Regret Growing Over School Closures

The worst learning loss in a generation is going to extract a heavy toll over the next decade.

Photo by MChe Lee on Unsplash

“Online School Put U.S. Kids Behind,” reported Real Clear Politics on October 24, 2022: “Some adults have regrets.”

There is plenty to regret — national test results are in, and they are abysmal. Extended public school closures erased 20 years of educational gains in reading and math. The price tag for extended public school closures is estimated to be well into the trillions.

Then there is the human cost.

“Vivian Kargbo thought her daughter’s Boston school district was doing the right thing when officials kept classrooms closed for most students for more than a year,” wrote RCP.

Kargbo’s was a sentiment shared by many families in 2020. Plenty of families will recognize what happened next, too.

“But her daughter became depressed and stopped doing school work or paying attention to online classes,” continued RCP. “The former honor-roll student failed nearly all of her eighth-grade courses.”

“Preliminary test scores around the country confirm what Kargbo witnessed: The longer many students studied remotely, the less they learned,” the news outlet reported. “Some educators and parents are questioning decisions in cities from Boston to…