Turning Education Data into Business-Led Solutions for Student Success

Kyle Butler
Senior Manager, Programs

Published

April 10, 2025

To some, this may seem like a lot of doom-and-gloom, but it’s critical for community leaders to have these tough discussions about the realities of student achievement. Research shows that when parents know that their child is not on grade level, they are more likely to take actions to get their child help, but they have to know that there’s a problem first.

In the words of U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation president Michael Carney, “these aren’t just subjects in a classroom—they’re the foundation of American innovation.”

Summary of Studies

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, published its 2024 results in late January.

Fourth and eighth graders made modest math gains since 2022.
Math scores remain below pre-pandemic (2019) achievement levels.
Reading proficiency has further decreased in both grade levels.
Current reading proficiency matches 1992 levels—a 30+ year setback.

The Education Recovery Scorecard published its third annual picture of district-level learning loss and recovery in math and reading in 43 states, revealing that as of Spring 2024:

The average American student remains nearly half a grade-level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both math and reading.
Average achievement gaps between wealthy and poor districts have widened since last year as high-income districts were four times more likely to have recovered in both reading and math, but there are some standout low-income districts making strides for students.
Math performance disparities have widened between student groups from different backgrounds and communities, with data showing increasing gaps across and within school districts.

Business-Led Solutions for Student Success

If the most recent snapshots of student achievement are not what we hoped for, where does the business community fit in? What can be done to help our students? The answer is: plenty, but it will take continuous focus and leadership.

Find and Replicate Success Stories

Most importantly, business leaders can look for bright spots in similar districts and investigate whether any initiatives or practices in those locations could be replicated in their own communities. Although no state improved in both math and reading on the NAEP, the Education Recovery Scorecard reports that there are over 100 school districts that have recovered to pre-pandemic achievement levels in both subjects. One example comes from Natchitoches Parish School District in Louisiana, who focused on building teacher efficacy, high-quality literacy instruction, and data-driven decision making to improve reading and math achievement.

Address the Attendance Challenge

Leaders should also address student attendance in their communities, which has been proven to slow recovery efforts, especially in high poverty districts. As I’ve written previously, businesses can support efforts to address chronic absenteeism, typically defined as missing 10% or more school days in a year, through targeted efforts with their employees and leading community-wide initiatives.

Get Involved in Your Local Board

Another way to support students is to get involved with the local school board. At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, we spend a lot of time thinking about the ways in which business leaders can support their local boards, and we offered a Master Class on this topic to chamber leaders in 2024. Last month, we released The Business Leader’s Guide to School Board Engagement, which includes information on the responsibilities of a school board, opportunities for business engagement, and questions that school board members should be able to answer.

Support Learning Outside of the Classroom

Business leaders should also consider how the community can support student learning outside of the classroom. For example, Creature Comforts Brewing Company in Athens, Georgia runs an award-winning social impact program called Get Comfortable. Creature Comforts partnered with Books for Keeps to launch a literacy initiative, the Storytellers Literacy Mentor Program. The Storytellers program focuses on early literacy and reading proficiency, providing literacy tutoring for first, second, and third grade students at a local elementary school. Through this pilot program, Get Comfortable has already seen an increase in reading proficiency for students receiving additional tutoring versus students in the control group.

The Road to Recovery

I’ll paraphrase something Dr. Martin West of the National Assessment Governing Board said in an NPR interview: there is no education research that tells us we should expect students who have been set back by disruptions to catch up faster. We need a society-wide effort to get these young people back on track. The business community is a critical piece to that effort.

The latest results may not have shown the level of recovery that we had hoped for, but there are so many ways for everyone to get involved in helping students reach their full potential. The business community is a vital partner in making sure that American students are receiving the support they need to become successful.