Quantification of pandemic learning loss

The damage done to educational progress can now be calculated using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The exam has been used since the 1970s to measure the math and reading achievement of 9 year older learners. The pandemic resulted in the largest decline in both areas since the beginning of the use of this test. 

Here are some of the findings.The impact can be interpreted as about 3 weeks of learning time for each point of decline. 

• Students lost 5 points in reading and 7 points in math compared to 2020.
• Students initially performing at a lower level were most adversely impacted. In math, the top 10% lost 3 points and the rest of the learners lost 12 points.

• The decline was more damaging for black than for white students. (13 points vs. 5 points)
• More recent testing indicates that returning to face to face instruction has stopped the decline.

In the accounts reviewed, the specific reasons accounting for the declines were offered only as speculation. Some clues would seem available in the findings that preexisting race and achievement differences were predictive. Because the tactics employed in distance learning may be related to tactics adapted to future applications, understanding the limitations quantified as a consequence of the pandemic will be important to understand. Were the methods flawed or were the engagement with the methods most responsible? For example, if expecting students to learn from educator generated video is less effective, then ongoing tactics such as are employed in flipping the classroom would become suspect. 

NYTimes

CNN

Wall Street Journal

Time