NFER Interim Report (EEF funded) | This interim report assesses the extent to which Year 2 pupils’ attainment in reading and maths were impacted by partial school closures during the first national Covid-19 lockdown, | Year 2 pupils were 2 months behind in English and maths in Autumn 2020 compared to pupils in previous years. | The disadvantage gap is large in both reading and maths (7 months) and seems to have widened from previous estimates |
Department for Education Interim Report | The analysis is based on the results achieved by pupils (across age groups) in the first half of the 2020/21 autumn term (up to and including 25 October 2020) in comparison to pupils in previous years | All year groups have experienced a learning loss in reading. In primary schools these were typically between 1.7 and 2.0 months | Schools with high levels of disadvantage have experienced higher levels of loss than other schools, particularly in secondary (2.2 months in schools with high rates of free school meal eligibility and 1.5 months in schools with low rates of free school meal eligibility) |
RS Assessment | This paper analyses attainment among primary pupils in England after the national lockdown and suspension of most in-person teaching during the spring and summer of 2020 | At the end of the 2020 autumn term, there were measurable declines in attainment compared to the previous year across virtually all subjects and year groups (1-2 months)) | The Year 6 Pupil Premium group could now be around 7 months behind the non-Pupil Premium group in Maths, a widening of 2 months since 2019. |
GL Assessment | An interim report on data derived from Progress Test Series in English, maths and science and the New Group Reading Test (primary and secondary) | On average, school attainment has fallen across all subjects. Maths (PTM) and science (PTS) scores declined most between 2019 and 2020 | The difference between students with FSM and those without was not significant. |
Juniper Education | The study examines Juniper Education teacher assessments for pupils in years 1-6 | The number of children in Years 2 to 6 who were achieving at or above the standard expected for their age dropped by approximately one fifth between autumn 2019 and summer 2020 | There was a more pronounced drop in the proportion of disadvantaged pupils working to expected levels for their age than for their non-disadvantaged peers, with Year 1 2019/20 worst affected |
NWEA (USA) | This US study used data from nearly 4.4 million students¹ in grades 3–8 who took MAP® Growth™ assessments in fall 2020 | In fall of 2020, students in grades 3–8 performed similarly in reading to same-grade students in fall 2019, but about 5 to 10 percentile points lower in math. | No conclusions - but concerns over missing data from disadvantaged students |
Maldonado, De Witte (2020) The Effect of School Closures on Standardised Student Test Outcomes (Belgium) | The study examines differences in standardised test score for primary schools in Belgium | Significant differences in learning 4 months equivalent in maths, 3 months in Dutch | Schools with a more disadvantaged population experienced larger learning losses. |
Engzell, Frey, Verhagen (2021) Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic (Holland) | This study examines national test data in Holland for pupils aged 8-11 | Results reveal a learning loss of about 3 percentile points. The effect is equivalent to a fifth of a school year | Losses sixty percent greater in students whose parents had low education, despite good broadband/device distribution |
Curriculum Associates (USA) | This analysis examines K-8 students in US, using results of the i-Ready Diagnostic test from Fall 2020 | Students were 1% more likely to place below grade level in reading 2020 than historical record and 6% more likely to be behind in mathematics | Students in lower-income schools appear to be impacted more than students in higher-income schools by school closures. |
Kogan, Lavertu (2021) The COVID-19 Pandemic and Student Achievement on Ohio’s Third-Grade English Language Arts Assessment (USA) | The study summarises Third-Grade English Language Arts Assessment in Ohio | Average achievement on the Ohio Third-Grade English Language Arts (ELA) assessment declined by roughly one-third of a year’s worth of learning. | The greatest declines were in counties where unemployment was highest. |
Pier, Hough, Christian, Bookman, Wilkenfeld, Miller (2021) Evidence on Learning Loss From the CORE Data Collaborative (USA) | Growth in standardized attainment (maths/reading) for 2019 to 2020, compared to previous years, for grades 4-10 | Learning loss in English and Maths in elementary and middle score (average of 1-2 months for grades 4-8); evidence of learning gains in high school maths (grades 9-10) and no change in high-school English. | Evidence of widening gaps in elementary/middle school (grades 4-8) for reading (2 months) and maths (0.7 months). In high school, no evidence of gap widening. |
Domingue, Hough, Lang, Yeatman (2021) Changing Patterns of Growth in Oral Reading Fluency During the COVID-19 Pandemic (USA) | Growth in oral reading fluency, compared to previous years, for grades 1-4 | Evidence of learning loss in reading fluency across grades 1-4. No evidence of 'catch-up' in Autumn 2020, but learning rates returned to typical levels. | Disadvantage analysis is at the district level. No clear evidence that districts greater levels of disadvantage had greater learning loss due to covid-19. |