Children learned 'little or nothing' during school closures, despite online learning | University of Oxford

Photo: litmos.comApril 9, 2021 (Phys.org) -- School closures in the last year have led to serious learning losses, with primary-age school pupils making virtually no progress studying at home, according to a new study by researchers at Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, published in Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Learning losses were particularly pronounced in families with low levels of education.

The findings come from data gathered in the Netherlands, where schools closed for eight weeks in the first lockdown. The researchers believe the findings are applicable to the UK and elsewhere.

The study shows that, despite high-quality remote provision, primary age students lost a fifth of the progress they would usually make in a year. This is equivalent to the time they spent outside the classroom. The impact was even more severe for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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