Children who started school during the coronavirus pandemic are well behind the historical trend of academic achievement for their age group, and recovery lags behind their older peers, according to a study.
According to new data from Curriculum Associates, students who began school during the pandemic are consistently behind in math and reading, while older students show signs of recovery in reading but not math. The study compared three years of reading and math results from students who were between the ages of 3 and 9 in 2021 and compared them to historical trends.
"This only further validates the concern and frustration parents felt throughout the COVID era," Michele Exner, senior adviser at education advocacy group Parents Defending Education, told the Washington Examiner. "This was a predictable outcome and yet the adults in charge of these school districts did nothing. Weak policymakers more beholden to teachers unions than children's education created catastrophic learning loss and the youngest students continue to suffer the dire consequences."
Researchers compared the academic growth patterns of students starting kindergarten through fourth grade in 2021, tracking through 2024, to those starting the same grade levels in 2016 and tracking through 2019.
The study comes as many in the education industry are making a play for more money as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds are set to expire this year, but the nearly $200 billion pumped into schools during the pandemic only showed modest academic recovery.
Data show that the youngest group tested, who were in kindergarten or first grade in 2021, is the furthest behind the academic growth pattern of the same groups prior to the pandemic, or compared to students who were in kindergarten and first grade in 2016. They not only have not recovered to the same extent as their older peers, but are actually in some cases widening the gap from historical trends.
While the oldest group tested, who were in fourth grade in 2021, shows signs of accelerated growth in recovery, having started far behind historical trends their first year back from the pandemic, kindergarteners are falling further behind the trend, while first graders are maintaining an upward trajectory but not making up for lost time.
"The only cohort to demonstrate small signs of recovery are those students beginning Grade 4 in 2021," the study stated. "By stark contrast, younger cohorts are either falling behind or consistently hovering below historical trends in both subjects. The differences by cohort could occur for a variety of reasons, including the disruption to early childhood experiences, challenges building foundational skills, young students being less responsive to virtual instruction, or simply the interventions utilized targeted students in older grades."
"Given young cohorts missed their pre-K to Grade 1 school years, or received instruction virtually at this time, they may have missed a critical window during which foundational skills develop," researchers added.
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Some of the reason for divergent academic recovery among age groups, the study noted, is grade placement level. The students who were placed on grade level for reading "rarely fell behind" the historical trend and were close to the trend for math. However, students who were behind their grade level for both subjects were consistently behind the historical growth over time.
As the Washington Examiner reported , many of the protocols put into place by elected leaders, pressured by the federal government, have had detrimental impacts on children academically, socially, and developmentally. Many of the protocols, such as masking and social distancing, both had little or zero scientific backing but had some of the worst long-term effects on children.
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