Around the Town with Dwayne Cumberlander

For all the talk of life getting back to normal, school
It hasn’t been the same in years.
Three years since the coronavirus pandemic
shuttered schools across the U.S., students have
experienced one disruption after another: a COVID
outbreak here, a flood there, an ice storm, a hurricane,
or tornado over there. Community events, school-
related violence, even water system breakdowns have
disrupted class.
New research published Monday in the journal Nature
Human Behavior concludes that the combination
of pandemic-related school closures, the shift to
virtual learning where it was even an option and the
mental health toll on students set kids back by about
a third of a year. The analysis concluded as much
based on a review of 42 other studies conducted in 15
countries. Nearly all of the world’s student population
experienced school closures because of COVID.
That probably sounds familiar, but despite billions of
dollars pouring into schools to make up for lost time,
the gap hasn’t closed substantially over time – though
it hasn’t gotten worse. Researchers concluded
students’ math skills took a more extensive dive than
reading. Meanwhile, kids from lower-income
families and countries fared the worst.
“We don’t see a clear pattern for this deficit being
recovered,” said lead author Bastian A. Betthäuser, of
Sciences Po in Paris. “That’s certainly concerning.”