Young Children Face Particularly Difficult Recovery from Setbacks Caused by the Pandemic

Older students are displaying positive signs of academic improvement, while younger students are not experiencing the same progress and in some cases are even falling further behind, particularly in mathematics.

Recent data released on July 1 highlights the profound and lasting impact of the pandemic on the youngest public school children in the country, many of whom were not yet in a formal educational environment when COVID-19 emerged.

According to Kristen Huff, Vice President for Research and Assessment at Curriculum Associates, which administers math and reading assessments to millions of students annually and authored the report, “It’s evident that those students — who were either toddlers or in preschool — experienced interruptions in their learning.” Huff emphasized the significance of this finding, describing it as “striking.”

Various researchers and experts have put forth several potential explanations for this pattern. One possibility is that the pandemic disrupted early childhood education, making it challenging for many children to acquire fundamental skills, which could accumulate over time. Factors such as decreased enrollment in preschool and kindergarten, along with difficulties in remote learning, contributed to the challenges. Increased parental stress and screen time may also have played a role.

It is also feasible that schools directed more academic support toward older students and adolescents.

“This finding serves as a prompt for us, as an educational community, to prioritize the early grades,” emphasized Huff. These foundational years are crucial for children to learn the basics of letters, numbers, reading, and counting, setting them on the path for academic success throughout their schooling journey.

Several recent reports, like a series of recent reports, have delved into students’ academic advancement post-pandemic. While some researchers noted substantial progress among students in third to eighth grade, many are still lagging behind their pre-pandemic peers. Moreover, disparities in academic achievements between students from low-income backgrounds and their wealthier counterparts have widened.

The unique aspect of the new Curriculum Associates report, based on an analysis of results from approximately 4 million students, lies in its inclusion of data points for younger children who have not yet undergone state testing. The study examined the performance of students entering kindergarten to fourth grade during the 2021-22 academic year in math and reading over three years, comparing it with children who began the same grades just before the pandemic.

For instance, kindergartners who commenced their education in the fall of 2021 initially scored on par with pre-pandemic kindergartners in reading but have since fallen behind. Similarly, first-grade students who started in the fall of 2021 consistently lag behind their pre-pandemic peers in reading.

In mathematics, children starting kindergarten, first grade, and second grade in the fall of 2021 all began with lower scores than their pre-pandemic counterparts and have continuously made less progress, positioning them significantly below their peers.

Irrespective of the school setting, whether urban, suburban, or rural, younger students registered lower progress than their pre-pandemic counterparts. Notably, those who initially trailed behind encountered the most challenges in catching up.

Researchers suggested that schools should consider revising their academic interventions to prioritize early elementary school students. It becomes crucial to identify the specific skills lacking in children to ensure they can keep pace with their current grade-level lessons. This academic year, many struggling students identified in the report will be entering third and fourth grade.

In Charleston County, South Carolina, where younger students have outperformed their counterparts across the state, particularly in mathematics, the district implemented strategies believed to be contributing to this success.

The district prioritized enhancing reading instruction, procured a new curriculum aligning better with the science of reading, offered teachers comprehensive literacy skills training, and improved communication with families regarding their children’s academic progress.

Buffy Roberts, overseeing assessments for Charleston County schools, highlighted the district’s critical step of identifying groups of significantly lagging students and devising multi-year plans to catch them up. This long-term strategy enabled teachers to break down the task and provide additional support to students requiring significant assistance.

“We emphasized the need to understand that typical growth is insufficient for students already far behind; a more targeted approach is necessary to help them progress,” Roberts emphasized. “It was a strategic and focused effort to address each child’s requirements to help them overcome their academic challenges.”

This article was originally published by Chalkbeat. Subscribe to their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.