‘Learning loss from Covid-19’ becomes even more serious

Last year’s assessment of education achievement by the Korean government revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted students’ learning even more negatively than it did in 2020. The learning loss was especially notable among the middle level students. According to the data, the percentage of students who achieved standard level of academic ability has been sliding two years in a row. The assessment subjected those in senior year in junior high and second year in high school.

Among students who started high school back in 2020 - when the pandemic was spreading – the percentage of those who failed to achieve basic level of academic ability in Korean, English and mathematics has jumped. In Korean subject, students who attained above the standard threshold has dropped by 17.4 percentage points within four years from 81.6% in 2018 to 64.3% in 2021, which is the lowest figure since the data assessment was changed in 2017 to the currently used sampling method.

This statistics is from “2021 National Assessment of Education Achievement Results” that the Korea’s Ministry of Education announced. The ministry conducts the annual assessment on 3% of students in the second year in junior high and third year in high school. Before, the assessment based the entire pool of students but was changed to a sampling method since 2017 to comply with the previous administration’s policy on reducing standardized scholastic aptitude exam. The last year’s assessment subjected 22,297 students in total.


jyr0101@donga.com