Exploring How Social-Emotional Learning and School Climate Are Protective Factors Against Learning Loss During COVID

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: Social and Emotional Learning and Student Academic Performance (Table 18)

Abstract

To fully absorb COVID’s impact on students’ academic performance, social-emotional wellbeing, and school culture/climate (CC), this study extends current efforts in understanding students’ academic learning loss to longitudinal changes in survey measures of students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) and school culture/climate between pre-COVID and COVID-impacted years. Although test scores were significantly lower among many students in 2020-21 than pre-pandemic, ratings on many SEL and CC constructs were significantly higher. Many differential impacts of COVID on student demographic subgroups were also revealed. Moreover, the SEL measure was found to serve as a protective factor which associated more positively with middle school girls’ MAP math score changes during COVID. Perseverance, Learning Strategies, and Self-Efficacy were the top contributors to this student SEL measure.

Authors

• Caroline Wang
  Presenting Author

• Annie Nielson
  Non-Presenting Author

• Libby Pier, Education Analytics
  Non-Presenting Author

• Erik Ruzek, NWEA
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tong Tong, University of Southern California
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karyn Lewis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jason R. Atwood, NewSchools Venture Fund
  Non-Presenting Author