Only one in three children in the United States are meeting reading standards in fourth grade, only one in four eighth graders are proficient in math and post-pandemic student absence has skyrocketed according to the 35th edition of our annual signature publication, the KIDS COUNT Data Book. As a result, too few children are emerging from our high schools ready to earn because they are not arriving at the schoolhouse door ready to learn.
When our educational and economic foundations are this fragile, it should be everyone’s concern because the stakes are high. According to one estimate, up to $31 trillion in U.S. economic activity hinges on addressing pandemic-era backsliding alone. As of early summer, states had more than $40 billion in federal funding available to help address this crisis. Now, they have just a few weeks to tap it before it disappears.
