A report sharing the latest trends in student academic growth and achievement focused on the youngest grades: K-2 shows that progress in reading has stalled. While much of the national research has focused on grades 3–8, far less attention has been paid to the early grades. This new report fills that gap, examining how kindergarten through second-grade students weathered the COVID-19 pandemic. NWEA , a K-12 assessment and research organization, pulled data from the “Trends Over Time” tab of the MAP Growth National Dashboard (a public tool that shows how K–8 students are performing in reading and math based on data from over 7 million students in 20,000 schools), comparing spring 2017 (pre-COVID) test scores to spring 2025 test scores for K-2. Key findings are: Reading achievement in first and second grade remains stalled, with little evidence of rebounding to pre-COVID levels. Kindergarten achievement levels have remained mostly steady during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.…