By the Numbers: Pandemic learning loss | ABCNL

Summary

The pandemic caused significant setbacks in American education, with national test scores showing sharp declines in reading and math. Nine-year-olds lost an average of five points in reading and seven in math compared to just two years ago, marking the largest drop in reading in over 30 years and the first-ever decline in math. The drop was felt across all racial and income groups, with disadvantaged students, especially in urban areas, suffering the most. Experts link these losses to extended periods of remote learning, and educators warn that closing these gaps will be a monumental task.

Takeaways

• 😀 American school children experienced the largest learning declines in decades due to the pandemic shutdown, according to national test scores.
• 😀 Nine-year-olds saw a five-point drop in reading and a seven-point drop in math compared to two years ago, marking the largest decline in reading in over 30 years.
• 😀 For the first time in history, there was a drop in math scores for American school children.
• 😀 The academic decline affected all races and income levels, but disparities were evident across performance percentiles.
• 😀 The bottom 10th percentile of students lost 12 points in math, while top performers in the 90th percentile only dropped three points.
• 😀 Black students experienced a 13-point drop in math scores, compared to a 5-point drop for white students.
• 😀 Remote learning time is believed to be a key factor in the academic slide, with urban schools staying remote for an average of nine weeks longer than others.
• 😀 According to education experts, each point lost on the exam represents approximately three weeks of lost learning.
• 😀 Some students could face up to nine months of additional learning time required to catch up, depending on how much they were affected by the remote learning gap.
• 😀 The pandemic and remote learning widened the educational gap between low and high-performing students, presenting a monumental challenge for educators to close it.

Q & A

How did American schoolchildren perform on national tests during the pandemic shutdown?

American schoolchildren fell significantly behind during the pandemic, with the largest drop in reading scores in more than 30 years and the first-ever decline in math scores.

What were the average score drops for nine-year-olds in reading and math?

Nine-year-olds dropped an average of five points in reading and seven points in math compared to the same age group just two years prior.

How does the drop in scores compare to previous years?

This represents the largest decline in reading in more than 30 years, and the first-ever drop in math, indicating an unprecedented setback.

Was the impact of the score drops uniform across all demographics?

No, while the decline spanned all races and income levels, the impact was greater among lower-performing students. For example, the bottom 10th percentile lost 12 points in math, while top performers only dropped 3 points.

What were the differences in score declines between Black and White students?

Black students experienced a 13-point drop in math, compared to a 5-point drop for White students, showing a wider gap for minority students.

What connection did experts find between remote learning and the decline in scores?

Experts believe there is a clear connection between time spent on remote learning and the learning loss, with urban schools often staying remote longer, which disproportionately affected lower-income and minority students.

How much longer did many urban schools stay remote compared to others?

Many urban schools stayed remote for about nine weeks longer than other schools, according to one study on the issue.

How do experts measure the impact of learning loss in terms of time?

Experts say that one point lost on the exam corresponds to about three weeks of learning. So, for some students, the drop in scores represents up to nine months of additional learning time needed to catch up.

What was the trend of national test scores before the pandemic?

National test scores had remained level for about a decade, with gaps widening between low and high-performing students, but the pandemic caused those gaps to widen significantly.

What is the task educators face in the aftermath of these score declines?

Educators face the monumental task of closing the widened gaps and addressing the substantial learning loss caused by the pandemic and remote learning.