The Economic Ripple of Learning Loss and its Impact on Chicago’s Future
In this City Club of Chicago event, Education Lab Faculty Co-Director Jens Ludwig participated in a panel discussion on the importance of addressing the learning loss crisis to ensure Chicago’s students thrive.
Interested in learning more?
Read about the key takeaways from our event with the City Club of Chicago in this newsletter.
The once-a-century public health crisis of the pandemic has also created a once-a-century crisis for public education. In Chicago, math proficiency for 8th graders dropped by 40%, with the largest declines in test scores for Black and Latino students and those from low-income households. These short-term declines in test scores will – if unremediated – harm the long-term life outcomes of a whole generation of children and threaten Chicago’s long-term prosperity because education is the most important determinant of economic growth in the 21st century. The good news is that if we act with urgency, there is something we can do about it.
Speakers:
This event was moderated by Lorraine Forte, Editorial Page Editor, Chicago Sun-Times.
Panelists included:
- Jens Ludwig, Faculty Director, University of Chicago Education Lab
- Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools
- Laura Thonn, Chicago Office Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
