RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia's school students are showing signs of a learning recovery after the pandemic's disruptions, which led to some of the most significant learning losses nationwide, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.
Harvard University's Education Recovery Scorecard, which rated pandemic recovery efforts nationwide, found earlier this year that Virginia's school districts experienced some of the largest losses in math and reading since the pandemic. The gap in the state's reading scores was particularly high, according to Harvard, which noted that the gap in reading scores between high and low-income districts grew by more than half a grade level between 2019-2023.
But new data presented by Youngkin's administration suggests students in grades 3-8 showed some improvement in the standards of learning testing in both math and reading in the 2023-2024 school year. Seventy percent of school divisions showed improved reading, while 75 percent showed improved math scores. Black students' rate of growth in math learning was three times that of the overall rate of growth, according to the data.
While high school students also showed a three percent increase in math learning scores, reading results dropped by one percent within the same demographic. Science scores showed a one percent jump, with increased pass rates on all three high school science final exams. Additionally, the K-12 absenteeism rate has decreased by 16 percent since the 2022-2023 school year — meaning 40,974 fewer students were chronically absent that year as compared to the prior school year.
“Since day one, our commitment to Virginia’s students has been a primary focus, and last year, on a bipartisan basis, Virginia went ALL In to tackle core issues in K-12 education: attendance, literacy and learning loss,” said Youngkin, who approved a $418 million allocation to his state's department of education in 2023. “It’s clear our ALL In Virginia strategy is working, the signs are appearing and Virginia’s students and parents are benefiting from our collective efforts.”
While the latest data shows positive trends, Virginia students' reading and math scores still remain below pre-pandemic levels.
“We still have a long way to go to ensure every student is prepared and ready for life,” Aimee Rogstad Guidera, Virginia's Secretary of Education said. “Today’s promising data shows that when we have high expectations for our students, teachers and schools, they meet them when using proven approaches and tools. We know what works. Every school in the Commonwealth must know and understand each student’s academic progress and mastery and provide tailored supports and teaching that will put every student on track to succeed in life.”
Youngkin's ALL In VA plan funds efforts to beat the learning loss through the 2025-2026 school year. Strategies in the plan include the hiring of additional tutors and funding extra tuition hours, more summer school programs and free personalized supplemental math and reading resources.
