Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement in middle schools

ABSTRACT

This research was conducted to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement in eight middle schools in South Carolina. This study investigated the difference between student achievement pre- and post-school closures and remote (online) learning caused by the CO VID-19 pandemic. With the abrupt closure of schools in March 2020, most South Carolina students were provided instructional packets for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. When schools re-opened for the 2020-2021 school year, teachers provided instruction through multiple methods. Teaching students face-to-face and online may have been difficult for some teachers. Some teachers and students experienced technology challenges in the classroom and at home. Students used in this study elected to continue with online learning for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. This raised concerns about student achievement in South Carolina schools and the influence of the pandemic on student achievement in future years. Research is needed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement for secondary school students.The study presented research through the Literature Review, examining factors of student achievement, ethnicity, gender, school closures, emergency remote teaching, online learning, and self-regulation in the online learning environment. Given previous evidence that school absence affects student achievement, it is essential to examine how school absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic will further affect student achievement (Kuhfeld et al., 2020). Students cannot achieve academically if they are not attending school regularly. The COVID-19 pandemic posed additional challenges for student instruction in public schools. Access to technology and educational content during remote learning, proved to be a disproportionately greater challenge for students and families from lower socioeconomic statuses (Salvin & Storey, 2019. Researchers have defined self-regulation as the ability to be intrinsically motivated to pursue goals in the face of personal, interpersonal, and situational challenges (Greene, 2017). The independent nature of the remote learning environment may make self-regulation more difficult. Arguably, careful deployment of self-regulation skills is especially critical for successful student achievement (Bol & Gamer, 2011).The study addresses the differences in reading and math student achievement before and after remote learning due to the pandemic. This study used NWEA MAP Growth test scores in reading and math from the 2019-2020 school year (pre-school closure and remote learning) to compare with NWEA MAP Growth reading and math test scores from the 2021-2022 school year (post-school closure and online learning). The sample for this study was 7th grade students located in a rural county in the Southeastern United States, with eight middle schools. The use of students' test scores was quantitative, was reported by a percentage, and was a data set (Schwandt, 2007). This study used a causal-comparative research design. The purpose of this study was to understand if there are significant differences in student achievement due to the educational adjustments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is significant because it may provide relevant data that will allow stakeholders to improve instruction and policies related to student achievement pre- and post-school closures and remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is also significant because it will add new literature and knowledge to the field of education on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on middle school students in the public-school system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)