A new global analysis shows that children experienced learning deficits during the Covid pandemic that amounted to about one-third of a school year’s worth of knowledge and skills and have not recovered from those losses more than two years later. The study, based on data from 15 countries, found that the learning delays and regressions were most severe in developing countries and among students from low-income backgrounds.
The findings suggest that remote learning and other stressors during the pandemic were not rectified when schools reopened. The researchers urge officials worldwide to provide intensive summer programs and tutoring initiatives to target poorer students who fell furthest behind.
The study found that the global education deficits were equivalent to about 35% of a school year and remained stable in the years that followed. Delays were worse in mathematics than in reading, with students of lower socio-economic status shouldering much of the burden.
