Latest Education Info: How COVID Is Impacting Years of Growth

June 18, 2020

Two Georgia education non-profits take a hard look at the impact of COVID on student achievement: Here's what they found


This new report was a partnership between redefinED and Learn4Life. (The full report is linked in Learn4Life's education blog here)

Achievement projections are more concerning for Black, Latinx, and economically disadvantaged students in the metro Atlanta region. The study projects that only three out of ten historically underserved students will now be on track to grade-level proficiency, which reverses recent gains

The report findings drew from national research on student learning loss during the summer months as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. This data was then compared to Atlanta-area data reflecting how school-wide student attendance impacts growth and achievement on the Georgia Milestones. This approach is based on the more conservative assumption that the steady improvement in proficiency over proceeding years remains at 2019 levels. If the study assumed continued steady improvement, even more students may have been impacted by the lack of in-person instruction.

Click here to read the AJC's latest coverage of this report with interviews with Ken Zeff of Learn4Life and Ed Chang from redefinED