More research needed on the effectiveness of online learning for disadvantaged students during the school shutdown, and the levels of learning lost by pupils, a major Royal Society study suggests

A major new study into the impact of the school shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic says there is not enough data available on children’s learning loss resulting in “a major data gap”, and included more information on the use of technology.

The report, from the Royal Society’s DELVE: Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemic group, published today (July 24), evaluated existing research and was carried out by an interdisciplinary group of experts who advise government scientists.

The report said: “Overall there is insufficient evidence to date to guide us on the expected impact of remote schooling on learning. However, most studies do not suggest that online teaching is, in and of itself, likely to have a major negative impact on learning.

“However, this finding may not hold if the online teaching is of poor quality, which may be the case given the speed at which schools were expected to adapt to it. Nor will it hold if students are unable or unwilling to actively engage with it, as seems to be the case for many.”

It went on: “Certainly at a practical level, there have been growing concerns about uneven access and availability of inputs into education (for example, computers, laptops, online resources, private tutoring) and its impact on learning outcomes. Access and provision to these vital resources varies across socio-economic groups and across schools.”

It said that there were currently no studies that measures the effectiveness of computer assistant and online learning, in particular on disadvantaged students. “Since access to technology is a major challenge for such students, we need more evidence on this issue.”

“this finding may not hold if the online teaching is of poor quality, which may be the case given the speed at which schools were expected to adapt to it”

One of the studies reviewed by researchers found that “rich parents were 15% more likely to report that their child’s school offers real time online classes than their poorer counterparts. They also find children from poor families were only half as likely to have access to private tutoring compared to their richer peers”.

The report, which covers a wide range of impacts and implications of the school shutdown, said the damage caused by the loss of formal learning during this period would not be spread equally across the population.

The school time lost could harm the UK economy for the next 65 years, with the disruption to lessons having a negative impact on the future skills of the workforce.

The report includes one study which shows the achievement gap between the top and lowest-performing pupils in year 3 widened by 52 per cent after lockdown.

Researchers estimate that around a quarter of the entire workforce could have lower skills for 50 years following the mid-2030s. This could reduce their earnings potential by three per cent a year and lower the overall economic growth rate.

The group also suggests running anonymised assessments in a sample of schools during the coming academic year — one in September and one at the end of the 2020–21 year — to identify the “extent and nature” of both learning loss and students’ mental health.

There must also be “good knowledge exchange mechanisms to share learning across the education system”.