Pandemic-related learning recovery has "failed" for most students, and now states need to take the lead in accelerating academic achievement and driving improved student outcomes, according to a new report from the Center on Reinvening Public Education.

Only 10.5% of students are in districts that have returned to prepandemic achievement levels in both math and literacy. No states have returned to prepandemic attendance levels, according to the report.

And with a downsized U.S. Department of Education shifting more responsibilities to the states, "all eyes [are] on states at a very pivotal moment," said Robin Lake, director of CRPE and co-author of the report. Lake was speaking at a Nov. 9 webinar on the report's findings, along with co-author Chelsea Waite, a research principal at CRPE. The report was released last month jointly with Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, where CRPE is housed.

To improve student outcomes, state leaders should investigate gaps between their policies and how they are implemented — including systems for measuring their progress and accountability performance. Then, they could prioritize plugging those gaps by paying special attention to the students furthest behind, including those with disabilities and multilingual learners, the report said.

While academic performances varies widely among states, CRPE's analysis shows that every state has room for improvement. The analysis found that only 13 states have clear, specific, statewide goals for student learning that is messaged across multiple documents and webpages, said Waite.

South Carolina, for instance, has set a goal for 75% of its students to perform at grade level by 2030.

"A clear goal is the first piece of a clear strategy," Waite said. "So without a clear goal, there's no way to tell whether a state is doing something that adds up to anything, and nobody can hold the state to that goal if it's not made public."

The CRPE report explores how state education policies, initiatives and reforms break down along political lines. The center found partisan divides in state-led instructional reform for math and literacy. For example, eight of the 12 states with “strong” policies for science of reading teacher preparation programs were categorized as red states, and 13 of 18 states with math laws were Republican-led.

On the other hand, student well-being policies — such as initiatives that touch on counseling, suicide prevention and school safety — are "led almost entirely by Democrats," the report said. Of the 17 states that have policies giving mental health days that can count as an excused absence from school, three are red states, eight are blue and six are purple. 

The report found that states' academic achievement spanned the political spectrum, even though a "popular narrative" is that blue states outperform the others.

As far as how midterm elections will influence state education policy, that's a "big unknown," said Waite. The analysis was conducted before the November elections.

The report examines state policy adoption and implementation in four core areas:

• Literacy: While there is nationwide movement toward literacy reform, implementation is uneven, even with 43 states and the District of Columbia passing science of reading laws since 2013. Only eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina — have "fully implemented" their literacy initiatives.
• Math: CRPE calls math a "weak spot" for almost all states. Some 18 states passed math reform laws between 2022 and 2025. But a majority — 37 states — have not fully implemented any of nonprofit ExcelinEd's 11 recommended math principles.
• Career pathways: Policies for career-connected learning are gaining traction. But according to nonprofit Jobs of the Future, just six states — Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington — have adopted a majority of the 19 policies that the organization deems essential for students to make informed decisions about their education and career opportunities.
• Artificial intelligence: According to CRPE, 36 states have published or endorsed K–12 AI guidance: Of those, 28 states mention both the opportunities and risks of the technology. "The debate in every state has moved from whether AI belongs in schools to how," the report said. Maryland's efforts on this front stand out because it has a standing AI education board, requires funding for educator training, and mandates that AI tools be certified against a state-published rubric. Utah was the first state to mandate an AI education specialist role, while it also has restricted screentime in K-3 classrooms. 

Waite said the CRPE report is not claiming a certain combination of reforms will drive improved student outcomes. But, she said, early evidence suggests that "taking on several interconnected reforms at once does really seem to matter.”