6 Things We’ve Learned about How the Pandemic Disrupted Learning

This article outlines six things that we’ve learned about how the pandemic affected learning.

1. Students learned less when they were remote. This is because instructional time was shortened to accommodate online learning, and there was much less in-person teaching and interaction.

2. Students at high-poverty schools faced harder circumstances due to less access to a good learning environment, including the classroom, technology, and academic resources.

3. Different states saw different gaps. Learning gaps were most noticeable in areas where students spent more time learning online, and also in areas that did not have adequate online learning resources.

4. High school graduation rates did not change much. Because students had less workload during online learning, many were able to graduate without much trouble.

5. Many high school graduates chose to delay college. Students were less eager to begin college due to the circumstances of the pandemic.

6. Schools can do something about the pandemic. Schools that implemented a “high-dosage” tutoring program to accelerate student learning after the pandemic saw positive results.