The impact of Covid-19 on student achievement: Evidence from a recent meta-analysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100530Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • We perform a meta-analysis to study the effect of Covid-19 on student achievement.

  • Our dataset includes 239 estimates from 39 studies covering 19 countries.

  • The pandemic had an overall negative effect on learning outcomes.

  • Students lost more ground in math/science than in other subjects.

  • One year or more after Covid-19 students have not recovered from the initial learning loss.

Abstract

This work attempts to synthetize existing research about the impact of Covid-19 school closure on student achievement. It extends previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses by (a) using a more balanced sample in terms of country composition, (b) considering new moderators (type of data and research design), and (c) including studies on tertiary education students in addition to primary and secondary education students. Our meta-analysis findings show that the pandemic had, on average, a detrimental effect on learning. The magnitude of this learning deficit (about 0.19 standard deviations of student achievement) appears to be roughly comparable to that suffered by students who have experienced a significant disruption in their schooling due to a major natural disaster (e.g., Hurricane Katrina). Students are also found to have lost more ground in math/science than in other subjects. Additionally, one year or more after the first lockdown, students seem to have been unable to catch up on unfinished learning from the pandemic. This result suggests that more efforts should be made to ensure students recover their missed learning in order to avoid negative long-term consequences for them and society.

Keywords

Covid-19
Student achievement
Meta-analysis
Heterogeneity
Learning deficit

Data availability

Data will be made available on request.

Cited by (0)

The author would like to thank four anonymous referees for their helpful and constructive comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

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The views expressed are purely those of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.