Nearly five years after COVID-19 reshaped education, its impact on student learning remains profound. The latest NAEP results highlight a sobering reality—literacy struggles persist, and in many cases, they are worsening. The latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—often referred to as The Nation’s Report Card—make this abundantly clear.
In 2024, average reading scores for both fourth and eighth graders declined by two points compared to 2022. This drop adds to an already worrying trend, further steepening the three-point decline recorded in both grades between 2019 and 2022 . In fact, no state saw any gains in reading for either grade level over the last two years.
What’s particularly striking is that while math scores have shown some signs of modest recovery, reading continues to decline. Across every major percentile—10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th—scores in fourth and eighth-grade reading decreased between 2022 and 2024 .
The conversations at educational conferences, in classrooms, and among school administrators reflect this reality. A lack of resources, overwhelmed teachers, and classrooms with students at vastly different proficiency levels are making it nearly impossible to apply a one-size-fits-all intervention strategy. While some students may be one grade level behind, others are two or even three grade levels below their peers. The challenge isn’t just finding effective interventions—it’s ensuring those interventions are accessible and scalable in an increasingly strained system.
Another major factor? Chronic absenteeism. While attendance rates are improving, they still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, further compounding literacy struggles. Students who feel underprepared or lack confidence in their reading ability are not only less engaged in the classroom—they’re also at risk of missing school altogether.
Despite national declines, some states are seeing measurable improvements—not by luck, but through deliberate policy decisions. By prioritizing evidence-based interventions, these states prove that literacy recovery is possible. One of the most impactful solutions? High-impact tutoring.
Across the country, states like Delaware, Tennessee, Maryland, Indiana, and Louisiana have recognized the critical role of high-dosage tutoring in accelerating learning recovery. By making it a priority intervention, these states have seen measurable progress and are now working to sustain and expand these efforts long-term.
One of the most significant legislative moves in this direction came from Louisiana, where Act 771 of the 2024 Louisiana Legislative Session mandates school-day embedded tutoring for certain kindergarten through fifth-grade students. The impact of this initiative has been immediate and profound—Louisiana now leads the country in post-pandemic learning recovery. With such strong early results, the state is committed to continuing this investment in structured, high-impact intervention.
Ohio is another state that has prioritized high-impact tutoring over the past two years, as evidenced by our Ohio Statewide Program case study. This initiative highlights Cignition’s impact across multiple districts, demonstrating that structured, well-funded intervention programs can drive real student progress when implemented with fidelity.
What we’ve learned through these programs is clear:
When states take a structured approach—setting clear guidelines, expectations, and accountability measures—districts are better equipped to implement these programs effectively.
A top-down framework provides clarity on:
When all stakeholders—schools, districts, vendors, and policymakers—have a shared commitment to student success, the results tend to be stronger. A “must effort” approach, where each party has skin in the game, creates greater buy-in and drives better student outcomes.
For the past two years, we’ve had the privilege of working with Ohio Connections Academy (OCA)—an entirely virtual public school committed to supporting students through targeted intervention. An entirely virtual school presents unique challenges for literacy intervention—enrollment shifts, data tracking, and real-time progress monitoring require precision. However, Ohio Connections Academy has not only overcome these barriers but has also demonstrated how virtual high-dosage tutoring can be a scalable, effective solution. However, this program has thrived thanks to strong collaboration and buy-in from OCA’s leadership, demonstrating just how impactful structured tutoring can be when implemented effectively.
For the 2024-2025 school year, OCA was awarded 400 elementary tutoring seats for students on Reading Improvement Plans (RIMPs)—a state-mandated intervention for struggling readers. With Cignition recognized as a high-quality provider by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, OCA partnered with us to ensure these students received the targeted support they needed.
The tutoring structure is designed for maximum engagement and impact:
As of February 6, 2025:
To assess the impact of Cignition’s high-dosage tutoring, we collected survey data from both learning coaches/caretakers and elementary staff at OCA. The results demonstrate academic growth and increased student confidence and engagement.
Confidence is a key driver of long-term literacy success, and this is where high-dosage tutoring provides lasting impact—not just in skill acquisition but also in helping students feel more comfortable reading among their peers and participating in the classroom.
Below are a few comments from learning coaches and caretakers in response to our survey questions.
When asked what aspects of tutoring were most beneficial, teachers emphasized:
✔ Personalized small-group instruction (3-4 students per group)
✔ Highly trained tutors with expertise in virtual instruction
✔ Parental engagement as a key driver of student success
✔ Consistency in tutoring relationships, helping students build trust and confidence
✔ Frequent literacy exposure through structured, high-frequency sessions
Below are a few comments from Ohio Connections Academy staff in response to our survey questions.
Ohio Connections Academy’s success with Cignition underscores what decades of research affirm—high-dosage tutoring works only when implemented with fidelity. More tutoring alone isn’t enough; structured, data-driven implementation is the key to lasting improvement. However, its success isn’t just about offering more tutoring; it’s about implementing it correctly and with fidelity.
At Cignition, we understand that:
✔ Buy-in is critical—not just from teachers, staff, and parents. When parents understand the support their children are receiving, they become active participants in their child’s learning journey.
✔ We are a tool, not a replacement—our tutoring program is designed to supplement classroom instruction. We partner with schools and teachers to provide targeted, research-based intervention.
✔ Flexibility matters—while embedded school-day tutoring yields the most substantial results, we’ve seen successful implementations in various models, including:
The key is aligning the program with the needs of students and educators—there is no one-size-fits-all model. Still, when implemented strategically, high-dosage tutoring consistently delivers measurable improvements.
Cignition’s tutoring model builds literacy skills progressively, ensuring that foundational reading principles support long-term academic success. Below is a short demo lesson with a kindergarten student, showcasing our approach to phonics instruction. While this lesson focuses on early literacy, the same structured methodology evolves as students advance through grade levels, reinforcing comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development.
Our approach integrates phonics and spelling together to reinforce sound-spelling connections, ensuring students develop both decoding and encoding skills simultaneously. Decodable readers and targeted activities provide structured phonics practice, helping students build confidence and reading comprehension.
Cignition’s structured learning path introduces all 44 phonemes in the English language (See Scope & Sequence) and includes a placement test to identify the right instructional starting point for each student. Instruction begins with simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. It progresses to more complex structures like digraphs and diphthongs, ensuring a logical, skills-based progression that aligns with research-backed best practices in literacy development.
The future of literacy recovery isn’t bleak, but it is uncertain—and without statewide leadership and proper funding, progress will be limited.
With so much data supporting the effectiveness of high-impact tutoring, it’s surprising that more states haven’t prioritized it. The reality is that funding is often the most significant barrier. While high-dosage tutoring programs may require more investment per student than on-demand tutoring, the long-term benefits outweigh the costs.
The data is clear:
And there’s an even deeper connection—attendance and academic confidence go hand in hand. When students feel supported, valued, and capable of success, they’re more likely to engage in learning and show up for school.
We hope that states like Ohio and Louisiana serve as models for what’s possible when leaders at the state level commit to evidence-based solutions. When schools and districts trust the process, prioritize student needs, and implement proven strategies with fidelity, the results follow—not just in daily classroom performance but in standardized testing gains and long-term student success.
The evidence is clear. The success stories are real. Now, it’s up to states, districts, and policymakers to decide—will they invest in a solution that works or continue searching while students fall further behind?