They were the kids most disrupted by the pandemic, the ones who were still learning to write their names and tie their shoes when schools shut down in the spring of 2020.
Now, they’re the big kids at elementary schools across the United States. Many still need profound help overcoming the effects of the pandemic.
To catch up, schools have deployed a wide range of strategies. And among some incoming fourth-graders, there are encouraging signs of gains. But as this generation progresses, many will need extra reading support that schools are not as accustomed to providing for older students.
Joshua Bessex
FILE - Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, helps a student sound out a word during a reading circle in class on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Stuck with distance learning as they began grade school, the kids who are now finishing elementary school were the ones most disrupted by COVID, with alarming delays in their reading ability. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex, File)
Beyond third grade, fewer teachers each year know how to help students who are lacking key foundational reading skills, said Elizabeth Albro, an executive at the U.S. Department of Education’s independent research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences.
“Middle and high school teachers aren’t expecting to have to teach kids how to read,” Albro said.
Nationally, students suffered deep learning setbacks in reading and math during the pandemic. Last year’s third-graders, the kids who were in kindergarten when the pandemic started, lost more ground in reading than kids in older grades and were slower to catch up. With federal pandemic relief money, school systems added class time, brought on tutors, trained teachers in phonics instruction and found other ways to offer extra support to struggling readers.
But even after several years of recovery, an analysis of last year’s test scores by NWEA found that the average student would need the equivalent of 4.1 additional months of instruction to catch up to pre-COVID reading levels.
The one bright spot was for incoming fourth-graders, who made above-average gains and would need about two months of additional reading instruction to catch up. Karyn Lewis, who leads a team of education policy researchers at NWEA, described them as “a little bit less worse off.”
The school system in Niagara Falls, New York, is seeing similar results, said Marcia Capone, the district’s assessment administrator. The district brought on additional reading specialists, but Capone said it will take time to bring struggling students up to speed.
“I do not believe it’s hopeless, but it’s not something that’s going to occur in, say, three years’ time,” Capone said.
The problem for children who don’t master reading by third grade: School becomes that much harder in later grades, as reading becomes the foundation for everything else.
Joshua Bessex
FILE - Books are displayed on a free library shelf inside the classroom of Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Stuck with distance learning as they began grade school, the kids who are now finishing elementary school were the ones most disrupted by COVID, with alarming delays in their reading ability. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex, File)
Schools have plenty of experience with older students who struggle. Even before the pandemic, only about a third of fourth graders scored as proficient in reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “nation’s report card.”
But the pandemic made it worse, particularly for low-income students and kids of color.
So some schools are targeting some upper-grade students with the “science of reading,” a push to embrace research-backed strategies for reading based on phonics. Many new laws endorsing the phonics-based approach target students beyond third grade, according to a July report from the nonpartisan Albert Shanker Institute.
In Virginia, for instance, a law signed in March mandates extra help for struggling readers through eighth grade. It is one of the most aggressive efforts yet.
“There’s an implicit recognition,” wrote the authors of the Shanker report, “that reading improvement needs to address a greater span of grades, and that reading difficulties do not necessarily end in 3rd grade.”
Charlie Riedel
FILE - A student raises her hand to ask a question in her third grade classroom at Highland Elementary School in Columbus, Kan., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. Stuck with distance learning as they began grade school, the kids who are now finishing elementary school were the ones most disrupted by COVID, with alarming delays in their reading ability. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
That will require a major shift. Historically, phonics and help decoding words have gradually disappeared in the upper grades.
Most English teachers at that level are no more prepared to teach a student to read than a math teacher would be, said Miah Daughtery, who advocates for effective literacy instruction for the NWEA research organization.
“They’re prepared to teach text,” she said. “They’re prepared to teach literature, to analyze ideas, craft, story structure, make connections.”
The federal pandemic relief money that bolstered many schools’ academic recovery efforts soon will run out, leaving some experts less optimistic.
“We’re past the point where we’re likely to see a quick rebound,” said Dan Goldhaber, of the American Institutes for Research.
Charlie Riedel
FILE - Third-graders read a book together at Highland Elementary School in Columbus, Kan., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. Stuck with distance learning as they began grade school, the kids who are now finishing elementary school were the ones most disrupted by COVID, with alarming delays in their reading ability. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Teachers are reporting it is taking more time to get through material, according to Tonya Perry, the vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Some school systems are turning to programs that break grade-level subject matter down into a variety of reading levels, so strong and weak readers can still learn the concepts, she said.
“Now we have to spend more time building the foundation for what we’re asking students to do,” she said.
Early in the pandemic, some students repeated a grade. But that was only a short-term solution, often taken reluctantly because of concerns about the effect on kids’ social lives and academic futures. By last year, grade retention numbers were trending downward again.
One thing teachers can do is rely less on silent reading in class, and instead have small group activities in which strong and weak readers can be paired together, Daughtery said.
Lewis, of the NWEA, said the takeaway should not be that the COVID kids are beyond help.
“The message has to be: We’re doing the right things. We’re just not doing enough of it,” she said. “And we need to amp up and certainly not take our foot off the gas pedal anytime soon.”
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Associated Press writers Brooke Schultz in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, New York, and Bianca Vázquez Toness in Boston contributed to this report.
The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Tristar Media // Getty Images
Public television's place is "to serve the actual young and the forever young, the open and curious, those who still want to learn," Boston's WGBH longtime production chief Peter McGhee said in 2002. Though he made this statement decades ago, these words remain true today.
The idea of broad and free education goes back to the United States' earliest days. Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann believed it would uplift society and be a bedrock for self-government. As broadcast media developed, the shared destinies of broadcasting and education materialized.
In the 1920s, the Federal Radio Commission asserted the need for broadcasting to serve the common good and created education radio stations in various colleges and universities. By 1969, PBS emerged in a society where 97% of American households had a TV, preschoolers watched 27 hours of it every week, and programming was a "vast wasteland," according to former Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton Minow.
With the birth of PBS came programming aimed at young children with more than just vaudevillian Howdy Doody-esque entertainment in mind. Shows like "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" broke racial barriers and pioneered a way of engaging children as people capable of understanding and learning about complex topics. Their success also paved the way for shows that successfully marry education and entertainment in later decades, many of which—including "Cyberchase" and "Dragon Tales"—would become classics in their own right.
Gradually, more diverse programming and technological advances gave rise to many of the shows on PBS today. But for kids in the '80s, '90s, and early aughts, some PBS shows—many of which have been discontinued or iterated on in new ways— remain unforgettable hallmarks of their childhoods. To commemorate some of these programs and celebrate their impact, HeyTutor created a list of educational public television shows spanning several decades that captured kids' imaginations, drawing from critics' reviews and news reports.
Tristar Media // Getty Images
Public television's place is "to serve the actual young and the forever young, the open and curious, those who still want to learn," Boston's WGBH longtime production chief Peter McGhee said in 2002. Though he made this statement decades ago, these words remain true today.
The idea of broad and free education goes back to the United States' earliest days. Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann believed it would uplift society and be a bedrock for self-government. As broadcast media developed, the shared destinies of broadcasting and education materialized.
In the 1920s, the Federal Radio Commission asserted the need for broadcasting to serve the common good and created education radio stations in various colleges and universities. By 1969, PBS emerged in a society where 97% of American households had a TV, preschoolers watched 27 hours of it every week, and programming was a "vast wasteland," according to former Federal Communications Commission chairman Newton Minow.
With the birth of PBS came programming aimed at young children with more than just vaudevillian Howdy Doody-esque entertainment in mind. Shows like "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" broke racial barriers and pioneered a way of engaging children as people capable of understanding and learning about complex topics. Their success also paved the way for shows that successfully marry education and entertainment in later decades, many of which—including "Cyberchase" and "Dragon Tales"—would become classics in their own right.
Gradually, more diverse programming and technological advances gave rise to many of the shows on PBS today. But for kids in the '80s, '90s, and early aughts, some PBS shows—many of which have been discontinued or iterated on in new ways— remain unforgettable hallmarks of their childhoods. To commemorate some of these programs and celebrate their impact, HeyTutor created a list of educational public television shows spanning several decades that captured kids' imaginations, drawing from critics' reviews and news reports.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Children's Television Workshop (CTW)
"Dragon Tales" features young Mexican American siblings Emmy and Max, who find a magic dragon scale that allows them to visit the Dragon Land. There, they become friends with a group of playful dragons and embark on a series of adventures.
The animated show aired between 1999 and 2005 and focused on educating kids about creative ways to solve problems, the importance of community and friendship, and approaching the world with curiosity. Interspersed with Spanish-language elements and education, "Dragon Tales" was made for kids ages 3 to 6.
Children's Television Workshop (CTW)
"Dragon Tales" features young Mexican American siblings Emmy and Max, who find a magic dragon scale that allows them to visit the Dragon Land. There, they become friends with a group of playful dragons and embark on a series of adventures.
The animated show aired between 1999 and 2005 and focused on educating kids about creative ways to solve problems, the importance of community and friendship, and approaching the world with curiosity. Interspersed with Spanish-language elements and education, "Dragon Tales" was made for kids ages 3 to 6.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Nelvana
"Cyberchase" started airing in 2002 and is on its 14th season. The animated show centers around three kids—Jackie, Inez, and Matt—using math to prevent the villainous Hacker from taking over Cyberspace. Each episode ends with a live-action segment in which hosts Harry and Bianca teach math concepts and discuss their real-world applications.
Geared toward kids between 6 and 8, "Cyberchase" has been a fixture of public television for decades, winning multiple Emmys and engaging children with its lovable characters and exciting action-based plot.
Entertainment value is not the show's only calling card, however. Its educational value has also been extensively studied, particularly in the realm of increasing kids' interest in math and problem-solving. In recent seasons, the show has incorporated important themes like climate change and environmental responsibility.
Nelvana
"Cyberchase" started airing in 2002 and is on its 14th season. The animated show centers around three kids—Jackie, Inez, and Matt—using math to prevent the villainous Hacker from taking over Cyberspace. Each episode ends with a live-action segment in which hosts Harry and Bianca teach math concepts and discuss their real-world applications.
Geared toward kids between 6 and 8, "Cyberchase" has been a fixture of public television for decades, winning multiple Emmys and engaging children with its lovable characters and exciting action-based plot.
Entertainment value is not the show's only calling card, however. Its educational value has also been extensively studied, particularly in the realm of increasing kids' interest in math and problem-solving. In recent seasons, the show has incorporated important themes like climate change and environmental responsibility.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Peter Bischoff // Getty Images
This legendary kids' show is the longest-running in history; it first premiered in 1969 with an intentionally integrated cast and is still in production today. With more than 50 seasons in its library, "Sesame Street" takes place in a world inhabited by humans and Muppets (created by Jim Henson).
The show is geared towards very young children, but has tidbits that adults appreciate, too, like appearances from popular bands, celebrities, and political figures. Over the years, beloved characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Oscar the Grouch have transcended the show itself and become household names.
Though the structure of "Sesame Street" has changed over the years, it has always balanced entertainment with education, teaching kids straightforward lessons about how to count and learn the alphabet, as well as less tangible concepts like finding beauty in diversity and developing a love of learning. Over the years, studies of the show have concluded that kids who watched "Sesame Street" went on to do better in school than kids who didn't, in general.
Peter Bischoff // Getty Images
This legendary kids' show is the longest-running in history; it first premiered in 1969 with an intentionally integrated cast and is still in production today. With more than 50 seasons in its library, "Sesame Street" takes place in a world inhabited by humans and Muppets (created by Jim Henson).
The show is geared towards very young children, but has tidbits that adults appreciate, too, like appearances from popular bands, celebrities, and political figures. Over the years, beloved characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Oscar the Grouch have transcended the show itself and become household names.
Though the structure of "Sesame Street" has changed over the years, it has always balanced entertainment with education, teaching kids straightforward lessons about how to count and learn the alphabet, as well as less tangible concepts like finding beauty in diversity and developing a love of learning. Over the years, studies of the show have concluded that kids who watched "Sesame Street" went on to do better in school than kids who didn't, in general.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund
Based on the children's book "The Chinese Siamese Cat" by "The Joy Luck Club" author Amy Tan, "Sagwa" was a short-lived show that aired for one season beginning in 2001. Despite its brief airtime, the animated show made a big impression on young viewers.
"Sagwa" takes place sometime during the late Qing dynasty and follows the titular Sagwa, a young Siamese cat, her cat siblings, and the humans who live in the palace as she navigates growing up and learning about the world. The show, whose theme song is in English and Mandarin, educated young audiences about Chinese history, language, and culture.
Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund
Based on the children's book "The Chinese Siamese Cat" by "The Joy Luck Club" author Amy Tan, "Sagwa" was a short-lived show that aired for one season beginning in 2001. Despite its brief airtime, the animated show made a big impression on young viewers.
"Sagwa" takes place sometime during the late Qing dynasty and follows the titular Sagwa, a young Siamese cat, her cat siblings, and the humans who live in the palace as she navigates growing up and learning about the world. The show, whose theme song is in English and Mandarin, educated young audiences about Chinese history, language, and culture.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Mike Young Productions
This iconic show followed Emily Elizabeth and Clifford, her enormous, bright red dog, and their human and dog friends. Clifford grew to be massive due to Emily Elizabeth's love for him.
Airing for a few years beginning in 2000, "Clifford" taught children about growing up, the value of community, and being kind to others. The show was based on a book series of the same name by Norman Bridwell and inspired the spinoff series "Clifford's Puppy Days," a reboot in 2019, and a 2021 live-action movie adaptation.
Mike Young Productions
This iconic show followed Emily Elizabeth and Clifford, her enormous, bright red dog, and their human and dog friends. Clifford grew to be massive due to Emily Elizabeth's love for him.
Airing for a few years beginning in 2000, "Clifford" taught children about growing up, the value of community, and being kind to others. The show was based on a book series of the same name by Norman Bridwell and inspired the spinoff series "Clifford's Puppy Days," a reboot in 2019, and a 2021 live-action movie adaptation.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
9 Story Media Group
"Arthur," the animated children's show centered around a young aardvark and his family and friends, ended in 2022 after 25 seasons—the longest of any animated kids' show in history. The series educated kids about navigating hurt feelings, bullying, and complicated familial and friend relationships through the proxies of Arthur, D.W., Buster, and other animals who endeared themselves to kids by being relatable.
"Arthur" was so popular that dozens of celebrities, from the Backstreet Boys to Lance Armstrong, appeared as animated guests on the show.
9 Story Media Group
"Arthur," the animated children's show centered around a young aardvark and his family and friends, ended in 2022 after 25 seasons—the longest of any animated kids' show in history. The series educated kids about navigating hurt feelings, bullying, and complicated familial and friend relationships through the proxies of Arthur, D.W., Buster, and other animals who endeared themselves to kids by being relatable.
"Arthur" was so popular that dozens of celebrities, from the Backstreet Boys to Lance Armstrong, appeared as animated guests on the show.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" ran from 1968 until 2001, but the show's legacy and that of its host have persisted. The program's host was Fred Rogers, a gentle and compassionate man known for his cardigan and his unwavering kindness to everyone. In each episode, Mr. Rogers would interact with various characters in his neighborhood and discuss a different theme. A puppet-based segment, set in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, would break up the show into parts.
Known for diving into complex topics that many other children's programming avoided, Mr. Rogers touched on how to deal with negative emotions and difficult things happening in the world. Unlike the educational lessons highlighted in other shows, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" focused on teaching kids to foster relationships and empathy with and for others.
One of its oft-cited episodes involved Rogers and African American Officer Clemmons washing their feet in a shared tub, a subtle way of challenging segregation. The spinoff series "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" features Daniel Tiger, who wears a signature red cardigan similar to Rogers and sings a speedier version of the original show's theme song.
Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" ran from 1968 until 2001, but the show's legacy and that of its host have persisted. The program's host was Fred Rogers, a gentle and compassionate man known for his cardigan and his unwavering kindness to everyone. In each episode, Mr. Rogers would interact with various characters in his neighborhood and discuss a different theme. A puppet-based segment, set in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, would break up the show into parts.
Known for diving into complex topics that many other children's programming avoided, Mr. Rogers touched on how to deal with negative emotions and difficult things happening in the world. Unlike the educational lessons highlighted in other shows, "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" focused on teaching kids to foster relationships and empathy with and for others.
One of its oft-cited episodes involved Rogers and African American Officer Clemmons washing their feet in a shared tub, a subtle way of challenging segregation. The spinoff series "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" features Daniel Tiger, who wears a signature red cardigan similar to Rogers and sings a speedier version of the original show's theme song.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
South Carolina ETV
"The Magic School Bus" is still popular despite going off the air in 1997. The animated show follows the quirky teacher Ms. Valerie Frizzle (voiced by Lily Tomlin) and her class of kids as they go on educational adventures in a school bus that can change shape and size and even time travel. Many of these antics involve getting out of sticky situations using science concepts, showing the real-world applications of classroom lessons.
Based on a kids' book series of the same name, the show explores places and times ranging from outer space to inside the body's immune system. "The Magic School Bus" has been praised for its ability to engage young audiences with science while encouraging curiosity and a willingness to make mistakes while learning.
Due to the show's enduring popularity, Netflix created a reboot series, "The Magic School Bus Rides Again," featuring Kate McKinnon as Fiona Frizzle, the original Ms. Frizzle's sister. Lily Tomlin's voice is still behind Valerie, who acquired a few advanced degrees and became Professor Frizzle.
However, the new show has not experienced the success of its predecessor; fans of the original series have panned the new show's visuals, pointing out that characters from "The Magic School Bus" with darker skin were whitewashed in the reboot. Viewers took aim at Ms. Frizzle's signature frizzy red hair, which was sleeker, mistaking Fiona for Valerie.
South Carolina ETV
"The Magic School Bus" is still popular despite going off the air in 1997. The animated show follows the quirky teacher Ms. Valerie Frizzle (voiced by Lily Tomlin) and her class of kids as they go on educational adventures in a school bus that can change shape and size and even time travel. Many of these antics involve getting out of sticky situations using science concepts, showing the real-world applications of classroom lessons.
Based on a kids' book series of the same name, the show explores places and times ranging from outer space to inside the body's immune system. "The Magic School Bus" has been praised for its ability to engage young audiences with science while encouraging curiosity and a willingness to make mistakes while learning.
Due to the show's enduring popularity, Netflix created a reboot series, "The Magic School Bus Rides Again," featuring Kate McKinnon as Fiona Frizzle, the original Ms. Frizzle's sister. Lily Tomlin's voice is still behind Valerie, who acquired a few advanced degrees and became Professor Frizzle.
However, the new show has not experienced the success of its predecessor; fans of the original series have panned the new show's visuals, pointing out that characters from "The Magic School Bus" with darker skin were whitewashed in the reboot. Viewers took aim at Ms. Frizzle's signature frizzy red hair, which was sleeker, mistaking Fiona for Valerie.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
Vince Talotta/Toronto Star via Getty Images
This short-lived but fondly remembered show aired between 1999 and 2001. Featuring Zoboomafoo, the talking lemur (played by both a puppet as well as a real lemur named Jovian), and two zoologist brothers, Martin and Chris Kratt, "Zoboomafoo" introduced kids to animals from all over the world and taught them about the environment. Each episode centered around a mystery animal—upon its reveal, the brothers and Zoboomafoo would learn about the animal, its habitat, and more. Some watchers of the show have since credited it with encouraging a love for and interest in nature and the animal kingdom.
Since "Zoboomafoo" ended, the Kratt brothers have continued to work on other wildlife-focused shows—most famously, "Wild Kratts," a half-hour animated show featuring Martin and Chris who gain powers inspired by their creature friends thanks to their Creature Power Suits, invented by Aviva Corcovado.
Vince Talotta/Toronto Star via Getty Images
This short-lived but fondly remembered show aired between 1999 and 2001. Featuring Zoboomafoo, the talking lemur (played by both a puppet as well as a real lemur named Jovian), and two zoologist brothers, Martin and Chris Kratt, "Zoboomafoo" introduced kids to animals from all over the world and taught them about the environment. Each episode centered around a mystery animal—upon its reveal, the brothers and Zoboomafoo would learn about the animal, its habitat, and more. Some watchers of the show have since credited it with encouraging a love for and interest in nature and the animal kingdom.
Since "Zoboomafoo" ended, the Kratt brothers have continued to work on other wildlife-focused shows—most famously, "Wild Kratts," a half-hour animated show featuring Martin and Chris who gain powers inspired by their creature friends thanks to their Creature Power Suits, invented by Aviva Corcovado.
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What to stream this week: ‘The Monkey King,’ Stand Up to Cancer, ‘No Hard Feelings,’ new Madden game
WNED-TV Buffalo
Hosted by LeVar Burton over two decades, "Reading Rainbow" taught reading skills and a love of books to young audiences. The show, premiering in 1983, presented stories in an animated picture book format, read aloud by celebrities or other guests.
Originally, "Reading Rainbow" was conceptualized as a way for kids whose families couldn't afford to send them to summer camp to stay engaged with reading, according to Lynne Ganek, a writer on the show. While the show's scope expanded, literacy and instilling kids with a love of reading remained integral to its mission and eventual format. Burton continues to advocate for literacy. He launched a digital library of books and videos for kids and a reading podcast.
Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Abigail Renaud.
This story originally appeared on HeyTutor and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
WNED-TV Buffalo
Hosted by LeVar Burton over two decades, "Reading Rainbow" taught reading skills and a love of books to young audiences. The show, premiering in 1983, presented stories in an animated picture book format, read aloud by celebrities or other guests.
Originally, "Reading Rainbow" was conceptualized as a way for kids whose families couldn't afford to send them to summer camp to stay engaged with reading, according to Lynne Ganek, a writer on the show. While the show's scope expanded, literacy and instilling kids with a love of reading remained integral to its mission and eventual format. Burton continues to advocate for literacy. He launched a digital library of books and videos for kids and a reading podcast.
Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Abigail Renaud.
This story originally appeared on HeyTutor and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
