It’s been almost five years since schools were closed down and students needed to do online learning during the pandemic. Now there is a post-COVID-19 report card for student performance nationwide and in the Sunshine State.

The state’s 8th-grade reading score was below the national average for the first time since 2015, and its 8th-grade math score was the lowest in 20 years.

Florida’s reading and math scores have dropped to their lowest levels in two decades, reflecting ongoing struggles in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida has five of the nation’s 10 largest school districts based on enrollment. Miami-Dade County ranks third in the latest figures, with more than 335,000 students. Holding down spots six through nine are Broward,

USF public health professor Donna Petersen says collaboration was critical in helping community leaders respond to the pandemic. In hindsight, she says interventions like shutdowns were in place too long.

Arizona and the nation’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

The big story: Florida has five of the nation’s 10 ... districts have seen their enrollments decrease since the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine of the top 10 districts experienced dips, some as high ...

New results from a national exam find that America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math

Among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024 are Florida and Arizona, which were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic.

AAA's cruise forecast predicts a record-breaking 19 million passengers in 2025. Florida leads the way in attracting travelers to the seas.

"The Caribbean’s dominance this year is on par with its pre-pandemic numbers in 2018 and 2019," the AAA writes. "The Caribbean’s share dipped to 68% in 2022-23 as cruises to Alaska and the Mediterranean surged, but destination shares have returned to pre-pandemic norms over the past year.

The nuanced finding suggests the agency believes the totality of evidence makes a lab origin more likely than a natural origin.