Covid school closures in the US could see math and literacy slide

According to research, the decline in children's academic performance can be observed during school closures linked to weather events or natural disasters, and now, Covid-19. Photo: AFP

What impact could last spring's school closures have on the academic performance levels of schoolchildren in the United States? Researchers from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) studied the question in a recent report.

Their work is published in the Educational Researcher journal. The researchers analysed periods of interruption to learning – generally, the long summer recess – in relation to learning loss and how students catch up when they return to school.