See How Danbury Test Scores Compare Amid National ‘Reading Recession’

DANBURY, CT — Danbury students are performing well below the national average in reading and math, according to a new nationwide analysis of post-pandemic test scores.

Researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth examined third- through eighth-grade test scores from more than 5,000 school districts in 38 states for the Education Scorecard project.

Overall, they found U.S. students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading levels, reflecting a long-running “reading recession” worsened by the pandemic.

Students across the country are tested annually on math and reading to measure how well they are learning foundational skills that schools, states and policymakers consider essential for academic success and future employment.

Danbury Students Lag National Average

According to the report, Danbury students performed an average of 1.58 grade levels below the 2019 national average in math and reading combined during the 2022-2025 school years.

Researchers also found Danbury students learned at a slower rate than the national average during that period. The report estimated students learned about 20 percent less per year compared with the national average.

The analysis found test scores in Danbury have continued declining in recent years, with learning rates also decreasing over time.

The report ranked Danbury in the bottom fifth of school districts nationwide for average math and reading performance between 2022 and 2025.

Chronic absenteeism also increased in Danbury following the pandemic. The district’s average chronic absenteeism rate rose from 7.2 percent before the pandemic to 18.6 percent between 2022 and 2025, according to the report.

The report also found disparities among student groups in Danbury. Hispanic students averaged 2.19 grade levels below the 2019 national average between 2022 and 2025, while low-income students averaged 1.89 grade levels below the benchmark.

What Researchers Found Nationwide

Nationally, researchers found students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading levels, though math scores have shown broader improvement since 2022. Researchers pointed to absenteeism, reduced recreational reading and increased smartphone and social media use as possible contributing factors behind the reading declines.

The Education Recovery Scorecard project allows residents to compare district-level trends in reading, math and absenteeism across the country.

» See how other districts performed.

The Associated Press contributed reporting