How Technology Can Help Schools Close the Literacy Gap

America’s youngest learners are still struggling to regain reading ground lost in the pandemic, according to data from education research group NWEA. First and second grade reading scores remain below pre-pandemic levels, even as math performance has begun to recover. Because the youngest learners in schools were just babies during pandemic shutdowns, the stagnant scores may suggest deeper, systemic issues affecting early literacy development, both inside and outside the classroom, researchers say. “Some of the most significant reasons for the gaps may include interrupted foundational…