Here’s How Much Pandemic Learning Loss Is Costing School Districts

Here’s How Much Pandemic Learning Loss Is Costing School Districts

Reagan Reese on July 6, 2022

Catching students up in school from COVID learning loss is costing schools millions, a new learning loss calculator by Georgetown University shows.

School districts that stayed remote or in a hybrid model need the most funds to account for their learning losses, according to a report by the National Bureau of Economics. The cost for more than 8,000 schools to make up losses from the pandemic was calculated by Georgetown University professors.

In Seattle, Washington, students suffered an average of 17 weeks of math and 10 weeks of reading progress, which will cost the school district $105 million to help students make up for those losses, Georgetown University calculated.

Due to the pandemic, kids are behind in math and reading. We know how to help bridge this gap.

I’m calling on schools to use American Rescue Plan funds to expand tutoring, summer learning, and afterschool programs and to provide 250,000 more tutors and mentors for our kids.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 5, 2022

A total of $343 million is needed to make up for students’ loss of 16 weeks of learning in math and 11 in reading in the school district of Fairfax, Virginia, according to the calculator.

In the 2021-2022 school year, 96% of K-12 teachers reported that at minimum, a few of their students were behind expectations, with 45% of teachers reporting that at least half of their students were experiencing learning losses, a report by the Government of Accountability Office showed.

The Detroit school district was granted more than $800 million in federal funds to account for an average of 17 weeks of learning loss, the calculator revealed.

Georgetown University did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.