a Browns game after making significant progress in attendance. Six-year-old Mekhi Bridges had a speech delay, which made his mother Tasia Letlow extra cautious about getting him to school everyday. 

鈥淚 wasn’t comfortable with him riding the bus because of not being able to necessarily communicate everything,鈥� Letlow said. But she also had car trouble, and it wasn鈥檛 long before Mekhi amassed over 20 absences. The district sent a letter alerting her to the problem. 

Targeted letters are just one way the district has addressed a chronic absence rate that reached 73% in 2021. This fall, Jerimie Acree, attendance and residency coordinator for the district, is trying a different approach for middle and high school students who miss class 鈥� a deterrent he calls 鈥渨orking lunch.鈥� Students who cut three times have to spend lunch in the media center away from their friends and without their phones. 

鈥淚t is totally in place to inconvenience them,鈥� Acree said. 

The district鈥檚 attendance clerks 鈥� staff members who are supposed to focus on improving attendance 鈥� now report to him. Previously, they reported to principals, where they frequently got sidetracked with other duties. 

鈥淸Administrators] would pull that person to do supervision of field trips鈥� among other things, he said. 鈥淎ttendance work wasn鈥檛 being done everyday.鈥�

To respond to the absenteeism crisis, districts and nonprofits across the country have tapped for dedicated positions or to pay educators stipends for home visits. With the deadline to use those funds coming up next year, the ability of districts to sustain those efforts has become 鈥渁 huge question,鈥� Chang said.

Gina Martinez-Keddy, executive director of Parent Teacher Home Visits 鈥� which began in Sacramento 25 years ago 鈥� said she鈥檚 talking to districts about how to use other sources of federal funding, like Title I, to support the efforts. the model can have what she called 鈥渟pillover effects鈥� on chronic absenteeism even if the original intention was to build trust with families.

鈥淩elationship-building works,鈥� Chang said. 鈥淭hat was proven before the pandemic. One-on-one engagement is really essential.鈥�

, which relies largely on recent findings from outside research groups and the federal government, warns that on just about every indicator that matters 鈥� basic skills, college going, mental health and more 鈥� the pandemic has set older students back.

鈥淭ime is running out for these kids,鈥� said Robin Lake, director of , a research organization at Arizona State University. 鈥淢any have already exited the K-12 system, either by graduating or essentially disappearing on us. Too many kids still are missing 鈥� we don’t know if they’ve dropped out or where they’ve gone.鈥�

Outside researchers who study these students said the fears are justified. In response, Lake and others are proposing a raft of reforms, including extending 鈥済ap years鈥� to any high school graduates who need time to catch up 鈥� as well as a new commitment to reforming high school so it works for more students. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged the slow pace of academic turnaround, calling it “appalling and unacceptable.”

“It’s like as a country we’ve normalized those gaps,” he said in separate remarks to reporters Tuesday,

Cardona spoke just before the department unveiled new efforts to spur pandemic recovery, including $50 million in competitive grants for literacy and higher expectations on districts to track and reverse chronic absenteeism. The department also released new data showing that roughly 187,000 tutors and mentors have signed up through its National Partnership for Student Success 鈥� bringing it closer to its goal of recruiting 250,000 adults to help students get back on track by 2025.

鈥業nsidious and hidden鈥�

As of this fall, researchers said, about 13.5 million students in four high school graduating classes have been affected by the pandemic.

CRPE first issued its 鈥淪tate of the American Student鈥� report in September 2022, saying pandemic school closures in 2020 and 2021 led to 鈥渦nprecedented academic setbacks鈥� for American students that made pre-existing inequalities and the nation鈥檚 youth mental health crisis worse.

A year later, CRPE says, students are still struggling in many areas. They point to record-low math and reading scores on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress for fourth- and eighth-grade students 鈥� in both grades, one in three can鈥檛 read at even the 鈥渂asic鈥� achievement level.

And missed more than 10% of school days during the 2021-22 school year, twice as many as in previous years. More than reported 鈥渟tunted behavioral and social-emotional development鈥� in students because of the pandemic, researchers note.

But they say schools should pay extra attention to older students, many of whom lost critical instruction time during the pandemic. 

The pandemic, Lake said, 鈥渋s continuing to derail learning throughout K-12. But what we came away with was that the derailment is looking a little bit more insidious and hidden, in some ways. That is true especially for older students.鈥�

The , for instance, needs 7.4 months of schooling to catch up to pre-pandemic levels in reading, and 9.1 months of schooling in math, according to recent assessments.

Last year鈥檚 NAEP scores showed that 30% of eighth graders performed 鈥溾�� in reading; 38% were in math. At the same time, just 2% of students received at school, which Lake called 鈥渁 massive missed opportunity.鈥� 

In a few places, researchers noted, the pandemic knocked older students off track, as in Washington state, where 14 percent of public high school students received at least during the 2020-2021 school year.

Even college-bound high school students are underperforming: The on the ACT college admission test last year was 19.8, they noted, the lowest since 1991.

Researchers also noted that, overall, college going is down: Between 2019 and 2023, the U.S. higher education system lost an estimated .

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in advance of the report鈥檚 release, Lake said recent data on college are 鈥渆xtremely concerning.鈥�

She called for the development of what she calls a 鈥淣ew American High School鈥� that abandons academic tracking and standardized diplomas for a system that helps each student 鈥渦nderstand their own conception of a good life鈥� through knowledge and skills. It would also help them more easily change course if needed.

In the report, Lake noted several promising new models, including Colorado鈥檚 , designed to help rural districts create career-relevant learning experiences aligned to the needs and aspirations of local economies.

She also highlighted Seckinger High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a planned artificial intelligence-themed high school that will offer a college prep curriculum 鈥渢aught through the lens of artificial intelligence.鈥� Students will also be able to pursue an education in developing AI, she said. 

A gap year for struggling students

Lake proposed that high schools and community colleges consider a new kind of post-high school 鈥済ap year鈥� designed to help struggling high school graduates get back on track academically and prepare for college and careers. 

鈥�Gap years are oftentimes known for serving as a time for exploration for more advantaged kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淟et’s change that.鈥�

The idea is still in development, she said, but could be developed quickly.

鈥淲e don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but we need to get going,鈥� she said.

While high school graduation rates are rising, the researchers said, so is grade inflation 鈥� 90% of parents believe their child is actually above grade level in reading and math, according to a March 2023 , making it likely that many students are exiting the K-12 system unprepared for college and careers.

Outside experts who study education systems and secondary education said CRPE鈥檚 alarm over the data is justified.

鈥淭here’s going to be a long tail of the pandemic,鈥� said Robert Balfanz, a scholar who studies high school as co-director of the at Johns Hopkins University.

He said a key problem from the pandemic is that many students were forced into virtual learning at key points in their education: while making the leap to more challenging reading, for instance, or diving into Algebra or calculus. 鈥淜ids that miss core transitional learning, I think, are almost hit twice,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have that same amount of learning loss. But you could argue in some ways it was even more strategic of a loss because those are such key building blocks.鈥�

He noted that the best predictor of whether a student will earn a college degree is if they earned 鈥渄ecent grades in challenging courses.鈥� But if they don鈥檛 get access to these or don鈥檛 learn foundational material, 鈥渢hat’s a problem.鈥�

Unequal access to such coursework, Balfanz said, can push students out of advanced classes.听

He is concerned that during the pandemic, many students who 鈥渙fficially took calculus鈥� or other advanced courses virtually may not have gotten all of the material required. 鈥淎nd those kids are probably already in college.鈥�

In the paper, researchers lamented that our K-12 system 鈥渓eaves to chance鈥� nearly every aspect of the transition from high school to college and careers, from students discovering their interests and talents to selecting a career pathway aligned to them. 

And few students ever get guidance on how to change careers and find new training or postsecondary opportunities when their interests and priorities shift.

Balfanz said the decline in 鈥減ostsecondary momentum鈥� could be the result of many factors, including the high cost of college, students who don鈥檛 feel well-prepared and a labor market that holds many opportunities for high wages without a college degree.

鈥淚 think a combination of those factors is going to push some kids to delay post-secondary,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the more you delay it, the odds of success are less.鈥�

Trying to go back to school at that point, he said, is 鈥渁lways challenging.鈥� 

A new kind of report card

Dan Goldhaber, director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research () at the American Institutes for Research, said COVID recovery 鈥渉as not fully happened鈥� in many schools.听

鈥淚’m not feeling super optimistic about pandemic recovery writ large right now,鈥� he said. 

The new CRPE report, he said, demonstrates the 鈥渞eal conundrum鈥� that schools face in communicating with parents: 鈥淚 think that schools need to convey in more plain English where kids are at,鈥� he said. 

But he said results from large-scale standardized exams 鈥渄on’t resonate the way that information about their own students would resonate. What we need is for school systems to just be really clear with individual families about when their students are struggling. And I don’t think that school systems typically do that.鈥�

Educators, he said, are typically optimistic about students鈥� chances of bouncing back 鈥� and fearful of being blamed for kids鈥� academic problems. 

鈥淪chools don’t have a ton of incentive to communicate in ways that might negatively bounce back to them,鈥� he said.

Lake, the CRPE director, said one good way to fix this problem is simply to rethink report cards.

鈥淧arents look to report cards first,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd report cards need to be able to say how the kids are actually doing 鈥� not just that they’re getting a particular grade. Are they mastering the skills that they need to graduate? Are they on track? And so that’s where I’d focus my efforts.鈥�

Linda Jacobson contributed to this report.

That鈥檚 how the U.S. Department of Education released last month for the 2020-21 school year. But more recent data, available from just four states, suggests the government鈥檚 figures seriously 鈥渦ndercount鈥� the problem鈥檚 scope. 

If the rest of the country saw rates as high as those in California, Connecticut, Ohio and Virginia, that would mean over 16 million students missed large chunks of the 2021-22 school year. 

Compared to pre-pandemic rates in 2018-19, 鈥渨e will likely see a doubling in chronic absence,鈥� said Hedy Chang, executive director of the nonprofit Attendance Works, which teamed with researchers at Johns Hopkins University . Those numbers showed that 10.1 million students missed at least 10% of the 2020-21 school year.  

Data Analysis

Chronic Absenteeism Rates:
Before and During Pandemic

One reason Chang suspects the federal count to be too low is because of the leap in chronic absenteeism in those four states. For example, the federal count shows 15.3% of California students were chronically absent in 2020-21. But according to , a company that works with districts to improve attendance, 27.4% of students were in the chronic to severe range last year 鈥� a time when schools were mostly open.

鈥楬ighly dubious鈥�

Attendance Works partnered with the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins to compile statewide chronic absence data available on the Education Department鈥檚 ED Data Express . But they call some of what they found 鈥渉ighly dubious.鈥�

The attendance data is flawed, Chang explained, because of the inconsistent ways states and districts calculated attendance during remote learning. Some students were marked present if they just logged into Zoom and left. This year, she added, states and districts not only face the challenge of improving the way they track the data and release it to the public, but also reengaging students who missed large portions of last school year.

The data shows, for example, that only 3.7% of Idaho students were chronically absent in the 2020-21 school year, but , such as Coeur d鈥橝lene and Boise, are reporting rates in the 10% to 15% range. 

In five states, chronic absenteeism rates actually went down. That鈥檚 unlikely, Chang said.

At the other end of the spectrum, rates in Arizona, Kentucky, Nevada and New Mexico were at least 30%. But that could still be far from accurate. Districts such as the Albuquerque Public Schools saw rates as high last school year.

Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman of Georgetown University鈥檚 Edunomics Lab drew attention to the lack of accurate education in a recent saying public schools have 鈥渕issed the data revolution.鈥�

鈥淕ood luck getting real-time data on how many children are enrolled in public schools, are chronically absent, or are making academic progress as a result of federally funded relief efforts,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have it on a national level. States don鈥檛 have it. Neither do most districts.鈥�

In New Mexico, officials say just because most schools are no longer engaged in remote learning doesn鈥檛 mean the need to clearly define attendance for students learning virtually and collect accurate data is gone.

Some families still choose virtual when it鈥檚 available, and some schools use online learning for teacher training or emergencies, like a gas leak. Officials are currently drafting new guidelines to help districts count attendance for students learning at home and those planning to finish by January.

鈥淲e鈥檙e working on guardrails,鈥� said Gregory Frostad, the director of policy and legislative affairs for the New Mexico Public Education Department, 鈥淭here can be good reasons [for remote learning]. We don鈥檛 have to just say that learning can鈥檛 continue.鈥� 

鈥極ne of the best indicators鈥�

Skyrocketing absenteeism, meanwhile, is helping Robert Balfanz, who leads the Johns Hopkins center, target efforts to match students with tutors and mentors as part of a new national effort announced in July. The National Partnership for Student Success, housed in the center, is fielding requests for assistance from districts, nonprofits and government agencies. 

Chronic absenteeism is 鈥渙ne of the best indicators of which schools are likely in need of additional 鈥� supports,鈥� Balfanz said. 鈥淚t signals both a high likelihood of interrupted instruction and disconnection from school.鈥�

The partnership鈥檚 website offers a where potential tutors and mentors can search for opportunities to serve in their community.

Chang said her organization has also been hit with a 鈥渄eluge鈥� of requests for expertise on tracking data. She鈥檚 encouraged that district leaders have boosted training for school staff instead of 鈥渏ust throwing up their arms and saying 鈥極h no.鈥� 鈥�

Districts and other community agencies have launched an array of efforts to . In , teams of educators 鈥� including social workers, administrators, nurses and teachers 鈥� are delving into the reasons students aren鈥檛 showing up. 

And in California鈥檚 Merced County, the district attorney鈥檚 office started whose children have missed so much school that they鈥檙e at risk of being referred to the juvenile justice system.

鈥淲e try not to treat them like they鈥檙e in trouble,鈥� said Monica Adrian, a behavior support specialist with the Merced County Office of Education. 鈥淲e look at 鈥� some of the stressors that might lead to chronic absenteeism. There鈥檚 always another side of the story.鈥�

But Chang said there was still so much disruption last school year 鈥� with quarantines and high staff vacancies 鈥� that it was hard to determine if those strategies made an impact.

鈥淚 think we鈥檒l know better this year whether people are able to engage students [when it鈥檚] a little less crazy,鈥� she said.

Almost 90% of respondents to the latest School Pulse Panel survey from the National Center for Education Statistics blame pandemic-related disruptions, including quarantines and staff absences, for the lack of progress. But limited efforts to ramp up tutoring programs could also be a factor.

More than half of public schools reported using high-dosage tutoring to help students make up for lost learning, and many offered tutoring as part of summer learning and enrichment programs this year. 

But experts, including one charged with leading the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 new effort to recruit 250,000 tutors and mentors, offered a degree of skepticism. Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher overseeing the , said that many schools have made strong efforts to provide tutoring. But they also relied largely on teachers, who have been stretched thin because of staffing shortages. 

A June of spending plans in over 5,000 districts, from FutureEd at Georgetown University, showed that 1,258 districts planned to implement tutoring..

鈥淚 can believe that half of schools attempted to provide tutoring and did so, at some scale, for some period of time,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it’s unlikely that half of schools have and are sustaining high-dosage tutoring at the scale that is needed or beneficial.鈥�

As schools begin a fourth year touched by the pandemic, the data from almost 860 schools provides a glimpse into what school leaders and families can expect as students return to class. Leaders report significant staff burnout and ongoing concerns about filling both teaching and non-teaching positions. But with many educators saying last school year was the hardest they鈥檝e ever been though, some are choosing to adopt a positive outlook toward the months ahead. 

鈥淚 honestly think that when we can get the social element under control 鈥� routines 鈥� and  breaking cell phone habits 鈥� we can get more than a year of material taught at a time,鈥�  Jay Wamstead, an eighth grade math teacher at Campbell Middle School in Smyrna, Georgia, told 社区黑料. 

The hardest part of last year, he said, was teachers鈥� sense of how far behind students were socially. 

鈥淚’m not sure we’ll be back to 2019 levels of 鈥榥ormal,鈥� but last year was insane for me as well as everyone I talked to,鈥� he said.

Six of his math team鈥檚 16 teachers left after last year, including two who taught at the school for over a decade. That means a lot of new faces this fall, and for some school leaders, additional holes to fill. 

鈥楿rgent needs鈥� 

Schools have an average of three teacher vacancies, with shortages hitting larger schools and those serving more poor and minority students the hardest, according to the survey. Rodriguez said staff shortages 鈥渁re acute and they pose urgent needs.鈥� It鈥檚 a frequent concern he hears from school and district leaders. 

On average, leaders were also still trying to fill three non-teaching positions, with multiple vacancies in transportation and custodial services. 

But shortages were an before the pandemic. And based on recent Bureau of Labor Statistics , the Pulse Panel data seems high, said Chad Aldeman, policy director at Georgetown University鈥檚 Edunomics Lab. If every school had at least six vacancies, that would translate to 600,000 openings nationally. According to the federal data, there were 300,000 openings for both K-12 and higher education in June. 

Regardless, 84% of leaders expect hiring mental health professionals for this fall to be somewhat or very difficult, at a time when educators continue to report greater needs among students.

鈥淚t’s clear that we’re facing a youth mental health crisis in communities across our country,鈥� Roberto Rodriquez, assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education, said during a call with reporters.

According to the survey, the majority of respondents reported providing mental health services, with more than 40% saying those efforts have been very or extremely effective at addressing students鈥� needs. 

But the Biden administration aims to do more. Rodriguez touted last week鈥檚 White House announcement to make almost $300 million in competitive available for mental health services in schools. Efforts will include adding more counselors, social workers and school psychologists and funding partnerships with higher education to get more people into the field. 

Schools have positions for mental health professionals 鈥渢hat are open for an entire school year that don鈥檛 get filled,鈥� said Sasha Pudleski, director of advocacy at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. She added that while schools have expanded telehealth options to address mental health needs, they 鈥渨ould prefer to have someone full time.鈥�

Amanda Fitzgerald, assistant deputy executive director at the American School Counselor Association, said states in the northeast tend to have an oversupply of school counseling graduates, but needs are greater in states such as Arizona, Oklahoma and Colorado.

The new grant programs will be helpful, she said, if they can remove barriers for those who lack full credentials. Some professionals, she said, have a background in mental health, but don鈥檛 have a school counselor license, and a lot of high school educators focus on college and career transitions, but lack mental health expertise.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to go back to school to get a similar degree when their end game is to still help people,鈥� she said.听

鈥楧on鈥檛 know what to expect鈥� 

The survey also sheds light on what school leaders believe have been the most helpful strategies to address learning loss. 

Forty-three percent said high-dosage tutoring 鈥� 30-minute, one-on-one or small group sessions at least three times a week 鈥� has been very or extremely effective at addressing gaps in students鈥� learning. About a quarter of respondents said their school also provided a high-quality tutoring model as part of their summer learning programs.   

The majority of respondents said their schools used remedial instruction 鈥� covering material from a prior grade level 鈥� to address learning gaps, but they didn鈥檛 think it was as effective as tutoring. Only about a third found remediation to be very or extremely effective. 

Another aspect of last year that was overwhelming for many teachers was the wide range of student learning needs within one classroom, said Katherine Holden, principal of Talent Middle School in Phoenix, Oregon. 

Federal funds, she said, have made it possible to hire additional staff and purchase materials to give students the specific practice they need. She鈥檚 also relieved that she was able to fill all of her open positions and hire  full-time substitutes in case  teachers need to be out.

But she said she鈥檒l have to continue to be 鈥渁ggressive鈥� about reducing absenteeism so students can benefit.

鈥淲e鈥檙e probably cautiously optimistic,鈥� she told 社区黑料. 鈥淏ut if these last two years have taught us anything it’s that you don鈥檛 know what to expect.鈥�

As more Americans receive Covid-19 vaccines and schools move to reopen widely, leaders are doing their best to make sure everyone gets the memo: School is happening in-person this fall.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently , 鈥淲e must prepare now for full in-person instruction come next school year.鈥�

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said in March he is 鈥溾�� schools across the state to return in-person in the fall, no exceptions. 鈥淲e are expecting Monday through Friday, in-person, every school, every district,鈥� he said.

Good luck with that.

Even as vaccination rates soar and the government authorizes access for adolescents, school districts nationwide are grappling with sometimes widespread suspicion and dissatisfaction over how they handled the pandemic, especially in communities of color. That鈥檚 forcing them to offer families an option that might have been unthinkable a year ago 鈥� and one that has a terrible track record: enrolling their children online this fall and continuing learning from home.

Dawn Williams, whose daughter will start first grade in August in Maryland鈥檚 Prince George鈥檚 County, said she鈥檚 seriously considering an online program. 鈥淢ost of my friends that have children, their kids are still virtual,鈥� she said.

So far it鈥檚 happening in just a fraction of the nation鈥檚 13,500 districts. But those include a wide mix of rural and suburban districts, as well as large urban school systems like Albuquerque, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Indianapolis, Nashville, Omaha, Richmond, and the District of Columbia, according to the University of Washington鈥檚 Center for the Reinvention of Public Education (CRPE).

In Colorado鈥檚 Jefferson County, the school district, responding to 鈥渉igh demand鈥� from families, an online option in the fall. District spokesperson Cameron Bell said more than 700 students have enrolled so far, with at least 1,000 expected by August.

In Montgomery County, the largest school district in Maryland, officials are developing a virtual academy 鈥渢o address both the students who may want to remain virtual for health reasons but also those who have thrived in virtual learning,鈥� said spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala.

What鈥檚 going on here?

Much of this can be chalked up to simple consumer demand. One recent found that nearly 30 percent of parents would rely on virtual learning 鈥渋ndefinitely鈥� going forward. That suggests a potential market of more than 15 million students.

Districts are listening. When RAND researchers surveyed about 320 public school leaders last October, they found that were either considering or actually planning to keep 鈥渙ne or more virtual schools鈥� operating after the pandemic ends, said RAND鈥檚 Heather Schwartz.

鈥淚 expect that to hold, or even to increase somewhat based on early anecdotal indications that a sizable minority of students and parents prefer remote learning,鈥� Schwartz said via email.

More recently, in early April, researchers at CRPE surveyed officials in 100 large urban school districts and found nearly identical results: 23, or just over one in five, plan to offer a remote option next fall.

District leaders told Schwartz and other researchers that their main motivation was 鈥渢o be responsive to parent and student preferences鈥� 鈥� and in no small part to improve sagging enrollments. of 33 states by The Associated Press and the education news site Chalkbeat found that public K-12 enrollment in 2020 dropped by more than half a million students, or 2 percent.

鈥淵ou keep hearing this word: 鈥榯hriving鈥欌��

As he talks these days to school leaders nationwide, education consultant John Bailey said he hears many of them say they plan to make online learning 鈥渁 more permanent part of their offering to kids going forward.鈥� A one-time U.S. Department of Education official who now advises the Walton Family Foundation, Bailey has supported the idea that reopening schools is safe. He said that while many educators acknowledge millions of students lost ground via distance learning, 鈥渇or some kids, it鈥檚 working really well. So why not offer that going forward?鈥�

Nationwide, families of color are keeping their children home at especially high rates. In Chicago, the district鈥檚 chief of school management told school board members late last month that most students are 鈥渓earning virtually.鈥� But about one in four Black high school students was absent from both in-person and remote learning in late April. Overall, only about two-thirds of high school students attended in-person classes on days they were expected in school, the Chicago Sun-Times .

At the same time, Asian fourth-graders attend school remotely at the of any group 鈥� 95 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Eighth-graders attend at an even higher rate: 96 percent. Asian families have expressed fears about their children experiencing anti-Asian discrimination or even violence in the wake of the pandemic.

While state and local restrictions can play a part in attendance statistics like these, many families are simply voting with their feet, said Bree Dusseault, a practitioner in residence at CRPE.

鈥淭here鈥檚 still a really sizable population of students who, even when given the option to be in-person, aren鈥檛 taking it,鈥� she said.

鈥淵ou keep hearing this word: 鈥榯hriving鈥� 鈥� particularly in families of color,鈥� said Annette Anderson, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools in Baltimore. 鈥淒istricts have never had to wrestle with 鈥楬ow do we provide education in multiple formats?鈥� They thought this was a stopgap. Now what I think they鈥檙e finding is that there are many parents that were just fine with virtual learning.鈥�

Anderson, a Black educator who is also a mother of three teens, said the past year has taught parents 鈥渢hat they have a voice at the table 鈥� and they are not being shy and retiring about letting people know what they want in terms of how they want their children to learn.鈥�

Recent survey data suggest that Black, Hispanic and Asian parents are more likely than their white peers to say they prefer online learning. For instance, the journal recently noted data from early April that showed 60 percent of white parents have a preference for in-person learning, compared to just 25 percent of Black and Hispanic parents.

At the same time, Dusseault said, many parents of color see how badly education systems have served their kids in the past, with substandard instruction and .

When Anderson surveyed her three children recently, none wanted to go back to their Baltimore school this fall. They like learning from home and have been successful.

鈥淚 think my kids sometimes miss their friends,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut aside from that, I don鈥檛 have any of my three children saying right now, 鈥楳om, I want to go back to school today or tomorrow.鈥� They have adapted to this.鈥�

Anderson was quick to add that her kids 鈥渉ave every kind of technology possible,鈥� as well as space at home to use it. All three have their own rooms, plus their home has a backyard. But whatever their situations, she said, 鈥淭here are a lot of kids who are at home and they鈥檙e thriving. You can鈥檛 negate the success of those students and the opportunity that they have had to be separated from their peers and still do well academically.鈥�

Williams, mother of the Maryland first-grader, said her daughter is already doing advanced work 鈥� and she鈥檇 like to keep it that way. Giving her child a chance to work virtually and independently is key.

鈥淪tudents that are more advanced 鈥� and parents that have the choice 鈥� we鈥檙e going to keep our kids home,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hose kids are going to accelerate. They’re going to soar and they鈥檙e going to keep advancing.鈥�

鈥淪chool hesitancy鈥� and safety

Vladimir Kogan, an Ohio State University political scientist who studies politics and public policy, said 鈥渟chool hesitancy鈥� may in part be a function of the messages families hear 鈥� especially in places where teachers鈥� unions loudly demonstrated last year, enacting and the like to warn of the dangers of reopening schools.

鈥淚 think that messaging has definitely filtered down to the parents,鈥� he said.

But has shown that when prevention strategies are in place in schools, transmission of the virus is typically lower than, or similar to, levels of community transmission, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As a result, public opinion is shifting. A February Pew found that 61 percent of Americans said K-12 schools that weren鈥檛 open for in-person instruction 鈥渟hould give a lot of consideration to the possibility that students will fall behind academically.鈥� That鈥檚 up from 48 percent last July. And fewer Americans said schools should give a lot of consideration to the risk to teachers or students.

鈥淚 think the number of parents who are hesitant is going to go down pretty substantially,鈥� Kogan said. 鈥淏ut I don’t think it’s going to go down to zero.鈥�

Bailey, who recently summarizing research on safe school re-openings amid Covid fears, predicted that there will be a group of parents 鈥渨ho will probably never feel that it鈥檚 safe until there鈥檚 a vaccine for kids.鈥�

The prognosis on vaccines seems promising: This week, both the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved expanded use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old. Pfizer also said it鈥檒l ask the FDA for emergency authorization in September to administer its vaccine to children as young as 2 years old.

Both Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are conducting trials in children.The U.S. vaccine developer Novavax is also on children 鈥� its vaccine has a reported 96 percent efficacy rate in adults and is awaiting emergency use authorization in the U.S.

A 鈥渞eally terrible鈥� track record for virtual schools

Kogan, the political scientist, worries that by relying on virtual schools, districts are embracing a well-studied 鈥� and failed 鈥� reform.

In a 2019 , researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder鈥檚 National Education Policy Center found that graduation rates at virtual and blended-learning schools were far lower than the national average for public schools. The review followed years of from researchers nationwide.

In 2016, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, along with other groups, issued 鈥淎 Call to Action鈥� to , saying far too many virtual schools 鈥渉ave experienced notable problems.鈥�

At the student level, most of the dilemma lies in what鈥檚 required for students to be successful in virtual settings: huge amounts of self-control, motivation and discipline, said Kogan, who last January that found worse declines in reading achievement among Ohio third-graders in districts that used fully remote instruction.

The track record of these programs 鈥渨as terrible before Covid,鈥� Kogan said. 鈥淎nd I think it鈥檚 certainly the case that there are kids who do fine. But the districts are not saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to limit it only to kids who do fine.鈥欌��

To be fair, many educators get it. In its announcement of a 鈥渕odified digital learning option,鈥� the , district last month offered an official warning: 鈥淒igital learning is not optimal for every student. Some students did not do as well academically, socially, or emotionally in the digital learning environment.鈥�

In the long term, Kogan said, his larger worry is that this could open the door to a two-tier education system: a bigger, functional one for students whose parents are comfortable sending them to school, and a smaller, inferior one 鈥渇or kids whose parents are too scared and keep them home.鈥�

The long-term damage, he said, 鈥渋s going to be so devastating. It鈥檚 going to exacerbate all the inequalities that we already have.鈥�

Anderson, the Baltimore educator and mother, acknowledged the dilemma, but emphasized it was nothing new: Millions of kids weren鈥檛 being served well before the pandemic. Here鈥檚 a chance for something better, especially for students of color who are already staying away in large numbers.

While leaders may insist that everyone attend in-person on the first day of school this fall, Anderson said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not hearing what is going to significantly shift over the summer that is going to make sure that these large numbers of families of color are going to suddenly show up in September.鈥�