In January 2024, the Education Recovery Scorecard (a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University) issued a report on the first year of Covid-related academic recovery for school districts in 30 states.

According to the research team, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is outpacing other large urban districts nationwide and many districts in Pennsylvania in recovering from the pandemic. In math, Philadelphia students recovered nearly half a grade level of learning during the 2022-2023 school year. In reading, Philadelphia students also made gains over the same period.

SDP Compared to Large Urban Districts Nationwide

In math, compared to the largest and poorest of the participating urban Districts that take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test, SDP has come closest to pre-pandemic achievement levels. The Los Angeles Unified School District was the next closest.

Image taken from The 2019-2023 Education Recovery Explorer built by The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. Click on the image to visit the Explorer.

In reading, SDP surpassed pre-pandemic levels and showed more growth than most other participating large urban districts from 2019 to 2023; only Chicago Public Schools showed more growth.

Image taken from The 2019-2023 Education Recovery Explorer built by The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. Click on the image to visit the Explorer.

SDP Compared to Other Districts in Pennsylvania

In math, SDP is closer to pre-pandemic achievement levels compared to a number of individual PA districts.

Image taken from The 2019-2023 Education Recovery Explorer built by The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. Click on the image to visit the Explorer.

In reading, SDP is above pre-pandemic levels and showed more progress than a number of other PA districts.

Image taken from The 2019-2023 Education Recovery Explorer built by The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. Click on the image to visit the Explorer.

For more information, you can check out recent articles in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, or visit the Education Recovery Scorecard website to read the full report and explore the interactive dashboards!