COVID-19 Pandemic and Student Reading Achievement: Findings From a School Panel Study

Abstract

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on education worldwide. There is increased discussion of possible negative effects on students’ learning outcomes and the need for targeted support. We examined fourth graders’ reading achievement based on a school panel study, representative on the student level, with N = 111 elementary schools in Germany (total: N = 4,290 students, age: 9–10 years). The students were tested with the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study instruments in 2016 and 2021. The analysis focused on (1) total average differences in reading achievement between 2016 and 2021, (2) average differences controlling for student composition, and (3) changes in achievement gaps between student subgroups (i.e., immigration background, socio-cultural capital, and gender). The methodological approach met international standards for the analysis of large-scale assessments (i.e., multiple multi-level imputation, plausible values, and clustered mixed-effect regression). The results showed a substantial decline in mean reading achievement. The decline corresponds to one-third of a year of learning, even after controlling for changes in student composition. We found no statistically significant changes of achievement gaps between student subgroups, despite numerical tendencies toward a widening of achievement gaps between students with and without immigration background. It is likely that this sharp achievement decline was related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are discussed in terms of further research needs, practical implications for educating current student cohorts, and educational policy decisions regarding actions in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers' Opinions on Teaching Primary Reading and Writing through Distance Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic Period

“…Therefore, it can be said that face-to-face education is a must in the teaching of skill-based subjects and acquisitions such as reading and writing, except for mandatory conditions such as the Pandemic. As Ludewig et al (2022) pointed out, these international findings show that the distance education application carried out during the pandemic period cannot replace face-to-face education in teaching reading and writing at the primary school level…”

“…During the pandemic period, it is inevitable for students to suffer from learning losses, especially in literacy, language, and mathematics lessons. Many international studies or reports on this subject have reported that primary school students suffer from significant learning loss (Bao et al, 2020;Lewis, Kuhfeld, Ruzek & McEachin, 2021;Ludewig et al, 2022;UNESCO, 2021). In this regard, well-planned make-up training programs must be implemented during and after an emergency, and compulsory distance education activities carried out in extraordinary situations such as pandemics.…”

“…However, the number of children in distress due to the Pandemic jumped to 584 million in 2020, increasing by more than 20%, destroying the gains made by education efforts over the past two decades (UNESCO, 2021). The results of a study conducted with a total of 4,290 students in the 9-10 age group in 111 primary schools in Germany showed that there was a significant decrease in the average reading success of students during the Covid-19 Pandemic period (Ludewig, Kleinkorres, Schaufelberger & McElvany, 2022).…”

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on reading performance of second grade children in Germany

“…Only recently, Ludewig et al ( 2022 ) presented their findings on COVID-19 effects using representative PIRLS data. As expected, they found that students’ reading achievement was lower in 2021 than in 2016, with a difference equivalent to about one-third of a year’s learning growth.…”

“…In Depping et al’s study ( 2021 ), some of the data in the pandemic cohort could not be collected in the same month and therefore not in the same school year, so the performance of third graders from April/May 2019 was compared to the performance of fourth graders from August/September 2020. Ludewig et al ( 2022 ) compared PIRLS data from 2021 to PIRLS data from 2016, thus using a five year old cohort for comparisons.…”