A systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that COVID had a discernable effect on student test scores, with performance falling off by roughly 8 points (one standard deviation) — equivalent to about three years’ of schooling according to one study.
Losses were particularly severe among younger students from lower-income families, though these findings also indicate that well-designed nudges could potentially mitigate some of this damage.
School Closures
School closures due to weather, teacher strikes and other emergencies have long been a feature of education systems worldwide. Such disruptions typically lead to significant attainment deficits compared with years without interruptions.
Patrinos’ study determined that each additional week of school closure caused learning loss equivalent to roughly 1 percent of standard deviation, regardless of how many students were present at each school.
Students living in higher-income households were better equipped to deal with school closures due to greater access to technology and greater experience with home-learning software; however, those from low-income homes still experienced significant learning deficits.
Families of children with disabilities were especially at risk from school closures’ impact on their academic and social-emotional well-being, often being overlooked during reopening processes. To avoid a similar disruption next time an emergency occurs, it’s crucial that information regarding support options for families is made readily available so they can maintain healthy school connections.
Less Instructional Time
One of the three goals of science is to understand, predict and control; any concept reputed to assist in reaching all three aims within an area of scientific concern would typically be seen as extremely useful and warrant significant discussion – yet an unassuming concept like instructional time has passed this test successfully.
Recent surveys conducted by Tyton Partners, Every Learner Everywhere and Digital Promise have found that 8 out of 10 students reported difficulty focusing during remote lectures; four-year students were more likely than two-year ones to say their lectures took up most or all of the class period.
The pandemic’s influence on student learning is anticipated to widen preexisting gaps between socioeconomic classes in terms of academic achievement, with research showing that low-income families tend to finish high school five months behind in math and four months behind in reading; this gap is known as educational inequality or achievement gap.
Less Academic Engagement
Districts using both in-person and virtual instruction saw their math expectations met or exceeded decrease by 32 percent; those in districts which exclusively used virtual teaching saw their scores increase by 9 percent. Students sitting out for long periods, especially those in low-income neighborhoods, saw their grades decline substantially with some falling from Bs to Cs.
Learning deficits widened existing opportunity and achievement gaps, with historically disadvantaged students being the hardest hit by them. On average, they ended the year five months behind in math and four months behind in reading; Black students experienced six months lost progress on average.
College educators have also observed similar trends, with professors reporting missed assignments and increased reliance on technology. Furthermore, students seem less engaged with classroom discussions, experience Zoom fatigue and encounter issues connecting to internet networks.
Less Social Interaction
Once schools reopen, it may take students some time to rediscover their interest for learning again – especially those returning to higher education.
Student Voice survey findings indicated that freshman college students, specifically at four-year institutions, were more likely to report that coursework took longer due to the pandemic than two-year counterparts. They also felt unprepared for college life.
As part of their COVID-19 response plan, policymakers must invest in high-quality distance learning during this crisis. Doing so will help mitigate losses due to school closures while simultaneously helping close deeper historical opportunity and achievement gaps between groups – something federal funding could play an integral part in.
