A tutoring session at T.A. Dugger Junior High School in Elizabethton, Tenn., where increased funding allowed the district to provide English language arts tutoring this year for 404 elementary and middle school students, May 4, 2023.
Education researchers and advocates say recovering from the effects of remote learning should be the top priority, but it is unclear how much of the funding is helping students across the nation fully catch up. “In some districts, I think we’re going to see that the money was well spent,” Lake said. “And in many — maybe most — it won’t have been spent as well as it should have been, in terms of addressing the urgent need right in front of us.”
Thomas Kane, the center’s faculty director and co-author of the papers, said implementation has since improved but remains far below the necessary levels. He expected to see some gains this year but said a “significant gap” will remain, since not enough schools were extending the academic year or placing most students in summer school.
Sasha Pudelski, a director at AASA, the School Superintendents Association, said districts were prioritizing spending on additional learning time. According to July data from AASA, 68% of districts were spending some funds on expanded summer learning, 42% were adding learning time by compensating staff and 39% were providing high-intensity tutoring.
Oregon’s Klamath County school district plans to use about 30% of its $16.1 million federal share on academic recovery programs and 70% on facilities projects. Those include buying new turf fields, replacing HVAC systems, upgrading flooring, renovating bleachers in baseball fields, constructing a gym and surfacing an elementary school parking lot.