The average American student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic levels of achievement in both reading and math.

WASHINGTON – Public Schools in Washington, D.C., will partially reopen their buildings to select students beginning Nov. 9 in a multi-pronged approach as the nation's capital struggles to return to normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bowser said Monday there was “a real urgency” to get students back to school buildings safely. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said students in sixth grade and above would continue with full-time distance learning until the next school term, which starts in early 2021. Instead of the original two-day-a-week hybrid model, students will be in school all five weekdays, with Wednesday as a half-day. About a dozen public charters, which are largely independent and educate about 46 percent of public school students, have been bringing in select groups of students using similar criteria for in-person instruction.

ATLANTA, GA The latest Nation's Report Card is painting a dismal picture of math and reading achievement among American fourth and eighth graders despite a few bright spots. Nationwide, a little more than a third of eighth graders are proficient in reading and math. About a third of fourth graders are proficient in reading, while more than 40% of fourth graders are proficient in math. The decline in both reading and math performance among eighth grade students preparing to enter high school was especially concerning, officials said. Both low- and high-achieving eighth graders slipped in reading, but the declines were generally worse for lower-performing students.