Tossing money down the drain: Increased federal aid to schools amid COVID didn’t help learning loss

American students are struggling even though the government sent billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money to school districts to offset learning loss, according to a recent study. The study says the federal largesse fell short, failed to target the schools in greatest need and wasn’t tied to policy outcomes.

Analysts at the American Educational Research Association said schools likely need $700 billion to address learning loss, mainly from remote instruction, but received about $189 billion from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund in 2020 and 2021.

The...