No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark. / Birkelund, Jesper Fels; Karlson, Kristian Bernt.

In: European Societies, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2023, p. 468-488.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Birkelund, JF & Karlson, KB 2023, 'No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark', European Societies, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 468-488. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085

APA

Birkelund, J. F., & Karlson, K. B. (2023). No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark. European Societies, 25(3), 468-488. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085

Vancouver

Birkelund JF, Karlson KB. No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark. European Societies. 2023;25(3):468-488. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085

Author

Birkelund, Jesper Fels ; Karlson, Kristian Bernt. / No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark. In: European Societies. 2023 ; Vol. 25, No. 3. pp. 468-488.

Bibtex

@article{76f2ea7192a14e5a87718957be7af0ae,
title = "No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark",
abstract = "We study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children{\textquoteright}s academic performance in Denmark 14 months into the pandemic using nationwide and exceptionally rich data on reading test scores and family background (N ≈ 200.000 per year). We find no evidence of a major learning loss. While pupils in grade 8 experienced a three percentile points loss in reading performance, pupils in grades 2 and 4 experienced a learning gain of about five percentile points, possibly resulting from school closures being significantly longer among older (22 weeks) than younger children (eight weeks). Importantly and in contrast to pre-registered expectations, we find little evidence of widening learning gaps by family background. Further analyses point to that all of these patterns were already in place a few months into pandemic, suggesting that learning gaps did not widen during subsequent, longer school closures. We also find some indication that boys and low-performing pupils suffered more from school closures than girls and high-performing pupils, but these differences are minor. We discuss which political measures may have been instrumental for overcoming the COVID-19 learning slide in Denmark.",
keywords = "Faculty of Social Sciences, COVID-19, school closure, learning, reading, social inequality",
author = "Birkelund, {Jesper Fels} and Karlson, {Kristian Bernt}",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085",
language = "English",
volume = "25",
pages = "468--488",
journal = "European Societies",
issn = "1461-6696",
publisher = "Taylor & Francis",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark

AU - Birkelund, Jesper Fels

AU - Karlson, Kristian Bernt

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - We study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s academic performance in Denmark 14 months into the pandemic using nationwide and exceptionally rich data on reading test scores and family background (N ≈ 200.000 per year). We find no evidence of a major learning loss. While pupils in grade 8 experienced a three percentile points loss in reading performance, pupils in grades 2 and 4 experienced a learning gain of about five percentile points, possibly resulting from school closures being significantly longer among older (22 weeks) than younger children (eight weeks). Importantly and in contrast to pre-registered expectations, we find little evidence of widening learning gaps by family background. Further analyses point to that all of these patterns were already in place a few months into pandemic, suggesting that learning gaps did not widen during subsequent, longer school closures. We also find some indication that boys and low-performing pupils suffered more from school closures than girls and high-performing pupils, but these differences are minor. We discuss which political measures may have been instrumental for overcoming the COVID-19 learning slide in Denmark.

AB - We study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s academic performance in Denmark 14 months into the pandemic using nationwide and exceptionally rich data on reading test scores and family background (N ≈ 200.000 per year). We find no evidence of a major learning loss. While pupils in grade 8 experienced a three percentile points loss in reading performance, pupils in grades 2 and 4 experienced a learning gain of about five percentile points, possibly resulting from school closures being significantly longer among older (22 weeks) than younger children (eight weeks). Importantly and in contrast to pre-registered expectations, we find little evidence of widening learning gaps by family background. Further analyses point to that all of these patterns were already in place a few months into pandemic, suggesting that learning gaps did not widen during subsequent, longer school closures. We also find some indication that boys and low-performing pupils suffered more from school closures than girls and high-performing pupils, but these differences are minor. We discuss which political measures may have been instrumental for overcoming the COVID-19 learning slide in Denmark.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - COVID-19

KW - school closure

KW - learning

KW - reading

KW - social inequality

U2 - 10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085

DO - 10.1080/14616696.2022.2129085

M3 - Journal article

VL - 25

SP - 468

EP - 488

JO - European Societies

JF - European Societies

SN - 1461-6696

IS - 3

ER -

ID: 291358596