Meta-analytic evidence attributes average COVID learning losses of roughly -0.09 to -0.18 SD, larger in mathematics than reading¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The review reports, citing Betthäuser et al. (2023), that average learning loss across 42 studies in 15 countries was more pronounced in mathematics (-0.18 SD) than in reading (-0.09 SD). → Kraus 2024

Evidence¶

Kraus 2024¶

Kraus, E. B., Wild, J., Schilcher, A., & Hilbert, S. (2024). Exploring the Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 School Closures on Reading Fluency in Southern Germany: A Longitudinal Causal Effects Analysis. https://osf.io/bu2ad/

q2 · i? · causal · r2

Narrative review section attributing this pooled estimate to Betthäuser et al. (2023); the article reports the review found losses "more pronounced in mathematics (-0.18 SD) than in reading (-0.09 SD)". The present article did not re-analyze these data.

"Betthäuser et al. (2023) showed in a review of 42 studies across 15 countries that the average learning loss was more pronounced in mathematics (-0.18 SD) than in reading (-0.09 SD)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• COVID-19 third-grade school closures in Southern Germany showed no significant short-term or long-term effect on reading fluency — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• 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 — related
• COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 had a negative overall effect on student achievement (median −0.08 SD across eleven studies) — related
• Covid-19 school closures depressed student achievement on average by about 0.19 standard deviations — related