scholarly journals Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (17) ◽  
pp. e2022376118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engzell ◽  
Arun Frey ◽  
Mark D. Verhagen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
School Funding ◽  
Learning Loss ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
School Year ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Face To Face Instruction ◽  
Rich Data

Suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about consequences for students’ learning. So far, data to study this question have been limited. Here we evaluate the effect of school closures on primary school performance using exceptionally rich data from The Netherlands (n ≈ 350,000). We use the fact that national examinations took place before and after lockdown and compare progress during this period to the same period in the 3 previous years. The Netherlands underwent only a relatively short lockdown (8 wk) and features an equitable system of school funding and the world’s highest rate of broadband access. Still, our results reveal a learning loss of about 3 percentile points or 0.08 standard deviations. The effect is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year, the same period that schools remained closed. Losses are up to 60% larger among students from less-educated homes, confirming worries about the uneven toll of the pandemic on children and families. Investigating mechanisms, we find that most of the effect reflects the cumulative impact of knowledge learned rather than transitory influences on the day of testing. Results remain robust when balancing on the estimated propensity of treatment and using maximum-entropy weights or with fixed-effects specifications that compare students within the same school and family. The findings imply that students made little or no progress while learning from home and suggest losses even larger in countries with weaker infrastructure or longer school closures.

scholarly journals Learning Inequality During the Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engzell ◽  
Arun Frey ◽  
Mark D. Verhagen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Learning Loss ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
School Year ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Face To Face Instruction ◽  
Rich Data

Suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about consequences for student learning. So far, data to study this question have been limited. Here we evaluate the effect of school closures on primary school performance using exceptionally rich data from the Netherlands (n≈350,000). The Netherlands represents a best-case scenario with a relatively short lockdown (8 weeks) and a high degree of technological preparedness. We use the fact that national exams took place before and after lockdown, and compare progress during this period to the same period in the three previous years using a difference-in-differences design. Our results reveal a learning loss of about 3 percentile points or 0.08 standard deviations. These results remain robust when balancing on the estimated propensity of treatment and using maximum entropy weights, or with fixed-effects specifications that compare students within the same school and family. Losses are up to 55% larger among students from less-educated homes. Investigating mechanisms, we find that most of the effect reflects the cumulative impact of knowledge learned rather than transitory influences on the day of testing. The average learning loss is equivalent to a fifth of a school year, nearly exactly the same period that schools remained closed. These results imply that students made little or no progress whilst learning from home, and suggest much larger losses in countries less prepared for remote learning.

scholarly journals Did Students Learn Less During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Reading and Mathematics Competencies Before and After the First Pandemic Wave

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Schult ◽  
Nicole Mahler ◽  
Benjamin Fauth ◽  
Marlit Annalena Lindner
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Learning Loss ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Large Scale Assessment ◽  
Low Achieving Students ◽  
Before And After ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Future Education ◽  
Regular Classes ◽  
Reading And Mathematics

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted regular classes in spring 2020. Temporary school closures supposedly led to a considerable learning loss, particularly for low-achieving students. Schools in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, were closed for two months. Although distance learning was implemented, students spent less time learning. Additionally, teachers were faced with organizational and technological challenges of remote learning environments. The present study investigates the competencies of fifth-graders, using large-scale assessment results in reading and mathematics from annual mandatory tests in September (each n > 80,000). In line with studies from other countries, competence scores were slightly lower in 2020 compared with the three previous years (–0.07 standard deviations for reading comprehension, –0.09 for operations, and –0.03 for numbers). Low-achieving readers managed to attain pre-pandemic competence levels. On the other hand, low-achieving students seem to have a learning backlog regarding mathematics competencies (such as operations) that deserves attention in future education.

scholarly journals Projecting the Potential Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on Academic Achievement

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 549-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Kuhfeld ◽  
James Soland ◽  
Beth Tarasawa ◽  
Angela Johnson ◽  
Erik Ruzek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Returning Students ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Learning Loss ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Summer Learning ◽  
School Year ◽  
Learning Patterns ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Typical School

As the COVID-19 pandemic upended the 2019–2020 school year, education systems scrambled to meet the needs of students and families with little available data on how school closures may impact learning. In this study, we produced a series of projections of COVID-19-related learning loss based on (a) estimates from absenteeism literature and (b) analyses of summer learning patterns of 5 million students. Under our projections, returning students are expected to start fall 2020 with approximately 63 to 68% of the learning gains in reading and 37 to 50% of the learning gains in mathematics relative to a typical school year. However, we project that losing ground during the school closures was not universal, with the top third of students potentially making gains in reading.

scholarly journals Using volunteered geographic information to assess mobility in the COVID-19 pandemic context: cross-city time series analysis of 41 cities in 22 countries from March 2nd to 26th 2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matia Vanoni ◽  
Martin McKee ◽  
Chris Bonell ◽  
Jan Semenza ◽  
David Stuckler
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Mobility Index ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background: Restricting mobility is a central aim for lowering contact rates and preventing COVID-19 transmission. Yet the impact on mobility of different policies of restriction is not well-understood.Methods: Trends were evaluated using Citymapper’s mobility index covering 41 cities worldwide between 2nd and 26th March 2020, expressed as percentages of typical usage periods from 0% as the lowest and 100% as normal. China and India were not covered. Multivariate fixed effects models were used to estimate the association of policies restricting movement on mobility before and after their introduction. Policy restrictions were assessed using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index as well as measures coding the timing and degree of school and workplace closures, transport restrictions, and cancellation of mass gatherings. Results: Mobility declined in all major cities throughout March. Larger declines were seen in European than Asian cities. The COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index was strongly associated with declines in mobility (r = -0.75, p<0.001). After adjusting for time-trends, we observed that implementing a mobility restriction to the recommended level was associated with a decline of mobility of 10.0% for school closures (95% CI: 4.36% to 15.7%), 15.0% for workplace closures (95% CI: 10.2% to 19.8%), 7.09% for cancelling public events (95% CI: 1.98% to 12.2%), 18.0% for closing public transport (95% CI: 6.74% to 29.2%), 13.3% for restricting internal movements (95% CI: 8.85% to 17.8%) and 5.30% for international travel controls (95% CI: 1.69 to 8.90). In contrast, as expected, there was no association between population mobility changes and fiscal or monetary measures or emergency healthcare investment.Conclusions: Understanding the effect of public policy on mobility is crucial to slowing and reducing COVID-19 transmission. By using Citymapper’s mobility index, this work provides the first evidence about trends in mobility and the impacts of different policy interventions, suggesting that closure of public transport, workplaces and schools are particularly impactful.

scholarly journals Primary school mathematics during Covid-19: No evidence of learning gaps in adaptive practicing results

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Meeter
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Disadvantaged Populations ◽  
Primary School Mathematics ◽  
School Year

During the spring of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic induced many governments to close schools for many months. In the Netherlands, primary schools were closed during a lockdown lasting from March until June. While education was continued online, evidence so far suggests that learning has suffered from the lockdown. Here, we report results from Dutch primary schools that relied on adaptive practicing software for teaching mathematics. The software, installed on tablets that could be taken home by the pupils, continued to be used during school closures. Performance was tracked throughout the lockdown for 53,656 pupils in grades 2 through 6 from 810 schools, and compared to performance of similar pupils in the preceding year. While performance up to the lockdown was similar for school year 2019-20, during the lockdown learning was faster that it had been in 2018-19, contradicting results reported so far. These enhanced gains were correlated with increased use, and remained after the lockdown ended. Pupils ended the year with a higher proficiency score than was reached in earlier years. This was the case for all grades but more so for lower grades, for strong and weak students but more so for weak students, and less so for students in schools with disadvantaged populations than in schools with non-disadvantaged populations.

scholarly journals Using volunteered geographic information to assess mobility in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-city time series analysis of 41 cities in 22 countries from March 2nd to 26th 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matia Vannoni ◽  
Martin McKee ◽  
Jan C. Semenza ◽  
Chris Bonell ◽  
David Stuckler
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Mobility Index ◽  
Mass Gatherings ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives Restricting mobility is a central aim for lowering contact rates and preventing COVID-19 transmission. Yet the impact on mobility of different non-pharmaceutical countermeasures in the earlier stages of the pandemic is not well-understood. Design Trends were evaluated using Citymapper’s mobility index covering 2nd to 26th March 2020, expressed as percentages of typical usage periods from 0% as the lowest and 100% as normal. China and India were not covered. Multivariate fixed effects models were used to estimate the association of policies restricting movement on mobility before and after their introduction. Policy restrictions were assessed using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index as well as measures coding the timing and degree of school and workplace closures, transport restrictions, and cancellation of mass gatherings. Setting 41 cities worldwide. Main outcome measures Citymapper’s mobility index. Results Mobility declined in all major cities throughout March. Larger declines were seen in European than Asian cities. The COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index was strongly associated with declines in mobility (r = − 0.75, p < 0.001). After adjusting for time-trends, we observed that implementing non-pharmaceutical countermeasures was associated with a decline of mobility of 10.0% for school closures (95% CI: 4.36 to 15.7%), 15.0% for workplace closures (95% CI: 10.2 to 19.8%), 7.09% for cancelling public events (95% CI: 1.98 to 12.2%), 18.0% for closing public transport (95% CI: 6.74 to 29.2%), 13.3% for restricting internal movements (95% CI: 8.85 to 17.8%) and 5.30% for international travel controls (95% CI: 1.69 to 8.90). In contrast, as expected, there was no association between population mobility changes and fiscal or monetary measures or emergency healthcare investment. Conclusions Understanding the effect of public policy on mobility in the early stages is crucial to slowing and reducing COVID-19 transmission. By using Citymapper’s mobility index, this work provides the first evidence about trends in mobility and the impacts of different policy interventions, suggesting that closure of public transport, workplaces and schools are particularly impactful.

Teachers’ Time Use and Affect Before and After COVID-19 School Closures

AERA Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 233285842110680
Author(s):  
Nathan D. Jones ◽  
Eric M. Camburn ◽  
Benjamin Kelcey ◽  
Esther Quintero
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
School Closures ◽  
School Year ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Before And After

Several large-scale survey efforts have attempted to understand teachers’ experiences in the early months of the pandemic. Our study complements this literature by providing direct evidence of teachers’ work prior to and after the onset of COVID-19. We leverage unique longitudinal time use and affect data on 131 teachers from one district across the 2019–2020 school year. Specifically, we provide a full accounting of teachers’ instructional activities, their reports of their positive affect and negative affect while engaged in these activities, and the extent to which teachers’ work experiences changed post-COVID. Our results suggest a large reduction in teachers’ daily instructional minutes, which were replaced with increased planning, paperwork, and interactions with colleagues and parents. Teachers’ overall positive and negative affect did not change post-COVID. But teachers’ affective responses to specific work activities did. Post-COVID, we saw increases in teachers’ positive affect when with students.

scholarly journals Changes in Online Psychoactive Substance Trade via Telegram during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Matthijs Blankers ◽  
Daan van der Gouwe ◽  
Lavinia Stegemann ◽  
Laura Smit-Rigter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Lysergic Acid ◽  
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide ◽  
Psychoactive Substance ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Other Substances

<b><i>Background:</i></b> In this article, we present an evaluation of online psychoactive substance trade via Telegram, a free encrypted social media messenger service. The evaluation took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed us to monitor the effects of the spring 2020 lockdown in the Netherlands on substance trade via Telegram. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The objective of this study was to evaluate whether changes in psychoactive substance trade on Telegram markets in the Netherlands can be observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Between December 2, 2019, and June 29, 2020, a total of 70,226 posts appeared in two analyzed Telegram groups. A total of 5,643 posts were psychoactive substance related. Based on the analyzed posts, Telegram is mostly a ‘“sellers” market as only a minority of the posts (6.3%) could be identified as a request for a substance. The proportion of posts related to specific substances varied between the periods before, during, and after the lockdown. The proportion of posts on the stimulants ecstasy, cocaine, and amphetamine was lower during the lockdown than before and after. For psychedelics – ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine (2C-B) – and other substances, there was a relative increase in the number of posts during the lockdown, which was maintained after the lockdown. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Telegram analysis shows that in the Netherlands, online psychoactive substance trade may have been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The direction of this effect was different for different classes of substances.

Socio-Emotional and Academic Learning Before and After COVID-19 School Closures: Evidence from Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Bayley ◽  
Darge Wole Meshesha ◽  
Paul Ramchandani ◽  
Pauline Rose ◽  
Tassew Woldehanna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Children's Social Skills

This paper presents the findings of research undertaken in Ethiopia to examine the effects of COVID-19 school closures on children’s holistic learning, including both socio-emotional and academic learning. It draws on data collected in 2019 (prior to the pandemic) and 2021 (after schools reopened) to compare primary pupils’ learning before and after the school closures. In particular, the study adapts self-reporting scales that have been used in related contexts to measure Grade 3 and 6 children’s social skills, self-efficacy, emotional regulation and mental health and wellbeing, along with literacy and numeracy. Lesson observations were also undertaken to explore teachers’ behaviours to foster socio-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. The findings advance current knowledge in several respects. First, they quantify the decline in Ethiopian pupils’ social skills over the period of the school closures. Second, they identify a significant and strong relationship between learners’ social skills and their numeracy, even after taking other factors into account. Third, they reveal a significant association between children’s social skills and their mental health and wellbeing, highlighting the importance of interpersonal interactions to safeguard children’s holistic welfare. The paper concludes by proposing a model for understanding the relationship between learners’ SEL and academic outcomes, and with recommendations for education planning and practice, in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

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