NWEA Releases New Analysis on Academic Trends for Early Elementary Grades

Study shows some positive signs for K-2 students in math, but stagnation in reading

BOSTON, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released today a new report sharing the latest trends in student academic growth and achievement focused on the youngest grades: K-2. While much of the national research has focused on grades 3 - 8, far less attention has been paid to the early grades. This new report fills that gap, examining how kindergarten through second-grade students weathered the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, NWEA pulled data from the "Trends Over Time" tab of the MAP Growth National Dashboard (a public tool that shows how K–8 students are performing in reading and math based on data from over 7 million students in 20,000 schools), comparing spring 2017 (pre-COVID) test scores to spring 2025 test scores for K-2. Key findings are:

• Kindergarten achievement levels have remained mostly steady during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In first and second grade, math achievement continues to show modest, incremental recovery.
• Reading achievement in first and second grade remains stalled, with little evidence of rebounding to pre-COVID levels.

Early-Grade Recovery Shows Progress in Math, Stagnation in Reading
Early grade achievement trends tell a mixed story. First- and second-grade math scores have steadily improved since pandemic-era lows, with gaps narrowing across student groups, including for students in high-poverty schools and Black and Hispanic students. However, overall achievement remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Reading presents a different picture. Kindergarten performance has remained steady, but first- and second-grade reading scores have stagnated. The remaining shortfalls are now comparable to, and in some cases, larger than those seen in math.

By spring 2025, early-grade patterns closely resemble those observed in upper elementary and middle school. Notably, students in first and second grade in 2024-25 were daycare-age during the most disruptive periods of 2020 and 2021. Yet their achievement mirrors older cohorts who experienced sustained instructional disruption, suggesting that current shortfalls reflect broader, longer-lasting system-level challenges rather than interruptions to a single cohort.

"It is important that we understand the depth and persistence of unfinished learning from the pandemic's disruptions, but we must also focus our lens beyond the COVID-19 years," said Dr. Megan Kuhfeld, Director of Data Analytics and Growth Modeling at NWEA. "While these youngest elementary students were just infants and toddlers when COVID-19 hit, this stagnation in reading and uneven recovery in math is an indicator of something bigger impacting our education system that extends beyond one cohort or a moment in time."

Implications for District and State Leaders
The report recommends that district and state leaders examine these trends further by asking:

• What system-level conditions may be contributing to continued stagnation in reading outcomes?
• How are recovery efforts addressing the persistent shortfall in reading that appears across grade levels, including among students who were not yet in formal schooling during the height of the pandemic?
• Given that math recovery is evident across grades while reading recovery is not, what differences in support, instructional focus, or accountability may help explain these divergent trends?

Read the full report: https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/trend-snapshots-covid-19-recovery-in-k2-positive-recovery-trends/

About NWEA

NWEA®, a division of HMH, supports educators worldwide by providing responsive, evidence-based assessment solutions that illuminate learning needs and fuel student growth. For more than 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K–12 assessments, including its flagship assessment – MAP Growth, and professional learning that helps educators strengthen their practice and improve student outcomes. As part of its commitment to bring valuable insights to the education community, NWEA engages in research that examines issues that shed light on inequities and other barriers to academic opportunities. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA partners to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Communications Director, [email protected] or 971.361.9526

SOURCE NWEA