The Reality Of Learning Loss

We thought we'd be over it by now. Four years later and we're still feeling the impact. We prioritized health and safety when we shifted learning to remote and hybrid learning four years ago. Whether learning (the way we would have like) took place, remains a resounding no. As educators we knew we would have to deal with gaps in learning if and when we returned to the physical classroom, primarily because of the level of absenteeism, lack of engagement and in some cases general apathy that we saw during online learning sessions. Now we battle another obstacle—Learning loss. 

Some may want to deny that leaning loss exists. If so, then how do we account for the unprecedented decline in academic achievement and previously acquired knowledge and skills by students? If we didn't know then—even though we could imagine the horror— we certainly know now for sure that there has been academic regression, especially in core areas like reading, writing and mathematics. When greater number of students are progressing at a much slower rate than expected, further exacerbating the already existing achievement gap, we know we weren't just engaging in fear mongering. We were witnessing the start of a real problem—Learning loss.

Learning loss is a real phenomenon that some may refer to as unfinished learning. It is the loss of knowledge or skills or reversal in academic progress due to prolonged disruptions or interruptions in education. As you can imagine, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds suffered the brunt of the impact of remote learning due their factors such as lack of access to technology, unstable home environments and limited parental support. These were admittedly factors that existed before shifting to remote and hybrid learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but were exacerbated during and after.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated an average learning loss of approximately one-third of a school year across all its member states. 

What is concerning is that we did not or could not fill those gaps at the time. Even more saddening is that students were promoted without meeting the basic and required skill levels for their form, grade or standard. Wealthier institutions have been able to mitigate the issue by instituting programs to help their students but that was not and has not been the case for the majority of the schools.

What educators are seeing and what the public will feel in a few years is the consequences of  students who have difficulty tackling higher level course work and who are unprepared for higher level education. Teachers understand that the task now falls on them to implement targeted interventions and institute social-emotional learning to help students overcome the toll of the years of unfinished learning. A task some my say they are not trained or prepared for.

It is not going to be easy. One thing I've always found and that common sense will tell any of you, dear readers, is that "it takes a village to raise a child". This means parents have a major role to play in supporting any intervention teachers decide to implement and that means parents taking responsibility for their children. While governments and ministries tackle policies, funding and professional development (which are themselves slow and lacking) parents must also acknowledge the problem and take accountability for their children's learning. In the end, as with most things, tackling learning loss requires a concerted effort by all stakeholders.

Copyright © Lana. S. 2024