The article concludes the negative cohort trends are likely in part attributable to pandemic-related schooling restrictions, while acknowledging attribution cannot be fully confirmed¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The authors interpret the negative trends as likely due in part to pandemic-related restrictions in schooling, supported by significant relations between learning conditions and achievement and by consistency with other studies. → Rebecca Schneider 2025

Evidence¶

Rebecca Schneider 2025¶

Rebecca Schneider, Sebastian Weirich, Poldi Kuhl, Stefan Schipolowski, Petra Stanat. (2025). COVID-19-related differences in students' verbal achievements: Comparisons of different cohorts of students with SEN based on large-scale assessment data from Germany. Learning and Instruction 100 (2025) 102228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102228

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Authors' interpretation in the Discussion, resting on the multilevel regression results and consistency with prior national and international findings; it is an interpretive claim, not a directly tested result.

"The assumption that the negative achievement trends we found are at least in part associated with the restrictions in schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic is supported by the results of the multilevel analyses."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Grade 4 cohorts affected by COVID-19 restrictions showed significant negative trends in verbal achievement for non-SEN and SEN-L-R students in all three domains, and for SEN-L-S students only in orthography — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Existing research on missing school from summer breaks, weather closures, and absenteeism can inform projections of pandemic learning loss — related
• Grade 4 pandemic learning conditions were significantly related to verbal achievement, with the teacher-rated functioning of distance learning relating more positively to achievement for non-SEN than SEN-L-S students — related
• In Grade 9, negative achievement trends emerged for non-SEN and SEN-L-R students in all domains, and SEN-L-R trends were always significantly more pronounced than for non-SEN peers — related
• During the pandemic, Grade 4 students with SEN-L experienced less favorable home learning environments and lower parental support than non-SEN students, while Grade 9 group differences were largely non-significant — related