How schools used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds

 A new study explores how Indiana elementary and middle schools used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to address learning loss related to the COVID‑19 pandemic. In collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education, the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest examined the ESSER-funded strategies that schools adopted and which strategies were associated with stronger learning recovery and student growth in English language arts and math. The study also explored the approaches schools with high recovery and no recovery used to implement the strategies they adopted. The study linked survey data on the ESSER‑funded strategies to recovery levels and student growth percentiles and included interviews with school and district administrators to better understand implementation approaches. 

Key findings include the following: 

• Schools with no recovery from COVID-19 pandemic learning loss adopted many of the same ESSER‑funded recovery strategies as schools with high recovery. Regardless of recovery level, schools most commonly reported adding tutoring programs (78 percent), investing in technologies to support instruction (71 percent), hiring new staff (60 percent), and expanding mental health services (58 percent). 

• Schools that expanded mental health services or hired additional staff showed greater student growth in math in the 2022/23 school year than other schools. Average student growth in math was approximately 2 percentile points higher in schools that expanded mental health services and approximately 2 percentile points higher in schools that hired new staff. No differences in academic growth were observed for English language arts. 

• In interviews, administrators in schools with high recovery frequently reported using approaches to implement tutoring, online courses, or extended learning programs that incorporated these strategies into schoolwide systems. These administrators described incorporating data on strategy use into progress monitoring systems, aligning strategy content with the regular school‑day curriculum, and providing teachers with professional learning opportunities related to the strategies. 

Read the full report and technical appendix on the Institute for Educational Sciences website.