COVID-19 Pandemic and Student Reading Achievement: Findings From a School Panel Study

The observed decline in reading achievement strongly suggests a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elementary school students' learning. The magnitude of the decline is significant when interpreted in terms of years of learning. While significant widening of achievement gaps was not proven statistically, pre-existing disparities persist, underscoring the need for targeted support measures. The study emphasizes the importance of strengthening frameworks for learning in crisis situations, promoting digital literacy, fostering resilience, and supporting reading skills early on. Future research should explore specific reading subprocesses affected and extend analyses to other subject areas and older student populations.

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected education globally, raising concerns about potential negative impacts on student learning outcomes, particularly reading achievement. This study investigates fourth-graders' reading achievement in Germany using a school panel study from 2016 and 2021. The research focuses on total average differences in reading achievement, differences controlled for student composition, and changes in achievement gaps among subgroups (immigration background, socio-cultural capital, and gender). Germany faced particular challenges due to its slower adoption of digitalization in education, making the shift to emergency remote education difficult.

Reading literacy is a critical skill for academic success and societal participation. The skills involved in reading include word recognition, language comprehension, vocabulary, and active self-regulation. The pandemic's restrictions led to less formal instruction time and a shift in leisure activities, with a notable increase in screen-based activities and a decrease in time spent on learning. Instruction effectiveness was also hampered by limited experience with digital tools. Previous studies indicate small negative effects of school closures on average student achievement, but country-specific data for Germany, especially in elementary reading, has been lacking. This study aims to provide more differentiated results on these trends.

Germany has significant social disparities in student achievement, often linked to family background (socio-cultural capital, immigration status) and gender. Higher socio-cultural capital, often indicated by the number of books at home, is consistently associated with higher reading achievement. Students from immigrant backgrounds may face challenges due to lower socioeconomic status, lack of familiarity with the education system, and language barriers. Girls typically outperform boys in reading. The pandemic may have exacerbated these existing achievement gaps due to increased reliance on home learning support, which varies significantly across different family backgrounds.

The study utilized data from N = 111 elementary schools in Germany, comparing N = 2,208 fourth-grade students in 2016 with N = 2,082 in 2021. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) instruments were used for reading achievement tests. Multiple imputation was used for missing data, and a multi-group IRT model for scaling test data. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to analyze gross differences, net differences (controlling for student composition), and changes in achievement gaps. Student composition variables included gender, age, enrollment, grade retention, immigration background (birthplace of child/parents, language at home), socio-cultural capital (number of books at home), and special educational needs.

The study found a statistically significant decline in the average reading achievement of fourth graders from 2016 to 2021. The mean reading achievement dropped by 19 points, equivalent to approximately one-third of a year of learning. Even after controlling for changes in student composition, the decline remained substantial at 14 points. Contrary to hypotheses, the study did not find statistically significant changes in achievement gaps between student subgroups based on socio-cultural capital, immigration background, or gender, though numerical tendencies towards widening gaps for students with immigration backgrounds were observed. The statistical power for detecting such interaction effects was limited.