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Cited by 15Education during COVID-19 pandemicPoverty, Education, and Child WelfareSchool Choice and Performance

COVID-19 Learning Loss and Recovery: Panel Data Evidence from India

Open access
Singh, Abhijeet, Romero, Mauricio, Muralidharan, Karthik·2026·Journal of Human Resources
DOI 10.3368/jhr.0723-13025r2
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Abstract

Abstract We use a panel survey of ~ 19,000 primary-school-aged children in rural Tamil Nadu to study ‘learning loss’ after COVID-19-induced school closures, and the pace of recovery after schools reopened. Students tested in December 2021 (18 months after school closures) displayed learning deficits of ~0.73σ in math and 0.34σ in language compared to identically-aged students in the same villages in 2019. Two-thirds of this deficit was made up within 6 months after schools reopened. Further, while learning loss was regressive, recovery was progressive. A government-run after-school remediation program contributed ~24% of the cohort-level recovery, likely aiding the progressive recovery.

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  • Distance learning during school closures does not seem to have helped much; only the duration of school closures led to variations.

    “Distance learning during the school closures does not seem to have helped much21,22; only the duration of school closures led to variations.”

    From COVID-19, school closures, and student learning outcomes. New global evidence from PISA (2025) · cites this paper as [22]

    The cited paper does not say that distance learning made little difference. In Section III.A (page unavailable), it reports that most educational inputs available during closures were significantly predictive of learning changes; the Notes table also shows positive associations for video classes and several remote-learning resources. Those findings are contrary to the claim that only closure duration accounted for variation. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 34

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Authors
Singh, A., Romero, M., & Muralidharan, K.
Affiliations
  • Stockholm School of Economics (SE)
  • Innovations for Poverty Action (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Human Resources
Publisher
University of Wisconsin Press
Published
2024-04-08
Volume
61
Issue
5
Pages
1499-1535
ISSN
  • 0022-166X (ISSN-L)
  • 1548-8004
DOI
10.3368/jhr.0723-13025r2
OpenAlex
W4394580706
Cited by
15
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3
FWCI
18.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • The Journal of Human Resources (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education during COVID-19 pandemic
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
  • Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, school closures, learning loss, learning recovery, elementary school students, educational inequality, rural education, Tamil Nadu

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