1. Young Children's Resilience in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Acelero Learning Head Start Programs
- Author
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MDRC, McCormick, Meghan, Goldberg, Maya, Swinth, Emily, Smith Todd, Cate, Carlis, Lydia, and Chavez, Victoria
- Abstract
There is clear evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had significant negative effects on the learning and development of school-age children in the United States, with disproportionate impacts on children from racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically marginalized groups. There is less consistent evidence on the extent to which the pandemic affected younger, preschool-age children. Acelero Learning wanted a better understanding of whether children in their programs were exhibiting "resilience" during the pandemic recovery. That is, were their scores on assessments across a variety of domains similar to or perhaps better than those of similar populations of children attending Head Start and Acelero Learning programs in the years before the crisis? This report summarizes the initial results from a study led by MDRC that is examining post-pandemic language, literacy, math, and executive functioning skills for children enrolled in Acelero Learning programs. The study aims to answer two questions: (1) To what extent did 3- and 4-year-old children enrolled in Acelero Learning programs exhibit resilience two years after the start of the pandemic?; and (2) Did children's growth in academic and cognitive skills during this time vary by demographic group, including race and ethnicity, age, gender, and language background? [Funding for this report was provided by Acelero Learning.] more...
- Published
- 2023