Signs suggest that up to 40% of children who were ages 0 to 6 during the COVID-19 pandemic—now in kindergarten through sixth grade—may struggle to function effectively in school.
While some children had extra support at home, many did not. A 2021-2022 national report found that 40% of students experienced at least one major hardship, such as poverty, divorce, or a parent’s incarceration (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021). The term “pandemic learning loss” doesn’t capture the full damage caused by the sudden upheaval in schooling and family life.
Four Overlapping Crises
The U.S. education system now faces multiple emergencies:
Reading Crisis – Before COVID, only about a third of fourth graders read proficiently. Post-pandemic, that number has dropped further (NAEP, 2024).
Special Education Crisis – Roughly 20% of children have dyslexia or a learning disability, yet historically, only half receive proper support (Cassidy et al., 2023). Special education programs added a million more students in just five years (The Advocacy Institute, 2024).
Funding Crisis – Schools spend over $120 billion annually on special education but still face yearly shortfalls of at least $10 billion (NCLD, 2023).
Teacher Shortage Crisis – Demand for special education teachers is rising, but schools can’t find enough trained professionals (Peyton & Acosta, 2022).
Language Development Hit Hard
The pandemic disrupted many areas of child development, but language skills suffered the most—with long-term consequences.
First Major Study Confirms Worries
The first comprehensive review of pandemic effects on early language development was published this year (Zuniga-Montanez et al., 2025). It found declines in literacy, school readiness, and communication skills—even among children without learning disabilities.
A separate longitudinal study tracked infants born during COVID-19 for their first 2.5 years (Pejovic et al., 2024). Before the pandemic, babies as young as four months could recognize word patterns in speech. But pandemic-born infants couldn’t do this even by 12 months.
Before COVID, only 12% of 2-year-olds hadn’t started using two-word phrases. In the pandemic group, that number jumped to 24%.
Practitioners Sound the Alarm
Research was limited during lockdowns, but reports from speech therapists and educators paint a troubling picture.
The Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center in North Carolina reported that speech delays more than doubled (Stahnke, 2024). Pre-pandemic, about 20% of children failed their screenings. Since 2021, that rate has stayed above 40%. Similar trends are seen nationwide.
The Hidden Toll on Kids
As a clinical linguist with 30 years of experience, I’ve seen how language struggles snowball into bigger problems.
Processing language requires fast, automatic brain functions. When overloaded, children may shut down, unable to explain their frustration. Many grow angry, depressed, or defeated. What starts as a learning issue often becomes a social and emotional one.
Language difficulties frequently lead to dyslexia. Students with dyslexia drop out of high school at triple the usual rate. The average juvenile inmate reads at a fourth-grade level (Vacca, 2008), and half of prisoners have a learning disability.
Schools at a Breaking Point
Educators nationwide say they’re overwhelmed. Before COVID, schools struggled to help students who didn’t respond to interventions. Now, with twice as many needing support, the system is near collapse.
The challenges are clear:
- More students require special education.
- Costs are skyrocketing.
- Early intervention is critical for dyslexia and language disorders.
- Millions of pandemic-affected children need help now.
A Possible Solution: AI
New AI tools are being tested in U.S. schools with promising early results. Unlike traditional reforms, these innovations don’t require lengthy training or curriculum changes.
With schools on the brink, waiting isn’t an option. Every year of delay risks losing more students—and harming America’s future workforce.
The choice is clear: Act now, or pay the price for decades.
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