Increased score variability was primarily driven by spreading out at the bottom end of the achievement distribution¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? The pandemic-era increase in test score dispersion was concentrated at the bottom of the distribution, with lower-achieving students' scores dropping more than higher-achieving students' scores. → Karyn Lewis 2022
Evidence¶
Karyn Lewis 2022¶
Karyn Lewis, Megan Kuhfeld, Meredith Langi, Scott J. Peters, Erin Fahle. (2022). The widening achievement divide during COVID-19. NWEA Research brief. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/the-widening-achievement-divide-during-covid-19/
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Comparative analysis of pre-pandemic and spring 2022 MAP Growth samples found the widened dispersion was concentrated at the low end: "test scores for lower-achieving students dropping more than the declines observed for higher-achieving students." No effect size is printed.
"this increased variability in test scores is primarily driven by a spreading out at the bottom end of the distribution, with test scores for lower-achieving students dropping more than the declines observed for higher-achieving students"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Observed COVID-19 achievement declines were more substantial than declines during other recent disruptions such as natural disasters — related
- Post-COVID classrooms show increased academic diversity in the composition and spread of student achievement levels — a broader claim this one bears on
- Post-pandemic classrooms present teachers with students in the same grade who differ more in learning needs than before the pandemic — a broader claim this one bears on
- Multiple-choice state tests are prone to ceiling and floor effects and do not measure higher-order skills well — related
- Publicly reported school accountability statistics are not useful for measuring achievement trends over time — related
- Students showed a wider range of achievement levels in spring 2022 than would be expected in a typical school year — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
variability-driven-by-bottom-of-distribution |
title |
Increased score variability was primarily driven by spreading out at the bottom end of the achievement distribution |
description |
Increased score variability was primarily driven by spreading out at the bottom end of the achievement distribution |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2022 |
recheck_by |
2027 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — karyn-lewis-2022 |
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