School Readiness for Young Students Post-Pandemic

Published January 2024

This report examines how disrupted access to early childhood services during the pandemic manifested in school readiness for young students in Grades K–2 today. Nearly four years following the abrupt education and child-care closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are continued effects on student academic achievement. Though these effects have been well documented in Grade 3 and beyond, this research report offers new insights into the pandemic’s impact on children who were yet to enter formal schooling in March 2020. Our data suggests students are entering school less prepared for grade-level learning, more students are placing further behind, and the impact of pandemic-era disruption was not equally felt across communities.