Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Perspectives of Elementary School Teachers in the United States and Canada

In June 2021, we surveyed 911 Elementary-School teachers (N = 911) from the US and Canada, and asked about the effect of the pandemic on learning and education practice. More than 50% of participants report being less effective during remote instruction and not being able to complete the curriculum. Despite the widespread access to digital technologies in our sample, nearly 65% of teachers observed a drop in attendance levels, and nearly 50% observed a decline in academic performance, growth in the gaps between low and high-performing students, and predict long-term negative effects. We observed consistent effects of SES. Nearly 40% of teachers in high-income classrooms report a drop in performance, versus more than 70% in classrooms with low-income students. Students from lower-income households were almost twice less likely to receive support from adults with homeschooling. Overall, our data suggest the effects of the pandemic were unequally distributed.