Black, AIAN, and Latinx students made 55-68% of typical math gains and 73-86% of typical reading gains during the pandemic, while Asian American students made 88-100%¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? All BIPOC groups made learning gains from fall 2019 to fall 2020, but Black, AIAN, and Latinx students made only 55-66% of their pre-pandemic math gains and at least 70% of their historical reading gains, whereas Asian American students made 88% of pre-pandemic math gains and gained equivalently in reading. → Megan Kuhfeld 2021

Evidence¶

Megan Kuhfeld 2021¶

Megan Kuhfeld, Erik Ruzek, Karyn Lewis, Jim Soland, Angela Johnson, Beth Tarasawa, & Lindsay Dworkin. (2021). Understanding the initial educational impacts of COVID-19 on communities of color. NWEA Research Report. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/understanding-the-initial-educational-impacts-of-covid-19-on-communities-of-color/

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Cohort comparison of fall-to-fall MAP Growth gains: the pandemic cohort (fall 2019-fall 2020) was compared with a same-race/ethnicity pre-pandemic cohort (fall 2018-fall 2019), expressed as a percentage of historical gains (Figure 3). "all BIPOC student groups made achievement gains from fall 2019 to fall 2020," but at reduced rates; in reading all groups made at least 70% of historical gains.

"First, all BIPOC student groups made achievement gains from fall 2019 to fall 2020. Most students made between 60-70% of the pre-pandemic math gains for their group on average, and Asian American students made 88% of the pre-pandemic math gains."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Achievement declines from 2019 to 2022 were smaller for Asian American and White first and second graders than for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students — related
• Male BIPOC students and BIPOC students in high-poverty schools made the lowest percentage of typical learning gains during the pandemic — related
• American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Latinx students and students in high-poverty schools were disproportionately impacted by pandemic-era achievement declines, particularly in elementary grades — related
• Pandemic achievement declines were uneven across racial/ethnic groups, with the largest declines still apparent for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students in spring 2022 — related
• BIPOC students' math achievement in fall 2020 dropped substantially relative to pre-pandemic national norms, with the largest declines in grades 4-6 — related
• NWEA's 2024 technical brief examines pandemic impacts on science achievement and gains from 2019 through 2024, continuing research on COVID-19 school-closure effects on learning — related
• Fall 2020 math achievement was 5 to 10 percentile points lower than pre-COVID-19 performance by same-grade students — related
• In almost all grades, most students made some learning gains in both reading and math since the COVID-19 pandemic started — related
• Pandemic-period gains from fall 2019 to fall 2021 fell short of pre-pandemic growth norms — a broader claim this one bears on
• Pandemic-period growth varied by pre-pandemic achievement status: higher achievers' gains were more consistent with projected normative growth while lower achievers more often fell short — related
• Projected fall 2020 reading gains for returning students are approximately 63 to 68% of a typical school year's learning gains — related
• The webinar frames pandemic learning impact as a concern particularly for students of color and students living in poverty — related
• Black and Latinx students generally feel less safe at school than their White peers — related
• AP scores of 3 or higher declined in Massachusetts from 2019 to 2022 for all groups, with a 39-percentage-point gap between White and Black students — related
• Projected fall 2020 mathematics gains for returning students are approximately 37 to 50% of a typical school year's learning gains — related
• Year 3 students in low-ICSEA schools achieved significantly less mathematics growth in 2020, equivalent to two months less than the 2019 cohort — related
• The webinar presents research comparing student academic trends during the pandemic year to a more typical school year — related
• Fall 2021 achievement was lower for all student groups, with disproportionately high impacts for historically marginalized students and students in high-poverty schools — a broader claim this one bears on