The study, which was co-authored by researchers affiliated with the University of Oxford, analyzed national examinations that occurred in the Netherlands both during and after their school lockdowns. They selected that country because the lockdown there was brief, schools there receiving equitable funding and the nation has "world-leading rates of broadband access." In other words, it provided a "best-case" scenario for people who hope that children aren't learning less as a result of the pandemic lockdowns.
Yet despite the country's "favorable conditions" for education, researchers found that students "made little or no progress while learning from home."
"Learning loss was most pronounced among students from disadvantaged homes," the authors write.
The study has far-reaching implications for the global state of education during the pandemic, particularly at the primary and secondary level. In the United States, most states closed schools at first before enacting remote learning plans involving so-called "Zoom classrooms," named for the eponymous video conference app. Some schools have reopened since, though school reopening plans vary tremendously among districts and public or private schools. CONTINUE READING: Students didn't just learn nothing during school closures — they actually regressed, study says | Salon.com
