In May 2020, pediatrician Dimitri Christakis, editor of the American Medical Association’s journal Pediatrics, wrote, “The risks posed by delaying school openings are real and sizeable, particularly for students from low-income families.”
Christakis added, “No credible scientist, learning expert, teacher, or parent believes that children aged 5 to 10 years can meaningfully engage in online learning without considerable parental involvement, which many families with low incomes are unable to provide because parents must work outside the home.”
The full picture of the disaster of extended school closures has steadily come into focus over the last two years. Students have suffered the largest learning loss in a generation, and some cities with lengthy closures are experiencing youth crime waves.
The latest research on learning loss, though, bolsters what was suspected: the learning loss was real, and it is most acute where remote learning was most difficult.
For instance, current third-graders — the children who spent kindergarten and first grade remotely — have the greatest drop-off in math and reading compared to their pre-COVID counterparts.
It’s also no surprise that the latest study from a non-profit called MWEA found: “Students in high-poverty schools and black and Hispanic students have been disproportionately impacted, especially in the youngest grades. As a result, these students still have the most ground to regain.”