Dear Academic Approach Families & Colleagues:

Today, we’re sharing more data on the potential long-term impacts of learning loss of students. Assessment data from the recent past on summer learning loss predicts months to years of backward growth for many students—even those in above-average school-based remote learning programs this fall.

The impacts could be long-lasting, costing the average K-12 student a full year of salary in lifetime earnings as a result of those learning losses. These educational losses likely lead to significant decreases (between 0.8 to 1.3%) in the national GDP when we look 20 years out as a result of fewer skilled workers entering the workforce. Other studies have put the cost of school closures at $14.2 trillion over the next 80 years—a sum that would nearly double should school closures last another 3 months.

These impacts are hard to conceptualize, but the work educators need to do is not: we must work to support our students’ learning this fall, review and preview the highest-impact skills, and curb the loss. We’re offering instruction that’s personalized and rigorous to support our students both in their academic work and their preparation for high school and college entrance exams, so they maintain critical academic progress.

Be well,
Matthew Pietrafetta, Ph.D., Founder & CEO