COVID’s Impact on Science Achievement: Trends From 2017 Through 2024

• In Event: Critical Topics in Science Teaching and Learning

Abstract

We examine science achievement in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider both who was negatively affected, and the magnitude of the disruption, measured in months required to catch up to pre-pandemic peers. The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with reduced science achievement from 2019 to 2021, resulting in from one to 2.3 months of unfinished learning. From 2021 to 2024, pandemic-era science recovery has been uneven across the elementary and middle grades. By Spring 2024, science achievement for grades 3 through 5 has returned to near-2019 levels. For grades 7 and 8, science achievement continued to decrease, indicating a lack of rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. This was true for students from all racial / ethnic groups.

Authors

• Susan M. Kowalski, NWEA, a Division of HMH

• Scott Joseph Peters, NWEA

• Megan Kuhfeld, NWEA

• Gustave Robinson, NWEA

• Karyn Lewis, NWEA