Exacerbated Inequalities: the Learning Loss from COVID-19 in Italy

Abstract

Using administrative data on the universe of eighth graders, we study learning losses in Italy between 2021 and 2019 to estimate the effect of schools' closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find an average learning loss of 0.14 SD in math and 0.05 SD in reading. The pandemic widened preexisting gaps by socioeconomic status (SES): students in the bottom quintile of SES learned 0.21 SD less in math and 0.10 SD less in reading. Learning losses for immigrant students in math are larger than those for native ones. We do not find economically significant differences by gender.