academic progress

Long after schools have fully reopened after the pandemic, one concerning metric suggests that children and their parents have changed the way they think about being in class.

Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The Times, discusses the apparent shift to a culture in which school feels optional.

Guest: Sarah Mervosh, an education reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• ​School absences have “exploded” across the United States.
• Data shows that the more time students spent in remote instruction during the pandemic, the further they fell behind.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Crazy school memories!

Everyone competes to see who is the smartest!

Who is the worst student?

On the first nationwide test of American students since the pandemic, scores plummeted to levels not seen in 20 years. The results show how challenging it was to keep students on track during the pandemic.

What do the scores tell us about remote learning, who lost the most ground academically, and what can schools do to help students recover?

Guest: Sarah Mervosh, a national reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• In the U.S., students in most states and across almost all demographic groups have experienced troubling setbacks in both math and reading, according to an authoritative national exam released last month.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.