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These days, students have to be resourceful when it comes to cutting college costs.
Here are some of the best — and often underrated — money-saving options for high schoolers.

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These days, students and their families have to be proactive about cutting college costs.
“It used to be, get into the best school you can get into and then figure out how to pay for it,” said Kalman Chany, a financial aid consultant and author of The Princeton Review’s “Paying for College.”

Now, Chany says, “that’s a recipe for disaster.”
As inflation heats up, tuition alone at many colleges and universities is prohibitively high. About 83% of high school students said the current economic conditions have affected their ability to pay for college, according to a recent survey by scholarship search site ScholarshipOwl.
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Further, 88% plan to work part- or full-time to afford school. But there are other ways to rein in costs.
Even if you don’t have a well-funded 529 college savings plan, a few tried-and-true money-saving techniques can help.

Here are some of the best — and often underrated — options for high schoolers.

1. Take college courses in high school

Dual enrollment is a state-run program that allows students to take college-level classes, often through a local community college, while they are still in high school.
As many as 3 in 10 community college students are in dual enrollment programs, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.
Unlike Advanced Placement, the program in which high school students take courses and exams that could earn them college credit, dual enrollment credits are more likely to transfer.

In some cases, students may even be able to complete an associate’s degree by the time they finish high school, a process known as “early college.”
Over four years, early college programs cost about $3,800 more per student than traditional high school, according to one study. However, the estimated return on that investment is about $33,709 in increased lifetime earnings.
Before committing, research your state’s program to check the requirements and see how the credits will apply toward a degree.

2. Pile on Advanced Placement credits

Similarly, taking AP classes in high school — and scoring at least 3 out of 5 on the official exams at the end of the course — can earn students credit hours once they are in college.
Potentially, the more AP classes that a high school student can bank now, the fewer college courses they’ll have to pay for later — as long as the college gives credit for that coursework.
According to the College Board, the average student takes three AP exams over the course of their high school career, which means, if successful, you could reduce your time in college by an entire semester, potentially saving up to $15,000 or more.

Arrows pointing outwards

But check the guidelines on Advanced Placement first. Each college has its own policies for awarding credit — although just completing the coursework may give you a leg up.
“APs work more to show that you excelled in high school,” said Hafeez Lakhani, founder and president of New York-based Lakhani Coaching, which helps during the college application process.
“It’s one of the most trusted ways to show you are challenging yourself with an advanced curriculum.”

3. Transfer from community college

A two-year program is not necessarily an alternative to a four-year degree. Increasingly, students go from community college to a four-year school.
“It’s a very smart way to start your higher education,” said Martha Parham, senior vice president of public relations at the American Association of Community Colleges. “A state university is about three times the cost for the same first two years.”

A state university is about three times the cost for the same first two years.

Martha Parham 
senior vice president of public relations at the American Association of Community Colleges

At two-year public schools, tuition and fees are $3,860 for the 2022–2023 academic year, according to the College Board. Alternatively, at in-state four-year public schools, tuition is $10,940 and at four-year private universities it averages $39,400.
Today, about half of all community college students go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
At least 35 states even have policies that guarantee that students with an associate’s degree can then transfer to a four-year state school as a junior.

4. Try course sharing

If you are already enrolled in a four-year school, tapping community college courses can still be a worthwhile way to cut costs, a strategy known as course sharing.
In this case, students may be able to take a class at their local community college over the summer or at night and have it count toward their coursework.
In the wake of the pandemic, the online offerings have improved dramatically, making it even easier for students to work in classes from other institutions that are either less expensive or more accessible, keeping them on budget and on track for graduation.
“Sometimes those same courses are going to be cheaper at a community college,” Chany said. However, there is still the risk that those credits won’t count.

Compare the classes at community college with what’s offered at the four-year school, Chany advised. “If there is not a similar course offered at the four-year school, then likely the credits for that course at the community college will not be transferable, defeating the main purpose of this option.”
This is where students must advocate for themselves, according to Jay Field, senior vice president of institutional partnerships at Quottly, a platform for course and program sharing between colleges.
Call the college, speak to someone in the registrar or admissions office and an academic advisor, he said. 
“Don’t talk to your cousin Jimmy who took one class in 2002; it may be different now,” Parham added. “Colleges want to help you succeed, so don’t be afraid to reach out.”
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Ask an Advisor

The federal tax deadline is only six weeks away, and if you haven’t filed yet, you may qualify for free preparation.
There are several free filing options to consider, depending on your income, age, location and occupation.

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The April 18 federal tax deadline is only six weeks away, and if you haven’t filed yet, you may qualify for free preparation.
While many prefer a paid preparer, free filing options may be worth exploring for simple returns, such as filings with only a couple of W-2 forms, for example.

The IRS is reopening taxpayer assistance centers on March 11, and while these offices don’t offer tax preparation, they can direct you to free local options, the agency announced this week.
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Here are five free tax filing options to consider, based on your income, age, location, occupation and more.

1. IRS Free File

IRS Free File offers free online guided tax preparation for your federal tax returns and some state filings if your adjusted gross income was $73,000 or less in 2022. 
The program is a partnership between the IRS and several private tax software companies, meaning you can browse providers or use the agency’s lookup tool to find the best match based on location, income and other factors. 

It’s a good option for those who have simple returns, don’t need ongoing tax planning advice and could benefit financially from the free service.

Judy Brown
Senior financial advisor at SC&H Group

While most filers are eligible, few currently use the service. Although 70% of taxpayers qualify for IRS Free File, only 2% used it during the 2022 filing season, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate.
“It’s a good option for those who have simple returns, don’t need ongoing tax planning advice and could benefit financially from the free service,” Judy Brown, a certified financial planner at SC&H Group in the Washington and Baltimore area, previously told CNBC.

2. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Operating for more than 50 years, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, provides free in-person electronic tax preparation in locations such as community centers, libraries, schools and more throughout the country.
You may qualify for the service if you generally earned $60,000 or less, have a disability or have limited English proficiency, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service. You can plug your ZIP code into this tool to find providers near you. 

Thilan Kiridena, a CFP and founder of Capital Elements in New York, said VITA volunteers can handle tax-related questions, but may not be able to tackle complex returns.

3. Tax prep for older Americans

Older Americans may also qualify for free in-person and virtual tax help through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program.
While the service targets low- to moderate-income filers ages 50 and older, it’s open to filers of all ages with less complicated returns. You can find a location through the AARP Tax-Aide website.
The program works with VITA and Tax Counseling for the Elderly, or TCE, which also provides free tax preparation for those who qualify.

4. MilTax

Another free option, MilTax, is a program for service members, qualifying veterans, family members and more, provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The service includes tax preparation and filing software, along with personalized guidance. Eligible taxpayers can use MilTax for electronic federal returns and up to three state filings for free, according to the IRS.

“MilTax is a great resource for military families as it understands the nuances of the different types of military pay,” said Desiree Kaul, a CFP at Main Street Planning in Satellite Beach, Florida.

5. Free Fillable Forms

If your adjusted gross income is above $73,000 and you don’t qualify for the other options, you may also consider Free Fillable Forms for current year federal returns.
The program is similar to filing paper returns online, without software or guidance. You can learn more about Free Fillable Forms here. More

Retirement 401(k) account balances lost nearly one-quarter of their value in 2022, but there is still the potential for a comeback this year, one expert says.
Odds are that “a rebalance, like a regular haircut, is needed,” according to Winnie Sun, a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.

“If you’ve suffered losses in your 401(k) last year, you’re certainly not alone,” said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners, based in Irvine, California, and a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.
“It’s important to remember that as long as you haven’t sold those investments, you haven’t realized the loss, either, and there is a potential for a comeback.”
It’s reasonable to expect that portfolios will continue to improve in the next year, or even by year-end, she said.

How to bounce back from 401(k) losses

One very important practice every investor should do is to review their investment allocation at the start of the year, Sun advised. 

That means this is a good time to check if your allocation still meets your needs, she said. If you’re not sure, consult with a financial advisor to help you calculate your risk tolerance and your investment time horizon and see if how you’re invested still works for you. 
Odds are that it probably doesn’t, Sun said, and “a rebalance, like a regular haircut, is needed.”
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Even if one sector of the financial markets performed well, you can’t assume that will continue. “So, if you are too heavily weighted in large-cap growth, for example, but less so in international, it’s better to build a more sustainable diversified portfolio,” she said. 
After a tumultuous year, many older Americans are concerned about their retirement security. Nearly half, or 48%, of retired Americans believe they’ll outlive their savings, a separate report by Clever Real Estate found.
“Everyone is feeling pressure financially — there’s a lot of uncertainty out there in the markets and the economy,” said Mike Shamrell, Fidelity’s vice president of thought leadership.

However, “a lot of people understand there’s going to be ups and downs,” he added. “Don’t let short-term economic events derail your long-term retirement savings efforts.”
“If your time horizon is long, and you’re able to afford to do so, consider adding during market dips,” Sun advised. “If you’re buying quality investments long term, this will help you buy more shares since the market is down.”
To that end, try to increase your 401(k) contribution percentage this year, she said.
The average 401(k) contribution rate, including employer and employee contributions, currently sits at 13.7%, just below Fidelity’s suggested savings rate of 15%.
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While the thought of funding your retirement adequately might be daunting, if you start planning now you’ll certainly be thankful later. It also might not be as difficult as you think.
Retirement usually entails replacing your onetime annual salary from a workplace with other income sources to maintain your current lifestyle. While Social Security may cover part of your budget, the rest of your money will most likely need to come from your savings and investments.

CNBC crunched the numbers, and we can tell you how much you need to save now to get $70,000 every year in retirement — without taking a bite out of your principal.

More from The New Road to Retirement:

Here’s a look at more retirement news.

First, there are some ground rules. The numbers assume you will retire at age 65 and that you currently have no money in savings.
Financial advisors typically recommend the mix of investments in your portfolio shift gradually to become more conservative as you approach retirement. But even in retirement, you’ll likely still have a mix of stocks and bonds, as well as cash. For investing, we assume a conservative annual 6% return when you are saving and an even more conservative 3% rate during your “interest-only” retirement.
We also do not factor in inflation, taxes or any additional income you may get from Social Security or your 401(k) plan.
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Many retirees still claim Social Security at age 62, even though their benefit checks would be bigger if they waited.
A bipartisan group of senators is hoping two changes may help encourage beneficiaries to delay.

Adamkaz | E+ | Getty Images

Many Americans claim Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest age possible but see their monthly benefit checks reduced for life because they did so.
Now, a bipartisan group of senators is proposing two changes to help encourage retirees to wait. The lawmakers include Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Chris Coons, D-Del., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tim Kaine, D-Va.

The proposed updates include changing the language the Social Security Administration uses around the claiming process and increasing the mailing of paper Social Security statements.
The earliest age to claim Social Security retirement benefits is 62. However, those who claim at that age see a reduced benefit.
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“When to claim Social Security benefits is a critical decision for older Americans planning their retirement,” the senators wrote in a letter to the Social Security Administration.
“Most people, however, do not claim benefits at the age that would maximize their income in retirement, usually because they claim too early,” they wrote.

Social Security beneficiaries are entitled to full benefits once they reach their full retirement age — 66 to 67, depending on their date of birth. For every year delayed past full retirement age, claimants stand to get an 8% increase.
Yet 62 remains the most frequent claiming age, with almost 35% of men and 40% of women making that choice, the senators note, resulting in an average lifetime loss of $111,000 per household.

There are various reasons retirees claim at the earliest possible age, the senators note, including an inability to work, financial shocks, liquidity constraints, life expectancy or the desire to pass money on to heirs.
However, some people may start taking Social Security benefits at the soonest possible time because they are unaware of the advantages of waiting.
Some claimants who have the capacity to wait even six months to five years longer may not be doing so because they don’t “have adequate information to make an informed choice,” said Emerson Sprick, a senior economic analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

New language would emphasize ‘maximum benefit age’

The lawmakers are seeking to change the language the Social Security Administration uses to better convey the advantages of waiting to claim benefits.
For example, while age 62 is currently called “early eligibility age,” the senators are calling to have that changed to “minimum benefit age.”

Ages 66 to 67, currently referred to as “full retirement age,” would be changed to “standard benefit age.”
Age 70 would be called the “maximum benefit age.”
If the legislation passes, the changes would be included in all of the Social Security Administration’s educational and informational materials — “essentially anything the public sees,” noted Sprick.

Mailed benefit statements would be more frequent

In addition, the lawmakers also propose having every person with a Social Security number receive a Social Security statement in the mail regularly throughout their earnings history.
The paper statements would be sent regardless of whether someone has established an online Social Security account, though opting out of the paper statements would be possible.
The statements would provide details on how much in benefits a person may receive at ages 62 to 70.
Paper statements would be sent whenever a person enters the work force or starts a new job. The statements would continue once every five years after a person turns 25, once every two years starting from age 55, and annually from age 60.

Mark Edward Atkinson | Tetra Images | Getty Images

“Having this consistent reminder and this information about the effects that your claiming age can have on your lifetime monthly benefit, we think is really important,” Sprick said.
Research from the Bipartisan Policy Center previously identified paper statements as one method of helping to encourage Americans to claim at the right age.
Other research has also pointed out the value of changing the benefits terminology the Social Security Administration uses.
In addition to the legislative proposal, the senators also sent a letter to the Social Security Administration seeking more information on the factors that lead beneficiaries to claim early, the steps the agency may take to encourage more informed claiming decisions and what effects new benefit statements have had on claiming behavior.

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With the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan at risk, borrowers should familiarize themselves with the existing relief options, experts say.
Some of those options include enrolling in a forbearance or more affordable repayment plan and, in the more extreme cases, filing for bankruptcy.

Demonstrators in favor of canceling student debt gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Keep your payments on hold

The Covid pandemic-era policy suspending federal student loan payments and the accrual of interest is still active.
The U.S. Department of Education has said borrowers won’t need to start making payments on their debt again until 60 days after the litigation around its forgiveness plan resolves. If the lawsuits are still unresolved at the end of June, the bills will resume 60 days after that, at the end of August.

If you’re unemployed or dealing with another financial hardship at that time, you can put in a request for an economic hardship or unemployment deferment. Those are the ideal ways to postpone your federal student loan payments, because interest doesn’t accrue.
If you don’t qualify for either, though, you can use a forbearance to continue suspending your bills. Just keep in mind that with forbearance, interest will rack up and your balance will be larger — possibly much larger — when you resume paying.

Compare alternate repayment plans

If you find your student loan payments too high when the bills resume, you should explore the different income-driven repayment plans available. These programs aim to make borrowers’ payments more affordable by capping their monthly payments at a percentage of their discretionary income and forgiving any of their remaining debt after 20 or 25 years.
Currently, the Biden administration is working to roll out a new repayment option under which borrowers would pay just 5% of their discretionary income toward their undergraduate student loans. The savings would be huge.
According to an example provided by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, a borrower who made $40,000 a year would currently have a monthly student loan payment of around $151 under the existing Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment, or REPAYE, plan. But with the new option, that monthly bill would plummet to $30.

I have significant concerns that there will be some big servicing delays.

Betsy Mayotte
president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors

To determine how much your monthly bill would be under different plans, use one of the calculators at Studentaid.gov or Freestudentloanadvice.org, said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit.
If you do decide to change your repayment plan, Mayotte recommends submitting that application to your servicer well ahead of the timeline for payments to restart. Lenders will likely be overwhelmed when they have to begin collecting loan payments from tens of millions of people again, Mayotte said.
“I have significant concerns that there will be some big servicing delays,” she said.

Explore other forgiveness options

The Biden administration has recently made a number of improvements to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows those who work for the government and certain nonprofits to get their debt cleared after a decade of payments.
There are typically three primary requirements for public service loan forgiveness, although the recent changes provide some more wiggle room in certain cases:

Your employer must be a government organization at any level, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization or some other type of not-for-profit organization that provides public service.
Your loans must be federal Direct loans.
To reach forgiveness, you need to have made 120 qualifying, on-time payments in an income-driven repayment plan or the standard repayment plan.

The best way to find out if your job qualifies as public service is to fill out the so-called employer certification form. In 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that 1 in 4 American workers could be eligible for the program.

Jayk7 | Moment | Getty Images

What’s more, there are dozens of other forgiveness programs across the country that many borrowers are in the dark about, Kantrowitz said.
“There is no global database of all student loan forgiveness options,” he said.
For example, full-time teachers who work for five consecutive years in a low-income school may be eligible for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.
The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, meanwhile, allows certain nurses to get up to 85% of their student debt canceled.

File for bankruptcy

Among other reforms to the federal student loan system under Biden are new guidelines that will make it easier for those severely burdened by their student debt to discharge it in bankruptcy.
Currently, it’s difficult, if not impossible, for someone to walk away from their federal student debt in a normal bankruptcy proceeding.
“The new rules do give some hope to federal loan borrowers who may be struggling with their loans for 10 years or more,” Mayotte said.
The federal government will be less likely to object to borrowers’ attempts at discharging their debt, Mayotte said, if they have a record of making an effort to repay their student loans but don’t have a high enough income to cover the bill while also meeting their basic needs.

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The IRS makes annual inflation adjustments, including changes to the federal income tax brackets, standard deduction and more.
Based on soaring prices, the agency boosted the income thresholds for each bracket for 2023, applying to returns filed in 2024.
“This year’s annual adjustments are more significant than usual,” said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt.

Drakula & Co. | Moment | Getty Images

After a year of soaring prices, the IRS made annual inflation adjustments for dozens of tax provisions, including the federal income tax brackets for 2023, which may affect next year’s taxes, experts say.
While the rates didn’t change, the brackets show the federal income taxes you’ll owe on each portion of your taxable income, which is calculated by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.

“This year’s annual adjustments are more significant than usual,” said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt, noting that “record-setting high inflation” contributed to the change.
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Steber said you’re likely to notice a difference on next year’s tax return.
The goal of yearly inflation adjustments is to offset “tax rate bracket creep,” he said, which happens when you owe more income taxes after wage increases without economic benefit due to inflation.

How the 2023 federal income tax brackets changed

There was roughly a 7% change in the federal income tax brackets from 2022 to 2023, said Kyle Pomerleau, senior fellow and federal tax expert with the American Enterprise Institute.

“That was a larger increase than usual,” he said. “And that is because inflation has been higher than usual,” explaining that inflation was “very modest” the decade prior to the pandemic.

How other tax provisions changed for 2023

The standard deduction also increased by nearly 7% for 2023, rising to $27,700 for married couples filing jointly, up from $25,900 in 2022. Single filers may claim $13,850, an increase from $12,950.
With roughly 90% of Americans claiming the standard deduction rather than itemized deductions, the change may have a “large impact on taxpayers’ bottom line in 2023,” Steber said.
There were also boosts for dozens of other tax provisions, including the 401(k) and individual retirement account contribution limits, federal estate tax exemptions and more.
Of course, the impact of these shifts may vary by individual. “Each taxpayer situation is unique and any changes or adjustments can impact taxpayers very differently, depending on their facts and circumstances,” Steber said.
“Overall, it can be good for some, but not as favorable to others,” he added.

How to prepare for 2023 tax bracket changes

With tax law changes going into effect and others being proposed, 2023 may be “another year for the record books in terms of tax complexity and tax refund volatility,” Steber said.
To prepare, he urges taxpayers to “pay close attention to their taxes throughout the year,” including a mid-year check-up and another in December to avoid “refund shock” or a possible surprise balance at tax time.  

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In a race to overcome the Covid learning gap, billions in federal aid are now being put to work.
Still, states and school districts have spent less than half of their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, according to the latest federal data.
A deadline looms: The rest of that money must be allocated or spent by 2024, or it will be lost.

During the coronavirus pandemic, child reading and math competency rates plummeted across the country.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress found two decades of improvements were wiped away. The declines were widespread, but were most pronounced among the students who had already been struggling well before 2020.

In a race to overcome the Covid-19 learning gap, billions in federal aid are now being put to work.
While schools are trying to make up for the educational fallout from such a prolonged period of academic disruption, a deadline looms: States and school districts have now spent less than half of their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, according to the latest federal data — and the rest of that money must be allocated or spent by September 2024, or it will be lost.
“The money is going to be gone in a year or two,” said Bruce Baker, a professor and chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami.
More from Personal Finance:College is still worth it, research findsHow to decide if you should go back to schoolThe Supreme Court weighs in on student loan forgiveness
“The federal government stepped up big, but that will phase out,” Baker said. The money has helped, he added, but these efforts need to be sustained. “You can’t do this for two or three years and expect things to be all good.”

Those with ‘the greatest need’ had ‘the greatest losses’

In fact, it could take decades for students to fully catch up, according to a January 2023 report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
“For some students it’s going to take a longer period of time,” said Ray Sanchez, superintendent of the Ossining Union Free School District in Ossining, New York.
The pandemic disproportionately impacted the lowest-performance schools and students, the McKinsey report also found, putting them further behind their high-performing peers. 
“The schools that had the greatest need suffered the greatest losses,” Baker said.
Of the Ossining district’s 5,100 students, most are minorities and 70% live in poverty. With the additional resources, the district hired more full-time staff to support students in literacy and math, but Sanchez said he always knew those funds would be short-lived. “It wasn’t something we predicted would have 10 years of funding.”
Now the district must try to integrate what’s working into the general budget, he said. “We are seeking to try and sustain as much as we can.”

I don’t even know if you were a superintendent how you can sleep at night.

Jen Mendelsohn
co-founder of Braintrust Tutors

“I don’t even know if you were a superintendent how you can sleep at night,” said Jen Mendelsohn, co-founder of Braintrust Tutors.
“For better or worse, Covid created a perfect storm that needed immediate reaction,” Mendelsohn said.
“Schools understand the sense of urgency from a learning gap perspective, but that doesn’t mean they are able to implement a program very quickly and that is a challenge,” she added. “The bureaucracy is real.”

There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy

Not only do learning delays differ by state and region, but the recovery efforts do, as well.
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Some school districts have hired additional teachers, tutors, school counselors and psychologists, others have started summer and after-school programs or implemented plans to identify students’ weak spots.
“Each district is so different,” said Kusum Sinha, superintendent of Garden City Public Schools in New York, which is considered high performing.
With federal funding, the Garden City school district hired more staff, added before- and after-school tutoring in math and reading, and created an in-person and online summer program. “If we run out of money, we’re going to have to figure out a way to continue,” Sinha said.
Other districts facing a staffing shortage are also using the funds to avoid layoffs or contracting private tutoring companies, many of which operate online. 

Justin Paget | DigitalVision | Getty Images

‘Tutoring is one of the most promising approaches’

“Tutoring is one of the most promising approaches for accelerating student learning and reducing educational disparities,” according to a working paper of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
However, there is still little data on which programs are most effective, studies show.
Even when tutoring is available, struggling students are far less likely to opt in than their more-engaged and higher-achieving peers, the Annenberg paper also found.
“Concerns that opt-in resources can increase — instead of reduce — inequality are valid,” Annenberg’s researchers said.
“Research provides evidence that struggling and marginalized students will be less likely to take advantage of elective educational options, leading to the expansion, instead of reduction of educational disparities.”

The economic consequences of learning loss

There are economic repercussions to learning loss, as well.
Students may now face lower lifetime incomes, and a lower-skilled future workforce means states will see less economic activity in the years ahead, according to a research paper on the economic cost of the pandemic based on NAEP data, by Eric Hanushek, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
Although the economic loss depends on both the learning losses suffered by students and the state’s economic standing, the report also said there were “significantly larger impacts on disadvantaged students who tended to fare worse during the pandemic.”
“Extensive research demonstrates a simple fact: those with higher achievement and greater cognitive skills earn more,” Hanushek found.
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