On average, students across most grades made reading and math gains during the 2020-21 pandemic-affected school year¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · 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? Despite pandemic disruptions, students across most grades in the studied range still made gains in reading and math on average during 2020-21, though outcomes were lower across multiple dimensions. → Learning during COVID-19: Reading and math achievement in the 2020-2021 school year 2021

Evidence¶

Learning during COVID-19: Reading and math achievement in the 2020-2021 school year 2021¶

Learning during COVID-19: Reading and math achievement in the 2020-2021 school year. (2021). NWEA Research. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/learning-during-covid-19-reading-and-math-achievement-in-the-2020-2021-school-year/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

The brief's summary of its analysis of 2020-21 school-year gains states that "on average, students across most grades made reading and math gains in 2020-21," while outcomes were lower across multiple dimensions relative to pre-pandemic trends. No effect sizes are printed in the available text.

"on average, students across most grades made reading and math gains in 2020-21, but that students' outcomes during the pandemic-affected school year were lower across multiple dimensions"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The average student demonstrated positive math and reading gains during the 2020-2021 school year — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Students in grades 3-8 made reading and math gains in 2020-21 but ended the year with lower achievement than in a typical year, with larger declines in math than in reading — related
• Reading and math gains during 2020-21 were diminished compared to pre-pandemic trends, especially in the latter half of the school year — related
• Math growth in 2020-2021 was more variable than in prior years, with much of the gains among initially high-performing 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 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
• The Learning during COVID-19 research investigated whether 2020-21 school-year gains and spring 2021 achievement differed from pre-pandemic trends and levels in reading and math. — related
• The report examines how school shutdowns impacted student achievement at the start of the 2020-21 school year — related
• The COVID-19 pandemic increased classroom disruptions and negatively affected students' social and emotional development — related
• Socio-economic inequality in learning increased during the pandemic for most estimates, across subjects, grades and pandemic stages — related
• A 2021 review series aims to provide a definitive account of the best available evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected America's students academically — a broader claim this one bears on