This data interactive allows users to see these proficiency trajectories for each COVID-impacted grade in English and math for every state and D.C. Users can select and compare proficiency data for each state by the subject and grade cohort.
Proficiency by cohort and subject, all states: Users can highlight two state-by-subject trajectories for a selected grade cohort against the backdrop of all other states.
Proficiency by cohort and subject, selected state: Users can select one subject per state to view learning trajectories for K–8 cohorts as well as the pre-pandemic trend.
This data interactive accompanies the analysis, “Learning curves: Post-COVID learning trajectories differ by the grade a student was in when the pandemic hit.” We find that the older the student was in the 2019 –20 school year, the lower the subsequent proficiency rate trajectory. This pattern is more consistent in math than in English, as proficiency rates in English converge across cohorts in higher grades. Please see the technical appendix for more detail on both the interactive and analysis.
This interactive was last updated on December 4, 2025 and goes through the 2024–25 school year for only those states whose data were public at that time.
This data interactive was developed primarily by Eileen Powell and Tiffany France, with support from Lauren Bauer, Sofoklis Goulas, Este Griffith, Lisa Petrovich, Kate Wiley, Victoria Yan, and Jimmy Zheng.
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