Research suggests kids may have taken a significant hit to their learning progress during lockdowns. 

University of Oxford researchers say there is “clear evidence” Dutch students learnt less during lockdown than in a typical year.

In a new study, researchers compared national exam scores before and after the country’s eight-week lockdown, and also comparing them to the same periods in the three previous years. 

Despite the Netherlands’ response being a “best-case scenario”, with relatively short lockdown, equitable school funding, and the world’s highest rate of broadband access, their results reveal a learning loss of about three percentile points, which they say is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year. 

The team says the findings imply that students made “little or no progress while learning from home” and suggest losses even larger in countries with weaker infrastructure or longer school closures.

The study is accessible here.