Canadian students are still recovering from the pandemic’s massive upset to their schooling, with evidence of declining achievement — particularly in math — across jurisdictions, according to a new report.
The report, released Thursday by the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the University of Ottawa, also notes a discrepancy between standardized test scores and the grades kids receive in class
It takes an in-depth look at pandemic learning loss and recovery by examining students’ academic results in language arts and mathematics before, during and after COVID-19. Nearly three dozen researchers parsed data from Canadian ministries of education, save Manitoba and Nunavut, which didn’t participate.
They analyzed the results of standardized tests, as well as teacher-assigned grades across different grades and — depending on the jurisdiction — considered factors like gender and location (for instance, rural and remote communities versus urban ones).
The pandemic is “going to influence learning for the next few decades and that’s not exaggeration,” said Tracy Vaillancourt, chair of the report and a professor of education at the University of Ottawa.
“These effects are going to be felt for generations to come.”
Findings differed across regions, student populations and grades — not surprising given the varying local contexts across jurisdictions, including how each assesses learning and the patchwork of pandemic approaches taken by each province or territory. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
The report is divided by studies of individual provinces and territories, with the findings differing across regions, student populations and grades, said Vaillancourt, who’s also the Canada Research Chair in youth mental health and violence prevention.
That’s not surprising given the varying local contexts of each jurisdiction, including how each assesses learning, coupled with the patchwork of pandemic responses taken: from how long each closed schools and opted for remote learning to physical distancing in classrooms to recovery efforts implemented afterwards.
Yet across each of the report’s individual provincial and territorial studies, there are some broader commonalities, she said:
Grade inflation is real, says Vaillancourt, but “this isn’t a knock on teachers at all. They were in a really difficult situation” given the high stress of that time.
Teacher grades also tend to incorporate learning progress, she said. High-stakes tests capture a snapshot of student knowledge during one window of time.
During the pandemic, many school systems dropped exams (which never returned in some cases) and asked teachers to weigh assignments differently. Some teachers were directed to reduce content being covered amid the glut of obstacles facing educators and learners alike, ranging from inconsistent or unavailable internet to quarantines to toggling between in-person and online learning.
Researchers also found the pandemic had mixed impacts on reading and writing scores, and that students in some rural, remote and northern communities saw greater declines in overall achievement — and are taking longer to recover — than urban peers.
The report lands more than three years after COVID-19 was downgraded from global emergency status. Its authors make several recommendations to governments, starting with support for standardized testing in order to establish reliable, comparable benchmarks of student achievement over time.
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In a time of emergency, “we’ve got to be compassionate about how kids are faring … but we should also, if possible, monitor what’s going on,” Vaillancourt said.
“Putting our head in the sand doesn’t do anything; it doesn’t identify who’s most vulnerable [and] how to remedy that vulnerability.”
Another recommendation urges the prioritization of evidence-based methods to tackle learning loss — paying particular attention to the most disadvantaged students — and the continual evaluation of whether these initiatives are working.
Tracy Vaillancourt, chair of Canada’s pandemic learning loss report, is a professor of education at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in children’s mental health and violence prevention. (Caitlin Taylor/CBC)
The report’s findings and recommendations weren’t a surprise, since teachers have voiced similar concerns for years, says Clint Johnston, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, which represents more than 390,000 teachers and education workers.
“What I see is an exacerbation of a context that honestly already exists in an under-resourced system. We’ve got children who are falling a bit behind, they’re not getting the support they need,” he said from Toronto.
“It’s not surprising that when there was an interruption, there’d be an impact.”
Addressing gaps in student learning requires investment, says Clint Johnston, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and a former school teacher. (Jon Hernandez/CBC)
Addressing gaps requires investment, Johnston said, “and right now it essentially seems like we’re being asked to make up those gaps — to do more with the same amount — which isn’t really feasible.”
Montreal parent Katherine Korakakis, whose two kids required tutoring during and after the pandemic, praised the report for validating what parents have long worried about.
“We knew that the pandemic disrupted our children’s education, but the questions always were, how significant were those disruptions?”
Katherine Korakakis, president of the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec, says the report validates what many parents have seen and been worried about throughout the pandemic. (Matt D’Amours/CBC)
Korakakis, who’s president of Quebec’s English Parents’ Committee Association, backs the report’s call to identify students with learning gaps, implement initiatives supporting them and provide continued monitoring.
“Parents need a clear, set plan with meaningful actions and measurable progress,” she said.
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A final recommendation urges emergency preparedness planners to recognize how detrimental prolonged school closures have been, including affecting kids’ broader well-being. Schools are typically where youngsters find social connection, a safe space and myriad supports, including food programs and mental health services.
During emergencies, provided it is safe to do so, “schools should be the last to close and the first to re-open,” Vaillancourt said.
She believes initiatives to address pandemic learning loss are required across K-12 into post-secondary and will be for years to come.
We can’t think “that because the pandemic feels like it was so long ago, that there’s nothing to be done, that the ship has sailed,” she said.
“Even though this was in the past, we still have these learners in our system — they’re still in my system at the university level — and they still need help.”
