1. Inequality in the Effects of Primary School Closures due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Netherlands
- Author
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Carla Haelermans, Madelon Jacobs, Rolf van der Velden, Lynn van Vugt, Sanne van Wetten, ROA / Education and transition to work, RS: GSBE Theme Learning and Work, RS: GSBE Studio Europa Maastricht, RS: GSBE other - not theme-related research, and ROA / Health, skills and inequality
- Subjects
Health: Government Policy ,Regulation ,Public Health ,National Government Expenditures and Health ,Education: Government Policy ,and Immigrants ,Non-labor Discrimination ,Races ,Justice ,Equity ,Non-labor Discrimination" ,General Medicine ,i28 - Education: Government Policy ,j15 - "Economics of Minorities, Races, and Immigrants ,j15 - "Economics of Minorities ,d63 - Equity ,Economics of Minorities ,Health Production ,Inequality ,d63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ,and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ,h51 - National Government Expenditures and Health ,Analysis of Education ,i18 - "Health: Government Policy ,Public Health" ,i12 - Health Production ,i21 - Analysis of Education - Abstract
Using a large dataset of around 500,000 students from about 1,900 schools, this paper shows the effect of two school closures and 1.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic on standardized learning growth for mathematics, reading, and spelling in Dutch primary education. We find that the school closures have a negative effect on standardized learning growth, amounting to an annual average of 5.5 weeks of learning loss. When analyzing differential effects by socioeconomic status, parental education, household income, household structure, household size, and migration status, we find that the negative effect is larger for the more vulnerable students.
- Published
- 2022
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