COVID-19 Learning Loss and Recovery

Abstract

We use a panel survey of ∼19,000 primary-school-aged children in rural Tamil Nadu to study learning loss after COVID-19-induced school closures and the pace of recovery after schools reopened. Students tested in December 2021 (18 months after school closures) displayed learning deficits of ∼0.73 standard deviations (σ) in math and ∼0.34σ in language compared to identically aged students in the same villages in 2019. Two-thirds of this deficit was made up within six months after schools reopened. Further, while learning loss was regressive, recovery was progressive. A government-run after-school remediation program contributed ∼24 percent of the cohort-level recovery, likely aiding the progressive recovery.