This report by the Education Policy Institute and Renaissance Learning looks at the learning loss and recovery experienced by pupils in England as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study, which provides new evidence on the impact on pupil attainment after over 18 months of pandemic disruption to education, examines the extent of pandemic learning losses and recovery at both a national and regional level, in primary (years 4-6) and secondary schools (years 7-9), and among pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The data analysis considers how many months of learning pupils are behind following the pandemic, compared to a typical, pre-pandemic school year.
It found that, on average, pupils remain behind in reading and mathematics, compared with pre-pandemic progress. For secondary school pupils in reading, average learning losses increased between the summer and autumn terms.
At a national level, by the end of the first half of the 2021/2022 autumn term, primary school pupils were on average 0.8 months behind in reading, compared to where they would be in a typical, pre-pandemic year. This level of learning loss was largely unchanged since the end of the 2020/21 summer term.