Midwest Journal of Education

The Impacts of COVID-19 on Struggling Readers: Then and Now

Dr. Laurie Fine

Abstract

This longitudinal study followed a cohort of students over four years to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young readers (Fine, 2023). The goal of the study was to identify specific areas of learning loss around reading during the pandemic and uncover teacher and administrator perceptions of necessary interventions to mitigate any learning losses. Through school district data, teacher surveys, and interviews with reading specialists and administrators, data was collected and examined. Existing school district data came from three different student assessments: the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment, the STAR Reading Assessment, and the state achievement test. The results showed significantly lower scores for Title 1 students across all assessments in comparison to grade-level peers. Lessons learned included: educators needed to intentionally identify and address the learning losses of students most impacted by the suspension of face-to-face instruction in Spring 2020; maintaining high standards for learning while addressing learning losses are essential; structured interventions must be created to target key skills missed during the pandemic; and school districts need to continue to monitor student progress over the years to come and continue to fill the remaining learning gaps.

Recommended Citation

Fine, L. (2024). The impact of COVID-19 on struggling readers: Then and now. Midwest Journal of Education, 1(1).

DOI

10.69670/mje.1.1.7

Corresponding Author

Laurie Fine, Reading Interventionist, Republic R-III Schools, 4618 West Nottingham, Battlefield, MO 65619, USA
Email: laurie.fine@republicschools.org