Oct 2023
Overcoming Pandemic-Induced Learning Loss
The Education Lab’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Jens Ludwig, professor at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Jon Guryan, professor at Northwestern University, published a paper commissioned by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group for its 2023 policy volume, “Building a More Resilient US Economy,” that details the urgent, once-in-a-century public education crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposes policy solutions to help schools scale proven strategies like high-dosage tutoring and close learning gaps.
The global COVID-19 pandemic created not only a once-a-century public health crisis but also a once-a-century public education crisis. Unfortunately, the United States federal government’s financial assistance to schools to overcome pandemic-induced learning loss is about to expire – despite the fact that the country has made almost no progress remediating this learning loss. In thinking about where to go next, we first look backward to examine why so little progress was made over the past few years. Changing student learning outcomes requires changing what schools do; that has been hard partly because of the chaos in the wake of the pandemic, but also because change is difficult for all organizations. We illustrate some of the challenges within the context of one specific type of instructional content for which US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona encouraged schools to prioritize relief funding: high-dosage tutoring, a promising technology that’s been known for centuries to help students of all ages. To avoid lifelong negative consequences for a generation of 50 million school-age children, policymakers need to (1) extend the timeline over which federal assistance is available, (2) provide additional resources beyond that, and (3) nudge schools to take difficult steps that will ultimately help students through increased accountability or other means.
Personalized Learning Initiative Research Brief
Overview of the Personalized Learning Initiative, a nationwide R&D initiative to scale the benefits of tutoring.
Latest Updates
Q&A With Eleni Packis: Supporting Student Engagement During Remote Learning
Read a Q&A with Eleni Packis, co-author of a working paper presenting evidence from three large-scale randomized controlled trials carried out during the 2020 shift to virtual instruction to study interventions aimed at re-engaging students in virtual environments.
Every Choice Has Opportunity: Inside the ECHO Curriculum
The Crime Lab and Education Lab hosted a webinar to provide an in-depth look at the research behind ECHO, our approach to creating it, and an overview of resources and tips to get started with using the curriculum.
Philadelphia’s tutoring program shows promise but faces familiar obstacle: expanding it effectively
The Education Lab’s John Wolf spoke to Rebecca Redelmeier for Chalkbeat Philadelphia about our research showing high-dosage tutoring works—but only when students receive enough of it each week to produce measurable gains.
