Ontario students are up to 3 months behind in their learning due to COVID-19 lockdowns: Science Table
Ontario public school students are likely two to three months behind in their learning because of school closures brought on by COVID-19, leading to life-long losses in their expected earnings as adults if efforts aren’t made to bring them up to speed, says a new analysis by the COVID-19 Science Table.
Citing research from the U.S., Holland and the UK, epidemiologists advising the Ontario government say that pupils are anywhere from 1.6 to 3.3 months behind where they would have been academically if in-person learning was not shut because of COVID-19 starting last March.
“While there are numerous differences in how studies measure the impact of COVID-19-related disruptions on learning (i.e., standard deviations, months behind, scaled points behind, percentages of students not at grade level), most point to average achievement that was well behind that of earlier cohorts, measured at the same point in preceding school year(s),” authors wrote in a brief published on Monday.
The authors found that virtual learning led to increased absenteeism, unexplained declines in overall school enrolment and sustained declines in the amount of time pupils report devoting to completing homework.
The learning gaps are less pronounced at younger grades but increase among older students.
The impact of the declines, called skill loss, unaddressed, could cost the Canadian economy for decades.
“Each month of skill loss is predicted to cause a one per cent drop in lifetime earnings for affected cohorts and is estimated to decrease the national income by 0.5 percent per year, which would translate to a GDP loss for Canada of 1.6 trillion,” authors wrote in the brief.
As of May 15, Ontario elementary and secondary schools were for 20 weeks, the longest of any school system in Canada, with the length of that closure set to extend to 26 weeks by the end of June.
Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said schools would not resume in-person instruction in June, as their in-person operations could increase COVID-19 transmission, spread of the new Delta variant, and jeopardize plans to reopen the rest of the economy.
The decision also signalled a reversal from claims made often earlier in the year by Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who said schools were not a significant source of COVID-19 transmission and merely amplified spread of the virus already circulating in the community.
The Science Advisory Table says there is a need for additional education funding in the 2021-2022 school year to address and perhaps erase the skill gap caused by online learning.
“There is a need for explicit education recovery strategies to be funded in addition to regular schooling budgets. Strategies may include active measures to ensure appropriate universal responses (overall curriculum adaptations, instruction, and student supports), and targeted intensive accelerated learning programs for groups that have been most disadvantaged by health and education effects of COVID-19.”
A ministry of education official said the province plans to spend $85.5 million this school year on targeted efforts to bring students’ reading, writing and numeracy back on track, as well as $62 million for summer school.
The province will also continue to offer virtual tutoring through the TVO platform.
“We just announced the largest investment in public education in Ontario history — in addition to a $1.6 billion plan to protect the safety of children and a $85 million plan to help them recover from learning loss with a focus on mental health, math and reading supports,” Ministry of Education spokesperson Caitlin Clark told CP24.
“It also includes the largest summer learning program in Ontario history and includes access to tutors — including math educators — for children in both English and French.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.