Students who struggled through the height of the Covid-19 pandemic \u2013 between March 2020 and early 2023 \u2013 are still having trouble keeping up with course work, according to a study from the nonprofit NWEA, which focuses on education research.
\u201cThis analysis provides the most current evidence to help guide recovery efforts and resource allocations in support of schools,\u201d an NWEA news release said. \u201cWhile the pandemic is now deemed over, the impacts on students based on two markers, achievement in reading and mathematics, are still apparent.\u201d
The study used data from 6.7 million public school students from grades 3-8, the release said.
According to the study, \u201cIn nearly all grades, achievement gains during 2022-23 fell short of prepandemic trends, which stalled progress toward pandemic recovery.\u201d
The performance gap widened in some grades when comparing students affected by Covid-19 and those before the pandemic, the data showed.
The study found that students need an additional 4.1 months to catch up in reading and 4.5 months of additional instruction to catch up in math. Among those students, Black and Hispanic students \u201cremain furthest from recovery,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCOVID-19 may no longer be an emergency, but we are very much still dealing with the fallout from the crisis,\u201d said Dr. Karyn Lewis, co-author of the study and director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA, according to the release.
\u201cThese data reiterate that recovery will not be linear, easy, or quick and we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cDisappointing as these results may be, it\u2019s important not to lose sight of the fact that things would likely be so much worse without the enduring work of educators and schools to support students in this moment.\u201d
The NWEA\u2019s recommendations include using local data to help students continue to recover, intervening as needed and communicating important information with families in a timely way.
The NWEA describes itself as a \u201cpioneer in educational research and assessment methodology,\u201d with over four decades of work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n