Girls May Have Been Hit Hardest by Pandemic Learning Loss
It’s no secret that months of pandemic-era lockdowns led to dramatic learning loss among American children. What has surprised researchers is exactly which students were most affected, especially in math. While girls have long academically outperformed boys on several metrics, new research indicates that female students experienced much steeper learning loss than their male classmates.
A Wall Street Journal article published this week summarized several recent studies that measured post-pandemic learning loss. For decades, eighth grade boys’ and girls’ math scores on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment tracked closely, with girls just behind their male classmates. In 2019, girls even slightly outperformed boys. However, when students were tested again in 2023, not only did students of both sexes lose significant ground, but girls dove below boys.Â
In 2019, the average girl scored a 517 on the assessment, which is measured on a 1000-point scale, and boys scored a 514, just a three-point difference. In 2023, boys’ scores had dropped 19 points on average, while girls’ scores dropped an astonishing 36 points on average.Â
“Since 2019, girls’ test scores have dropped sharply, often to the lowest point in decades. Boys’ scores have also fallen during that time, but the decline among girls has been more severe,” writes education reporte
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