Another Covid Crime

When students finally returned to school in the fall of 2021, many had experienced over a year of remote learning. Teachers found that all children had fallen behind—students were five months off the learning pace they would have experienced but for Covid.

The effect was greater in schools with more Black or Hispanic students and more low-income families. Students at these schools started the pandemic as much as nine months behind students in majority-white, higher-income schools. By December of 2021, McKinsey assessed that majority-Black schools had fallen a full year behind majority-white schools.

The effects of pandemic school closures will be wide reaching, especially for younger children. Students who do not learn to read proficiently by third grade have difficulty catching up and are four times less likely to graduate from high school. This could affect the lifetime achievement of millions of students and even the economic, scientific, and creative achievements of our country.

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Months Behind in School in Reading and Math Due to Pandemic

U.S. grades 1–6, fall 2020–21, number of months behind historical peers

Source: Curriculum Associates I-Ready Assessment Data via McKinsey.