PRESS RELEASE
May 13, 2026
Contact: Sam Stockwell
samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu
617.495.0342
Pennsylvania Ranks 21st in Math and 27th in Reading Recovery Among States, with Districts on the Rise Emerging Across the Commonwealth
Reading scores have continued to fall since 2022, leaving Pennsylvania students more than .6 grade equivalents below 2019 levels in both subjects.
Chronic absenteeism remains 5 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels despite improvement.
Pittsburgh is emerging as a math leader, while Cocalico, Altoona Area, East Penn, and West Allegheny are outperforming their peers in both math and reading.
(May 13, 2026) In its fourth year, the Education Scorecard (a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College) is issuing its annual report on district-level student growth in math and reading.
The latest report provides a high-resolution picture of where Pennsylvania students’ academic recovery stands, combining state test results for roughly 35 million grade 3–8 students nationwide with national assessment data to describe changes in local communities. Here’s what we found:
Pennsylvania:
- Pennsylvania ranks 21st out of 38 states in academic growth in math and 27th out of 35 states in reading between 2022 and 2025.
- In math, the average student is performing about .17 grade equivalents above their 2022 level, but about .56 grade equivalents below 2019 levels. Still, some districts like Erie City, Upper Darby, and West Chester Area continue to lag at least a full grade level equivalent behind 2019 levels.
- In reading, the average student is performing about .19 grade equivalents below their 2022 level, and .61 grade equivalents below 2019 levels. A number of districts like Erie City, Upper Darby, and Bethlehem Area continue to slip and remain behind their 2019 levels.
- Several Pennsylvania districts are emerging as Districts on the Rise. These districts have shown unusual progress relative to similar districts in their own state. A core group of districts is excelling in both math and reading, with districts like Cocalico, Altoona Area, East Penn, and West Allegheny outperforming their peers.
- Several other districts are rising relative to their peers in one subject—either math or reading. William Penn, New Castle Area, and Pittsburgh are leading the way in math performance, while Eastern Lancaster County, Nazareth Area, and Montour are leading the way in reading.
- Statewide, there is some good news on chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10% of a school year), which has fallen from over 25% in 2022 to around 21% in 2024. However, chronic absence rates still remain 5 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels.
- Pennsylvania received about $7.75 billion in federal pandemic relief for K–12 schools—roughly $4,600 per student. Our analysis finds that the gains in many high-poverty districts were driven by this federal support. Unfortunately, many middle-poverty districts (those with 30 to 70 percent of students receiving federal lunch subsidies) received little federal aid. Now that the federal relief is gone, Pennsylvania should focus school improvement dollars on the middle and higher poverty districts that remain behind their pre-pandemic levels.
“The pandemic was the mudslide that followed seven years of erosion in student achievement,” said Professor Tom Kane, faculty director of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. “The ‘learning recession’ started a decade ago, after policymakers switched off the early warning system of test-based accountability and social media took over children’s lives. In this report, we highlight the work of a small group of state leaders who have started digging out by changing how students learn to read, and 108 local school districts that are finding ways to get students learning again. The recovery of U.S. education has begun. But it’s up to the rest of us to spread it.”
District on the Rise: William Penn School District
Among Pennsylvania’s Districts on the Rise in math, William Penn School District (WPSD) stands out for building a system of data-driven instruction and educator development that reaches every classroom. The district administers MAP Growth and Acadience assessments three times per year, and employs a dedicated Research Supervisor to translate results into actionable strategies—providing comprehensive analyses to every school on assessment data, attendance, and survey results three times annually. Central office leaders meet monthly with principals to review student data, and quarterly Data Protocol Sessions give principals structured time to present school-level priorities directly to cabinet members across academic and operational departments. Instruction is anchored by teacher-built Instructional Pacing Guides and quarterly collaborative planning sessions, supported by instructional facilitators and academic interventionists assigned to every elementary school. The district’s ‘Develop From Within’ initiative invests in educator career growth, paying for continuing education and successfully transitioning three instructional assistants into certified classroom teachers. The results are measurable: between the 2023–24 and 2025–26 school years, students in grades 3–8 grew from the 29th to the 57th median growth percentile in math and from the 45th to the 60th percentile in reading, fall to winter. For the full case study, click here.
“When our educational leaders truly understand the data we collect, they move beyond identifying gaps to mastering the strategies required to close them,” said Dr. Eric Becoats, Superintendent of William Penn School District. “It allows us to visualize exactly what is necessary to move a student from zero to 100 in terms of mastery. There is often a temptation to dictate programs from the top down, but we believe the most sustainable growth comes from investing in our people. When we build the capacity of our staff and allow them to lead, we see the kind of authentic professional ownership that transforms a district.”
