A review from the mid-1990s pulled together the existing experiments on this issue and reported that, in 22 experiments using test questions that demanded students recall information (for instance, “What years in U.S. history are often called the Gilded Age?”), learning loss was about 28 percent. Retention was even better when questions required recognizing the correct answer, as on a multiple-choice test. For such tests, the average learning loss across 52 experiments was just 16 percent.

Our kids have lost so much—family members, connections to friends and teachers, emotional well-being, and for many, financial stability at home. And, of course, they’ve lost some of their academic progress. The pressure to measure—and remediate—this “learning loss” is intense; many advocates for educational equity are rightly focused on getting students back on track. But I am concerned about how this growing narrative of loss will affect our students, emotionally and academically. Research shows a direct connection between a student’s mindset and academic success.

“Our kids have lost so much—family members, connections to friends and teachers, emotional well-being, and for many, financial stability at home,” the article begins, sifting through a now-familiar inventory of devastation, before turning to a problem of a different order. “And of course, they’ve lost some of their academic progress.”

As one expert reminded, “Bereavement is the No. 1 predictor of poor school outcomes.

Analysts have labelled this as “learning loss,” and many have blamed school closures and remote instruction in the course of the past two years as the culprit. Essentially, schools serving largely Black and Latino populations were more likely to turn to remote teaching.