Children scoring worse in math and reading compared to before lockdowns, data shows: ‘Multiyear recovery’
Children continue to be impacted by learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures, a new report shows.
Students fared worse academically during the second year of the pandemic compared to the first year, when students earned lower scores than they did prior to the pandemic.
The trend suggests the impact of COVID-19 closures on student success continues to be felt, according to a study released Wednesday by education software company Renaissance Learning.
“All signs suggest that this is going to be a multiyear recovery,” Gene Kerns, vice president and chief academic officer at Renaissance, said in a statement.
“We can reset instruction back to where it was pre-pandemic, but that isn’t going to instantly move students up to where they would have been had the pandemic not occurred,” Kerns said. “For example, if you worked out every day and then stopped for two years, you aren’t going to be in the same shape as before the break when you return to the gym. We know what to do — and educators are rising to meet this great challenge — but it’s going to take time.”
Renaissance’s results are based on an analysis of standardized test scores for early literacy, reading or math during both the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years. The company’s analysis included 4.4 million early literacy or reading assessments at 19,046 schools and 2.9 million math assessments at 12,754 schools, covering K-12 students in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. – READ MORE
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