Learning Loss Hit K–8 Hard from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 03/09/21
New research
has confirmed that students in grades K-8 are experiencing learning
loss in math and reading due to COVID-19 disruptions. Researchers at
education technology company Illuminate
Education compared screening data in its FastBridge
Learning assessment and monitoring application from
fall 2019 to fall 2020 and found that losses were consistently bigger
in math than reading and largest in late elementary and middle school
grades.
For the sake of
generalizing, the study compared achievement levels, free or reduced
lunch rates and percentage of minority students among schools and
students who tested in consecutive years to those who didn't test in
fall 2020. The team also compared FastBridge results to those
reported in other studies to determine whether the evidence was
"converging"; and used assessed trends across school
type--rural, urban or suburban--school poverty rates and race and
ethnicity composition.
According to the
findings, the observed learning losses in reading ranged from about
one month in primary grades to about three months in late elementary
grades. Learning losses in math were generally about one month
greater than in reading, ranging from less than one month in
kindergarten to about four months in 6th grade.
"We are seeing
a pervasive, negative, and universal impact on student learning due
to COVID-19 disruptions, especially in math and reading," said
John Bielinksi, senior director of research and development at
Illuminate, in a statement. To counteract the impact of learning
loss, he added, the company is "urging educators to consider
spending more time on these high-need areas" and pushing schools
to provide teacher support "to make it happen."
Among the
recommendations:
-
To continue
screening to identify the largest learning gaps and address these
through intensified core instruction;
-
To use
benchmarks as the goal for all students to reach, while still
understanding that "rate of Improvement" is the key metric
to focus on when conducting progress monitoring, since many students
will start the year "significantly behind typical performance";
-
To spend more
time on high-need areas, such as math in grades 2 through 8; and
-
To give
teachers extra support to make their remote instruction as effective
as possible.
The full report is
available with registration on
the Illuminate FastBridge website.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.