A new study reveals that while U.S. schools received billions in aid to address the academic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount is still woefully inadequate. The federal government allocated $190 billion in emergency funding to help public schools recover, but research indicates that the cost to fully remedy the academic setbacks could soar to $700 billion.
Matthew Steinberg, an associate professor at George Mason University and co-author of the study published in Educational Researcher, underscores the shortfall: “Despite the extraordinary support provided by the federal government during the pandemic, U.S. schools are still $500 billion short of what is necessary to overcome the historic levels of learning loss.” He adds that while the investment through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) was substantial, it is far from sufficient when compared to the long-term economic consequences of failing to help a generation of students recover academically.
The researchers calculated the recovery cost using prior estimates of learning loss, the time spent in remote instruction, and the expense of boosting student achievement. The data was drawn from various sources, including the Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau. The study found that the ESSER funds distributed to states in 2020 and 2021 were not allocated in the most equitable way. In particular, the emergency aid was distributed through the Title I program, which aims to support low-income communities. However, the funding formula used by Title I, which favors states that spend more on education, caused disparities. School districts with similar poverty levels received vastly different amounts of assistance.
The research also pointed out that the Title I formula did not adequately account for learning loss factors such as race. Students of color, who experienced longer periods of school closures and more remote learning, faced more significant academic setbacks compared to their white peers. Kenneth Shores, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware and co-author of the study, explains, “COVID-19 hit communities of color very hard, regardless of poverty. These communities, facing already difficult challenges, did not receive the funds needed to address the learning losses their students faced.”
In addition, the study compares the allocation of emergency funds during the pandemic to the distribution of funds during the Great Recession through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The researchers found that, like during the recession, the federal aid was insufficient and poorly targeted. During the Great Recession, a $50 billion aid package was allocated to districts that did not necessarily experience the greatest financial need, and lost revenues amounted to $223 billion.
Shores argues that both crises reveal a flaw in the distribution of emergency funds. “The federal government relied on ‘distribution channels of convenience’—formulas from existing programs—rather than creating new formulas that better match the needs caused by these crises.” He concludes that this reliance on outdated systems results in emergency aid being misallocated, leaving the districts and communities most in need without adequate support.
This new research paints a stark picture of the challenges still facing U.S. schools and underscores the urgent need for more targeted investments to address the lasting effects of the pandemic on students, especially those in historically underserved communities.
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