COVID-19 put some Hoosier students more behind than others, study says

Harvard University and Stanford University released 12 state reports earlier this month, detailing their examination of education and learning loss.

According to the Harvard Center for Education policy research, the Education Recovery Scorecard compares learning loss at schools across the country. Learning loss is the loss of knowledge due to extended breaks or gaps in a student’s education, like summer break.

The research from Harvard and Stanford showed that third through eighth grade public school students lost about half a year of learning in math and a quarter of a year in reading. This means that in spring 2022, Indiana students were about six months behind the same grade in Spring 2019. 

“It’s not readily visible to parents when their children have fallen behind earlier cohorts, but the data from 7,800 school districts show clearly that this is the case,” Sean Reardon, a professor of poverty and inequality at Stanford Graduate School, said in a press release.

“The educational impacts of the pandemic were not only historically large, but were disproportionately visited on communities with many low-income and minority students. Our research shows that schools were far from the only cause of decreased learning—the pandemic affected children through many ways—but they are the institution best suited to remedy the unequal impacts of the pandemic.”

An Interactive Map on the Education Recovery Scorecard website highlights data for certain school districts. 

According to the map, the District of Carmel Clay Schools in Hamilton County experienced roughly three months of math learning loss and four months of reading learning loss. Compared to the Carmel Clay schools, the Indianapolis Public School District experienced over double the loss in math, at eight months, and five months of reading learning loss. 

Students in the Monroe Counties Richland-Bean Blossom Community School lost almost a full year in math and over seven months of learning loss in reading. Although students attending the bordering  Monroe County Community Schools did experience learning loss, it was less than the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School, coming out to about four months for math and less than that in reading.

In St. Joseph County, two school districts posted starkly different impacts of the pandemic.

South Bend Community School students lost nearly 12 months in math and over a school year for reading learning loss. However, in Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation—which borders South Bend— students lost just over three months in math learning and less than four months in reading learning.

Other studies have also indicated a decline in learning among Hoosier students.

In 2020, The Statehouse File reported that only 37% of Hoosier students passed the ILEARN exam, whereas during the 2018-2019 school year, Federal School Accountability Ratings showed that 56% of high schools and 53% of elementary schools met or exceeded the state standards.

However, recent statistics show students may be recovering their reading skills. In 2022 81.6% of students were considered to be proficient in reading. In 2021, the percentage was 81.2%, and before COVID, in the 2018-2019 school year, the percentage was 87.3%.