The Only Real Way to Recover from Learning Loss
The COVID-19 pandemic caused devastating learning loss, with lingering effects still impacting students today. A recent survey revealed that 59% of families worry their children will face long-term academic struggles due to disruptions during the pandemic.* Data from i-Ready assessments and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that math and reading scores have regressed to levels not seen for 20 years.
The Impact of Learning Loss
- i-Ready assessments show fewer K-3 students are developing essential phonics skills.
- Math scores for grades 5–8 reveal declines in understanding of place value, multiplication, and fractions.
- NAEP scores for 9-year-olds indicate a regression to 1999 levels in math and 2004 levels in reading.
Reasons for Optimism
While the data is sobering, there are signs of hope. Younger students made slight progress in the 2021-22 school year:
- Math: 52% of second graders were on grade level, up from 49% the prior year (still below the pre-pandemic level of 61%).
- Reading: 48% of first graders were on track, up from 44% the prior year (but below the pre-pandemic level of 58%).
Students have made up roughly one-fourth of their lost learning, and learning gaps are beginning to shrink.
Accelerating Learning to Close Achievement Gaps
“We don’t want to remediate. We want to accelerate learning.” These words from Sharon Contreras, Superintendent of Guilford County Schools, reflect a growing shift in education. Acceleration of learning focuses on advancing students through grade-level instruction while addressing prerequisite skills, rather than looking back and remediating lost learning. High-dosage tutoring and intensive, small-group interventions are key components of this approach, proven to narrow learning gaps and achieve significant academic gains.
Catapult Learning’s Accelerated Learning Solutions
Catapult Learning’s Accelerated Learning Program prioritizes foundational skills, reinforces grade-level content, and supports students’ academic and emotional needs. Our comprehensive program includes:
- High-Dosage Tutoring & Intervention: Proven to result in more than one year’s worth of progress in less than a school year.
- Summer Learning: Programs designed to mitigate summer learning loss and provide enrichment opportunities.
- Coaching and Professional Development: Support for educators to enhance instructional quality and student outcomes.
High-Dosage Tutoring Features
Catapult Learning’s High-Dosage Tutoring solutions are:
- For all K-12 students, not just those struggling
- Research-based and rooted in proven strategies
- Using our AchieveLiteracy® and AchieveMath® curriculum
- Flexible: Offered before, during, or after school, on weekends, or over the summer
- Delivered in-person, hybrid, or virtual
- Individualized: Groups of no more than four students
Through diagnostic assessments, individualized student plans, formative assessments, and evidence-based curriculum, our Acceleration Framework supports the whole student and delivers measurable results.
Let’s Address Learning Loss Together
Now is the time to address learning loss and close achievement gaps. By implementing flexible, research-based high-dosage tutoring programs, your schools can restore lost learning and empower students to succeed.
Learn more about Catapult Learning’s High-Dosage Tutoring program by downloading our brochure and scheduling a call today.
*Catapult Learning Survey: A Peek into the Academic, Emotional, and Behavioral Health of Our Students, August 2022
