COVID School Lockdowns Caused Lasting Educational Damage That Disproportionately Harmed Disadvantaged Students
Source: Christopher Jacobs. "Study: Covid Learning Losses Are Still Hurting Students." March 5, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that keeping schools closed during COVID caused serious learning problems that are still hurting kids today, especially poor and minority students. He blames teachers unions for pushing these closures and says we shouldn't forget who made these bad decisions.
Conclusion
COVID-19 school lockdowns have caused severe and persistent learning losses that continue to harm students, particularly disadvantaged ones, and Americans should remember who was responsible for these policies
Premises
- Only 14% of schools have returned to pre-pandemic achievement levels in both math and reading by fall 2024
- 68% of schools are performing worse in both math and reading than before COVID
- High-poverty and minority schools suffered disproportionately larger learning losses and slower recovery rates
- Teachers unions promoted prolonged lockdowns while private schools developed safe reopening protocols
- The pandemic worsened existing achievement gaps between high-performing and low-performing schools
- These learning losses will take years for most children to overcome, if they ever do
Assumptions
- School lockdowns were the primary cause of learning losses rather than the pandemic itself
- Teachers unions had significant influence over school closure policies
- Private schools' ability to reopen safely demonstrates that public schools could have done the same
- Pre-pandemic achievement levels represent the appropriate baseline for measuring educational success
- School choice expansion will help address these educational deficits