COVID-19-induced school closures and disadvantaged children's post-COVID academic growth: A longitudinal cohort study

This study draws on repeated-measures data on a diverse (51% female; 54% Latine, 20% Black, and 11% White), low--income cohort of children (N = 618) whose academic skills were assessed before and after COVID-19-induced school closures. Longitudinal models predicted changes in children's literacy and math trajectories from before school closures (ages 4-6; 2017-2019) to after school reopening (ages 8-11; 2021-2023) and tested whether remote learning participation moderated these changes. Results suggest that academic growth stagnated during school closures, with "losses" ranging from 3 months of literacy growth to 14 months of math growth. Sufficient participation in remote learning was only slightly protective. After schools reopened, children's growth rates were slower than before school closures, but this may reflect normal developmental deceleration.