Students across the United States remain nearly half a grade level behind in reading, according to a new report from researchers at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Dartmouth College, who warned the country is now facing a yearslong “learning recession.”

The study, which analyzed state test scores for students in grades three through eight across more than 5,000 school districts in 38 states, found that academic achievement had already begun to decline years before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted classrooms nationwide.