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COVID-19 and the European Education Performance Decline: A Focus on Primary School Children's Reading Achievement between 2016 and 2021

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Listed:
  • Schnepf, Sylke V.

    (European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre)

  • Granato, Silvia

    (European Commission, Joint Research Centre)

Abstract

This study uses the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data, the only cross-national data having measured educational achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate educational achievement decline of fourth graders across 21 European countries between 2016 and 2021. Learning decline estimated with PIRLS data is not only composed of learning loss due to COVID-19 but also European performance trends and national policy changes. The study illustrates the education performance decline in Europe by providing information on 20 year reading achievement trends, average performance declines and increasing number of the share of low performing students across European countries. Results of previous national counterfactual impact evaluation studies measuring learning decline in languages due to COVID-19 are compared to PIRLS reading achievement declines between 2016 and 2021. Furthermore, the study examines recent developments of educational inequalities within Europe by first comparing countries' education distributions between 2016 and 2021 and second by investigating changes in the share of children lacking important reading skills by socio-economic background.

Suggested Citation

  • Schnepf, Sylke V. & Granato, Silvia, 2023. "COVID-19 and the European Education Performance Decline: A Focus on Primary School Children's Reading Achievement between 2016 and 2021," IZA Discussion Papers 16531, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16531
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dalit Contini & Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Caterina Muratori & Daniela Piazzalunga & Lucia Schiavon, 2021. "The Covid-19 pandemic and school closure: learning loss in mathematics in primary education," DEM Working Papers 2021/16, Department of Economics and Management.
    2. Noam Angrist & Simeon Djankov & Pinelopi K. Goldberg & Harry A. Patrinos, 2021. "Measuring human capital using global learning data," Nature, Nature, vol. 592(7854), pages 403-408, April.
    3. Giorgina Brown & John Micklewright & Sylke V. Schnepf & Robert Waldmann, 2007. "International surveys of educational achievement: how robust are the findings?," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(3), pages 623-646, July.
    4. Brian Jacob & Jesse Rothstein, 2016. "The Measurement of Student Ability in Modern Assessment Systems," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 85-108, Summer.
    5. Andreu Arenas & Lucas Gortazar, 2022. "Learning loss one year after school closures: Evidence from the Basque Country," Working Papers 2022/03, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; pandemic; educational inequalities; school; PIRLS; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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