Covid 19’s effect on learning loss amongst students

On March 13th, 2020, Ohio schools transferred to online learning in the interest of their students’ and staff’s safety during the growing pandemic. After finishing the 4th quarter of the 2019-2020 school year online, students were given a choice of learning online or in person for the next, 2020-2021, school year.

Michael Aurin has been the principal of Dublin Jerome High School (DJHS) since 2019. Aurin was open to discussing how the unpredictable school year impacted learning loss in his students. Schools have always dealt with learning loss in students after summer break, but after a year with different learning options, are students’ retention any different?

“Numerous studies find that unplanned school closures and absenteeism negatively impact student achievement (Jaume and Willén, 2019; Gershenson et al., 2017; Aucejo and Romano, 2016; Goodman, 2014; Marcotte and Hemelt, 2008; Marcotte, 2007).” Ager, Eriksson, et al., reported their findings in their 2020 research paper “School Closures During the 1918 Flu Pandemic”. DJHS is a prime example of how school closures and differently structured learning resulted in many students not accomplishing what they might have in person.

“I think even if students had a grade that they were okay with, I would still say it’s not to the level of the same type of learning that we would typically have if we were in person”, Aurin stated in response to an inquiry regarding the impact of online learning on students’ grades. Aurin proceeded to say, “I think the bigger question is that the environment of online or the hybrid days, or just even being in person with all the different restrictions impacted our students ability to learn and actually created some underlying challenges in terms of what school has been like prior to covid happening.”

Not all the students struggled during the time online. After being asked about learning loss at DJHS and its relation to learning options this year, Aurin said that his students mostly fit in three broad categories: the few that thrived, the majority that did well but not as well as they might have in person, and those that struggled to learn with the lack of last years formative year. Aurin also brought up the fact that even if covid “dried up” today, schools will still be dealing with the aftermath, for decades even, of students not fully learning/retaining quite the same information.

Which brings to mind, what are schools, DJHS in particular, doing to bridge this gap and help students? Aurin said that it is up to teachers to decide the rate at which their class needs to be taught. Once again, Aurin mentions how the different learning options affected not only students' performance but the students directly. Whether it be their negative/positive mindset, or habits such as procrastinating on assignments and even skipping them altogether. Now freshman and sophomores aren’t fully prepared for the work load or accountability that needs to be maintained in order to keep up with their courses.