Equitable Recovery: Addressing Learning Challenges after COVID

What is the real impact of the pandemic on student learning? New research from Professor Thomas Kane of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (part of a collaboration among the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard, CALDER at the American Institutes for Research, and NWEA) reveals stark consequences of remote and hybrid learning for student achievement in high- and low-income schools, using data from 10,000 schools in 49 states plus the District of Columbia.

The new findings are fueling a mandate for comprehensive, equitable, and effective interventions. In an Askwith Education Forum held in May 2022, a panel of national leaders gathered to explore the research and discuss federal, state, and district strategies to lift student learning. They discussed how districts could formulate plans for best uses of COVID relief funding, while simultaneously addressing students' critical social and emotional needs.

Askwith Education Forum, May 3, 2022:
• Thomas Kane, Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics, HGSE, Faculty Director of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University
• Roberto Rodriguez, Assistant Secretary of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education
• Aaliyah Samuel, President and CEO, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
• Penny Schwinn, Commissioner of Education, State of Tennessee

Moderator: Bridget Long, Dean and Saris Professor of Education and Economics, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Resources:

• Road to COVID Recovery Report from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard
• CASEL recommendations for SEL investments with American Rescue Plan dollars
• From Recovery to Thriving: Department of Education resources on learning acceleration, the teacher shortage, and mental health
• From Tennessee, a "bright spots" guide illsutrating effective COVID-recovery responses, as well as information about the state's teacher development program

In the News:

• Harvard Gazette interview on the implications of the study
• Harvard EdCast: The COVID Catch-up Challenge
• NPR: 6 Things We've Learned about How the Pandemic Disrupted Learning
• Vox's Today, Explained podcast
• Tom Kane writes in The Atlantic: Kids Are Far, Far Behind in School
• Education Next's Education Exchange podcast
• Washington Post
• New York Times