Pandemic Learning Losses Were Driven by More Than School Closures
The prolonged closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant declines in student academic achievement around the world. However, an analysis published by Education Next suggests that pandemic-related learning losses cannot be explained solely by how long schools remained closed.
According to the analysis, the relationship between the length of school closures and declines in student achievement was weaker than expected. For example, significant learning losses were recorded in countries such as Finland and Switzerland, where schools were closed for relatively shorter periods. By contrast, some countries that experienced longer closures, including Chile and England, saw more limited declines in student performance.
These findings suggest that other education policy decisions made during the pandemic may also have influenced student outcomes. Policies such as canceling high-stakes examinations, reducing the curriculum, automatically promoting students to the next grade, and inflating grades may have contributed to worsening learning losses, the analysis argues.