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The Covid-19 pandemic and school closure: learning loss in mathematics in primary education

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  • Dalit Contini
  • Maria Laura Di Tommaso
  • Caterina Muratori
  • Daniela Piazzalunga
  • Lucia Schiavon

Abstract

Italy was the first Western country hit by Covid-19 in February 2020, responding with a tight lockdown and full school closure until the end of the school year. This paper estimates the effect of the pandemic and school closure on the math skills of primary school pupils in Italy. We compare the learning achievements of two cohorts of pupils, the pre-Covid and the Covid cohort. For both cohorts, we match scores on the national standardised assessment in grade 2 with scores on a standardised test delivered by the researchers at the end of grade 3. The pandemic had a large negative impact on the pupils’ performance in mathematics (-0.19 standard deviations). Among children of low-educated parents, the learning loss was larger for the best-performing ones (up to -0.51 s.d.) and for girls (-0.29 s.d.).

Suggested Citation

  • 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," CHILD Working Papers Series 97 JEL Classification: I2, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wchild:97
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    Cited by:

    1. DI PIETRO Giorgio, 2023. "The impact of Covid-19 physical school closure on student performance in OECD countries: a meta-analysis," JRC Research Reports JRC134506, Joint Research Centre.
    2. Boeri, Filippo, 2023. "High-speed broadband, school closures and educational achievements," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118120, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Youjin Hahn & Hyuncheol Bryant Kim & Hee-Seung Yang, 2023. "Impacts of In-Person School Days on Student Outcomes and Inequality: Evidence from Korean High Schools during the Pandemic," Working papers 2023rwp-223, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    4. Haelermans, Carla & Korthals, Roxanne & Jacobs, Madelon & de Leeuw, Suzanne & Vermeulen, Stan & van Vugt, Lynn & Aarts, Bas & Breuer, Tijana & van der Velden, Rolf & van Wetten, Sanne & de Wolf, Inge, 2021. "Sharp increase in inequality in education in times of the COVID-19-pandemic," ROA Research Memorandum 010, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    5. Alan, Sule & Turkum, Betul, 2024. "Abstract reasoning, theory of mind and character development in the school," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 307-326.
    6. Kamila Cygan-Rehm, 2022. "Lifetime Consequences of Lost Instructional Time in the Classroom: Evidence from Shortened School Years," CESifo Working Paper Series 9892, CESifo.
    7. 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).
    8. Valenzuela, Juan Pablo & Kuzmanic, Danilo & Cortés, Fernanda, 2024. "Socioeconomic inequalities in opportunities and participation in in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    9. Clare Halloran & Rebecca Jack & James C. Okun & Emily Oster, 2021. "Pandemic Schooling Mode and Student Test Scores: Evidence from US States," NBER Working Papers 29497, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Liao, Haoye & Ma, Sen & Xue, Hao, 2022. "Does school shutdown increase inequality in academic performance? Evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; school closure; learning loss; mathematics; standardised tests; inequality; primary school;
    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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