As reported in the first State of the American Student report in 2022 (ED623504), pandemic school closures led to unprecedented academic setbacks for American students. They exacerbated preexisting inequalities and accelerated the youth mental health crisis. The second edition provides basic data on the overall system, but focuses especially on students who are nearing graduation, or have already graduated, from high school. While the traditional pathways to college and career were already not working for too many of these students, the pandemic made it worse. [The report was written with Dan Silver, Isabel Clay and Morgan Polikoff.]