From The Education Scorecard
In Summary:
A new Education Scorecard report found Florida ranks 24th nationally in math recovery but dead last in reading recovery among states measured between 2022 and 2025. The report also highlighted improving districts across the state, including Orange County and Bradford County, while warning that chronic absenteeism and lingering pandemic learning losses continue to impact student performance.
Researchers found that post-pandemic recovery has been U-shaped, with large improvements among the highest-income and lowest-income school districts in the country. Interactive state and national data are available on the Education Scorecard website, along with Florida-specific findings.
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Florida students continue to struggle with pandemic-era learning losses, especially in reading, according to a new national report that ranks the state near the bottom in academic recovery. The latest Education Scorecard found Florida ranks 24th out of 38 states in math recovery and last in reading recovery among states measured between 2022 and 2025.
Related: Florida ranks 50th in "best states for teachers" study.
The report, produced through a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and researchers at Dartmouth College, analyzed state test results and national assessment data from roughly 35 million students in grades 3 through 8 nationwide.
According to the findings, Florida students have made modest progress in math since the height of the pandemic, with average performance now about .12 grade equivalents above 2022 levels. Even so, math achievement remains almost half a grade level below where it stood before the pandemic in 2019. Districts including Pasco, Seminole, and Duval continue to trail their pre-pandemic math performance.
Reading performance painted a more troubling picture. Florida students were found to be approximately .58 grade equivalents below their 2022 reading levels and nearly .69 grade equivalents below 2019 performance levels. Researchers noted that several districts, including Lee, Pasco, and Duval counties, continue to decline academically in reading.
Despite the statewide struggles, the report highlighted several Florida districts showing stronger-than-expected improvement. Bradford County was identified as a “District on the Rise” for outperforming peer districts in both reading and math recovery. Lake, DeSoto, Indian River, Levy, and Walton counties also were recognized for notable gains in math achievement.
Researchers said chronic absenteeism remains one of the biggest obstacles slowing academic recovery. Although absenteeism in Florida has improved since its post-pandemic peak, nearly 29% of students still miss more than 10% of the school year, well above pre-pandemic levels.
The report also examined the role federal pandemic relief funding played in school recovery efforts. Florida schools received approximately $10.94 billion in federal COVID-era aid, averaging about $3,900 per student. Researchers concluded that many gains in high-poverty districts were driven largely by that funding, while many middle-income districts received comparatively little support and continue to lag academically.
Professor Tom Kane of Harvard University described the academic decline as part of a longer-term “learning recession” that began years before COVID-19.
“The pandemic was the mudslide that followed seven years of erosion in student achievement,” Kane said. “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.”
The report noted that while math recovery began almost immediately after the pandemic, reading scores continued declining through 2024 before showing early signs of improvement in 2025. Researchers pointed to “science of reading” reforms as a potential factor in states that have started reversing reading declines, though Florida has not yet seen significant turnaround results from those efforts.
Key Points:
- Florida ranked 24th out of 38 states in math recovery and 35th out of 35 states in reading recovery between 2022 and 2025.
- Reading scores in Florida remain approximately .69 grade equivalents below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
- Chronic absenteeism statewide has improved since 2022 but still remains nearly 9 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels.
- Bradford County was identified as one of Florida’s top “Districts on the Rise,” while Orange County was highlighted for notable improvement.
- Researchers said evidence-based “science of reading” reforms may be helping some states improve, though Florida has not yet seen significant reading recovery gains.
- Reading scores have continued to fall since 2022, leaving students nearly .7 grade equivalents below 2019 levels.
- Chronic absenteeism remains almost 9 percentage points above pre-pandemic levels despite modest improvement.
About the Education Scorecard
The Education Scorecard is a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College. It provides high-resolution, district-level data on academic recovery across the United States, combining state test results for roughly 35 million grade 3–8 students with national assessment data.
About the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.
The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, seeks to transform education through quality research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at cepr.harvard.edu.
About the Educational Opportunity Project
The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, based at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, harnesses data to help scholars, policymakers, educators, and parents improve educational opportunity for all children. Learn more at www.edopportunity.org.
