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The Longer Students Were Out of School, the Less They Learned

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  • Patrinos,Harry Anthony

Abstract

COVID-19 led to school closures and emergency remote learning systems. It is feared thatstudents learned less when they were remote. This paper analyzes school closures during the pandemic using a uniquedata base. The determinants of the duration of school closures estimates were used to instrument school closures –stringency of lockdown and vaccination – and causally estimate the impact of duration on learning. It is estimatedthat for every week that schools were closed, learning levels declined by almost 1 percent of a standard deviation.This means that a 20 week closure, for example, would reduce learning outcomes by 0.20 standard deviation, almost oneyear of schooling.

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  • Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2023. "The Longer Students Were Out of School, the Less They Learned," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10420, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10420
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    Cited by:

    1. Iqbal,Syedah Aroob & Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2023. "Learning during the Pandemic : Evidence from Uzbekistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10474, The World Bank.
    2. Jakubowski,Maciej Jan & Gajderowicz,Tomasz Janusz & Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2024. "COVID-19, School Closures, and Student Learning Outcomes : New Global Evidence from PISA," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10666, The World Bank.

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