Median achievement losses from spring 2020 school closures were similar for mathematics (−0.10 SD) and reading (−0.09 SD), though individual studies found subject-specific differences¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i0 When averaging across all studies, the median effect was d = −0.10 SD for mathematics and −0.09 SD for reading, but some included studies found larger losses in reading than mathematics and others the reverse. → Hammerstein Svenja 2021

Evidence¶

Hammerstein Svenja 2021¶

Hammerstein Svenja, König Christoph, Dreisörner Thomas, Frey Andreas. (2021). Effects of COVID-19-Related School Closures on Student Achievement-A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746289

q3 · i0 · quant-synthesis · r2

Review synthesis across the eleven included studies. The review reports medians of "d = −0.10 SD and−0.09 SD for mathematics and reading, respectively"; both printed effect sizes fall below d = 0.2. The review offers candidate explanations for subject differences, such as mathematics being easier to teach at distance and parents finding reading support easier to provide.

"Even though the median for the effect on mathematics and reading is comparable when averaging above all studies (d = −0.10 SD and−0.09 SD for mathematics and reading, respectively), some included studies found different effects for different subjects."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Time and Continuity — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Low-performing students were more affected by closures in mathematics while high-performing students were more affected in reading, and low-performing students benefited more from systematic online learning — related
• Dutch (language) learning losses from the 2020 school closures were larger than mathematics losses, at about 0.26-0.29 standard deviations — related
• COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 had a negative overall effect on student achievement (median −0.08 SD across eleven studies) — a broader claim this one bears on
• Remote learning implemented during the spring 2020 closures achieved effects similar to no teaching at all during summer vacation — related
• The learning-loss estimates are robust to restricting the sample to constant schools, adding school fixed effects, and coarsened exact matching — related
• Younger children were more negatively affected by COVID-19 school closures than older children (−0.37 SD vs. −0.10 SD) — related
• Learning loss showed little evidence of differing by sex, school grade, subject, or prior performance — related
• Most New York charter schools reported decreases in learning time across subjects during closure, with low prior reading proficiency associated with larger ELA/Reading time losses — related
• Meta-analytic evidence attributes average COVID learning losses of roughly -0.09 to -0.18 SD, larger in mathematics than reading — related