CLEVELAND — The Nation’s Report Card shows drastic effects from COVID-19 in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Matthew Horwich is a tutor in the Cleveland area, specializing in standardized testing and mathematics. He said the pandemic is having a lasting effect on students, driving them to services like his to make up for the impact of two school years of bouncing between virtual and in-person learning.
“I probably roughly doubled how many students I had,” Horwich said. “I think some of it was to play catch up.”
The need for that catch-up time is evident in a National Assessment of Educational progress known as The Nation's Report Card. The report shows fourth-grade students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District scored an average of 203 out of 500 in math in 2022, compared to an average of 218 in 2019—the year before the pandemic began.
That number is well below the average national score of 227 for students in large cities. The average test score in reading for Cleveland fourth graders dropped 16 points between 2019 and 2022. Eighth graders are also showing a decline in scores, down eight points in math and seven in reading.
Horwich tutors students from across the globe, and said this trend isn't unique to Cleveland.
“Every state as well as every country has suffered,” he said. “We're picking up the pieces. I feel like everybody's doing the best they can.”
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District said it expected this and released the following statement:
"Our scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress confirm what we already knew: The global pandemic had a severe impact on a city with one of the nation’s highest rates of poverty.
CMSD students took the exam as the devastating Omicron strain of COVID-19 raged, and Cleveland was the hardest hit area in the nation. The results were then compared with exams taken in 2019, before the pandemic.
Prior to the pandemic, our NAEP and state tests showed growth that outpaced districts throughout Ohio and across the country.
Our new State Report Card, which compares achievement year to year, shows the District has begun to recover. Cleveland ranked first among Ohio’s urban school systems for academic growth and was 12th overall.
Our recovery plan includes a large summer learning program, adding instructional time to the day during the school year and providing extra homework and tutoring help. We are preparing to roll out an online tutoring program with live teachers."
“We know we can and will catch up,” CEO Eric Gordon said. “Our surveys show that the community expected a drop in test scores but has confidence that we will recover.”