Peer-reviewed article
Learning disruptions and academic outcomes
Rakesh Banerjee, Tushar Bharati ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how COVID-19 school closures and the shift to online learning affected Australian children's academic performance. Using 14 years of standardized test data across all Australian schools, researchers found that school closures reduced test scores by 0.17 standard deviations on average, affecting both primary and secondary students in language and numeracy. The negative effects lasted at least three years after schools reopened, though schools with lower teacher-student ratios and regions with government income support experienced less damage.
Key points
- COVID-related school closures led to a 0.17σ decline in standardized test scores across all subjects
- Negative effects persisted for at least three years after schools resumed in-person teaching
- Students from advantaged backgrounds suffered larger declines than disadvantaged peers
- School closures reduced learning disparities among secondary school students within and across schools
- Schools with higher teacher-student ratios and regions with government income support better mitigated negative effects
Limitations
The study focuses on standardized test scores and does not examine other dimensions of child well-being affected by school closures, such as mental health, social development, or physical health. The analysis excludes 2020 data, so it does not capture the immediate impact of closures during that year.
Abstract
We examine the impact of school closures and the transition to online learning on the average learning outcomes of Australian children. Using longitudinal data on annual school-level performance in standardized assessments across five subjects and four grade levels, we analyse trends over 14 years (2008–2022, excluding 2020) for all Australian schools. Our analysis compares regions with varying levels of disruption to face-to-face teaching. Our findings indicate that COVID-related school closures led to a 0 . 17 σ decline in standardized test scores (all-subject average). This decline occurs both in primary and secondary grades, affecting language and numeracy skills. The negative effects persist for at least three years after schools resumed in-person teaching. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that students from relatively advantaged background, who potentially made better use of the school inputs, suffered more. Additionally, we find (i) school closures reduced learning disparities among secondary school students attending the same school as well as across secondary schools in a region, (ii) schools with higher teacher–student ratios were better able to mitigate the negative effects of closures, and (iii) government income support helped alleviate the adverse impact of school closures on student learning.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
COVID-19 school closures and transition to online learning reducing children's academic achievement
- Intervention
- school closures with transition to online learning, with some regions receiving government income support and schools varying in teacher-student ratios
- Population
- All Australian primary and secondary school students, 2008-2022
Key finding
COVID-related school closures led to a 0.17σ decline in standardized test scores (all-subject average)