More than 70 percent of Baltimore’s elementary school students are reading below grade level based on testing at the beginning of the school year.

But a new report from the Abell Foundation recommends investing in tutoring services could help students recover from learning loss experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — and employing recent college graduates who are looking for work.

The report, which was released Tuesday, shows that a total of 24,902 Baltimore City students in kindergarten through 5th took the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. Of those, 17,960 students — or about 72% — were found to be reading at a level “below” or “well below” proficient, while the remaining 6,942 were proficient readers.

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