Education

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

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Reagan Reese Contributor
Font Size:

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. (RELATED: POLL: 68% Of Americans Without Children Worry Kids Are Falling Behind In Schools Due To COVID-19)

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.

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.

School buses sit idle in a bus yard on May 6, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of all school buildings, the Seattle Public Schools Nutrition Services Department has been distributing breakfast and lunch to students through a network of 26 school sites and 43 bus routes five days a week. The meal distribution also includes additional food for weekends. Approximately 6,500 people are served per day through the program. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

School buses sit idle in a bus yard on May 6, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the closure of all school buildings, the Seattle Public Schools Nutrition Services Department has been distributing breakfast and lunch to students through a network of 26 school sites and 43 bus routes five days a week. The meal distribution also includes additional food for weekends. Approximately 6,500 people are served per day through the program. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

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.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.