UK research finds disadvantaged pupils falling further behind in maths since COVID-19

Children from low-income families in the UK are further behind their peers in maths than before the pandemic, research shows.

Research from think tank Education Policy Institute (EPI) and software company Renaissance Learning found that the math achievement gap among poor primary school students widened from an average of 6.9 months to 8.7 months.

A study of elementary and secondary assessments in grades 3 to 9 found that overall student math scores also declined on average. The problem equates to an average of four months of lost learning time in secondary schools and two months in primary schools, the study said.

The study was conducted by comparing Renaissance’s Star Reading and Star Maths assessments for 2017-18 and 2022-23. It is further evidence of the profound impact that the pandemic is having on vulnerable children, whose support has already been reduced by austerity policies.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Schools are doing everything they can to support children to make up for the learning lost due to the pandemic, but these results show it will not be easy. “Tasks, in the case of mathematics, it may be that missing key elements of calculation in the early stages can make later progress more difficult.”

“What makes this analysis even more frustrating is that not only did the government fail to provide adequate investment in education recovery in the first place, but it has now terminated the National Tutoring Scheme – its flagship recovery programme… Unfortunately the government has decided It was a job done, but that’s clearly not the case.”

The study also looked at the number of pupils who were eligible for free school meals for at least 80 per cent of their time at school, which it classified as “persistently disadvantaged” pupils. The proportion of primary school students in this category increased from 8.9% before the pandemic to 13.3% in 2022-23.

Jon Andrews, head of analytics and director of school performance and systems at EPI, said: “This latest analysis further reveals that the Covid-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils, exacerbating already serious inequalities. These inequalities should be a significant concern for policymakers and education providers.

“The significantly lower achievement of chronically disadvantaged pupils is a reminder of the importance of tackling child poverty as a root cause of the achievement gap.”

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We know the pandemic has had a significant impact on education around the world, which is why we have allocated £5 billion since 2020 for education recovery plans, including the national tutoring scheme.

“We continue to see the success of reforms. The UK is ranked 11th in the world for maths, up from 27th in 2009. In May, our primary school pupils were ranked fourth in the world for reading, making them the best in the western world readers.”