Date
3-2022
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Michael Patrick
Keywords
learning loss, covid-19, summer slide
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Stone, David Neil, "Learning Loss in Passage Reading Fluency for Elementary Students During Covid-19 School Closure" (2022). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 3442.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3442
Abstract
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused public schools across the United States to suddenly close and interrupt face-to-face instruction for all students for a sustained period of time. It remains uncertain the total effect of the prolonged closure on student learning. This study provides a historical research review of the effect of previous school closures, such as traditional summer breaks and explores the phenomenon of learning loss that occurs when instruction is paused. This causal-comparative study examined the effect on passage reading fluency and reading comprehension of fourth grade elementary students following an unprecedented 24-week disruption of instruction due to school closure during the COVID-19 crisis. This study compared EasyCBM Passage Reading Fluency scores obtained before the school closure with scores obtained after schools reopened to determine if students experienced significantly more reading fluency loss during the extended period of disrupted instruction based upon subgroup category (socioeconomic status and gender). Findings indicated that male students experienced significantly more reading fluency loss during a 24-week COVID-19 school closure compared to female students.
