Many Illinois students are still trying to recover academic losses due to school closures during the pandemic, even federal pandemic-related aid is coming to a close. The University of Illinois System reports that only around a quarter of public-school students have regained their pre-pandemic performance levels in English language arts, with even fewer managing the same in mathematics.

Recovering Learning Isn’t Equal

The research was done by the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC), part of the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute. It found that high schoolers were recovering lost learning much more slowly than younger pupils, particularly in math. IWERC Director Meg Bates is worried about losing resources such as intensive tutoring and extended-day programs which currently help with academic recovery but might struggle for funding once federal aid stops.

Differences in Recovery Between Groups

The study found that recovery rates varied depending on grade levels and socioeconomic groups. Schools with lots of Black, Latino and poor students have recovered less than others from their pre-pandemic performance levels. Remote learning was more common in these schools during the pandemic, which has added to these learning gaps.

“Districts that spent longer locking down lost more and so haven’t returned to their pre-pandemic levels,” notes Bates. Schools serving more low-income families, who typically suffered more during the pandemic, are having the hardest time bouncing back.

Problems With Attendance and Enrollment

The report also shows that schools haven’t yet come back from a drop in enrollment which took place at peak times for the pandemic. In total, state enrollment fell by around 60,000 students between 2019 and 2021, including more than 15,000 students who left just from Chicago Public Schools. Although enrollment has started to rise again outside the CPS by 2023, numbers within the CPS fell to below 300,000 students.

Some of this decrease is due to a falloff in birth rates within Illinois, but there’s also an unexplained drop among middle grade students which appears to be due to pupils choosing to leave the system willingly. Furthermore, many more students are now absent regularly; around 30 percent of students across the state are missing large parts of their schooling year and a whopping 45 percent are doing so in the Chicago Public School system. These absenteeism rates are especially high for Black, Latino and poor students.

What Federal Funds Did and What the Future Holds

Congress authorized three federal relief packages that gave billions in emergency education funds referred to as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds; Illinois received over $7.8 billion. A major chunk of these—almost $2.4 billion—was assigned for salaries for teachers and other school personnel involved with summer schools or after-school programs.

These federal funds will stop being available at the end of this federal fiscal year—as of September 30—which means either ending or finding new ways of funding these programs that were backed up by them. “We had about one thousand paychecks for full-time teachers coming out of these funds,” said Bates, underlining how much they’re needed just for staff expenses.

Bates thinks that schools may find it very difficult indeed without this support when it comes to staff costs for summer schooling or after-school tutoring which is crucial for helping children recover academically. She says it’ll be important not only just continue these programs but also incorporate them into standard budgets past pandemic times if they’re going to keep helping students in future.

The Path Forward

The study findings indicate tough choices are ahead for school officials, as they must figure out how to carry on with recovery programs without federal support. Despite the challenges, Bates remains hopeful that schools have found ways to include helpful elements such as tutoring and extended-day programs into their usual budgets.

As Illinois’ education scene continues to adapt due to these changes, all stakeholders—including educators, policymakers, and community members—must cooperate and come together to tackle ongoing challenges of post-pandemic learning loss. By concentrating on equal access to resources and aid, the state of Illinois can aim towards an educational system that’s more resilient in the face of such unforeseen circumstances—and one capable of helping all its students make a full recovery academically.