Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat

In perhaps the most comprehensive portrait of academic loss brought on by COVID, math and reading scores for the nation’s 9-year-olds suffered generational declines between 2020 and 2022. The losses spanned races and income levels, though the lowest-performing students suffered the largest declines.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says there’s a ‘sense of urgency’ to reopen schools following a year of halted learning because of the pandemic.