The COVID-19 Pandemic and Students’ Affective Disposition Toward Learning: A NAEP Exploration

• In Event: COVID-19 Experiences, Contexts, and Outcomes From The Nation’s Report Card

Abstract

The shift from in-person instruction to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has not only contributed to K-12 students’ learning loss but has also disrupted their affective dispositions towards learning, which poses further challenges to their academic success. Using mathematics and reading assessment data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered in grades 4 and 8, the authors assessed whether there were changes in students’ affective disposition towards learning before and after the onset of the pandemic at the national level for students overall, by gender, and by race/ethnicity. The authors also explored whether changes in affective disposition before and after the onset of the pandemic were associated with the degree of distance learning students received during the pandemic at the state level. Findings of the study reveal which affective dispositions were negatively associated with distance learning and for which student groups these relationships were observed. Educators and policymakers can use these findings to target the psychosocial skills that need to be fostered to reengage students in the classroom.

Authors

• Imer Arnautovic, Optimal Solutions Group

• Sadaf Asrar, Optimal Solutions Group