The impact of COVID on learning

By Nathan Storey, Johns Hopkins University

As  federal relief funds for education are about to expire just as schools are opening for the new school year, the effects of COVID-19 on education and student learning remain significant. NWEA MAP assessments have shown that students in the United States have still not returned to pre-COVID learning levels. A recent study by Storey & Zhang investigated  the extent of learning losses caused by the pandemic and the impact of school closures and disruptions on various student groups. 

Using meta-analytic research methods, the authors identified 30 studies from the U.S. and similar countries that used standardized assessments to measure student achievement before, during, and after  the pandemic (with a 2022 cutoff). The analysis illustrated that students lost 0.21 (p = .006) standard deviations of learning during the pandemic school closures, with losses of 0.43 standard deviations in reading and 0.41 standard deviations in mathematics.

These results highlight the significant and statistically meaningful impact of COVID-19 on education, providing a clearer understanding of the extent of the disruptions. The findings underscore the need for ongoing federal and state support to help educators and school systems address and recover from these losses.