LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new study from three leading American research universities shows the country is beginning to recover from the learning loss brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Louisville's public schools are among those seeing positive regression.
The Education Recovery Scorecard — compiled by researchers at Harvard University and Stanford University — used standardized test score data from about 8,000 school districts in 30 states to paint a widespread picture of students' recovery from the pandemic.
"Many schools made strong gains last year, but most districts are still working hard just to reach pre-pandemic achievement levels," Dr. Thomas Kane, faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and one of the study's co-authors, said in a news release last week.
JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio held a news conference Monday touting the upward trajectory of the district's scores. Here's what the report said as it pertains to JCPS' progress. The data is measured in grade levels:
Changes in Average Math Scores:
- 2019-22: -0.76
- 2022-23: +0.21
- 2019-23: -0.55
Changes in Average Reading Scores:
- 2019-22: -0.53
- 2022-23: +0.35
- 2019-23: -0.18
Additionally, the average change in math scores from 2022 to 2023 was positive in all demographic subgroups in Jefferson County, including Black students, Hispanic students and poor students, the study said.
"In the end, what we want in our racial equity work is to ensure that we reduce and eventually eliminate the achievement gap," Pollio said.
Pollio said students being back in the classroom with a teacher on a consistent basis is one of the big reasons the district is bouncing back.
"The staff at JCPS has stepped up in just enormous ways to ensure we're meeting our kids' needs each and every day," he said.
On Monday, the district highlighted the EL Reading curriculum being implemented at Alex Kennedy Elementary School. The new curriculum started at Kennedy just before the pandemic halted in-person classes, and it rolled out to all other JCPS schools this year.
Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Marty Pollio. Feb. 5, 2024. (WDRB Photo)
"They are seeing the results of this curriculum," Pollio said.
Patrick Sivori, the principal at Kennedy, said every federal dollar the school received went directly to getting more bodies in the building to help students.
"I've spent every penny on adults, on human resources, because I knew it was vital to get humans — teachers — back in front of our kids," he said Monday.
The report shows JCPS is among the fastest-growing district is in the states with math and reading recovery rates higher than the Kentucky average and its reading average among the best in the country.
None of those numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels — as the numbers above illustrate — but district leaders are celebrating the upward trend.
"Students overall haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels of achievement, but clear progress is being made," Sean Reardon, a professor of poverty and inequality in education and faculty director of the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University and one of the study's co-authors, said in a news release last week.
To read the full report, click here.
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