# The impact of COVID-19 on the achievement of public school students in British Columbia: A multilevel analysis on the results from the province-wide standardized assessment

## TL;DR

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected student achievement in British Columbia, finding that students with special needs and those from lower-income households were most impacted.

## Contribution

The study introduces a multilevel analysis linking school district demographics to pandemic-related learning losses.

## Key findings

- Schools with more indigenous students had lower achievement across tests and grades.
- Students with special needs were more affected by school closures.
- Lower-income households faced greater learning losses during the pandemic.

## Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on public school students' achievement by collecting and analyzing the two-year test results from the Foundational Skills Assessment, a province-wide standardized test administered annually in British Columbia, Canada. Multilevel modeling was conducted to analyze whether the impact of COVID-19 correlated with local school district demographics, including the percentage of indigenous students, the percentage of students with special needs, and the median household income. The results revealed that the impact of COVID-19 on students’ literacy and numeracy achievement was associated with the percentage of students with special needs and median household incomes in the local school districts. Implications of the findings for postpandemic revitalization were discussed.

•No strong evidence of negative COVID-19 impact on general students' achievement.•Schools with more indigenous students achieved lower across tests and grades.•The achievement of students with special needs were more sensitive to school closures.•Students from lower-income households were more vulnerable to learning losses.

No strong evidence of negative COVID-19 impact on general students' achievement.

Schools with more indigenous students achieved lower across tests and grades.

The achievement of students with special needs were more sensitive to school closures.

Students from lower-income households were more vulnerable to learning losses.