Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282658 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16531
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study uses the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) data, the only cross-national data having measured educational achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate educational achievement decline of fourth graders across 21 European countries between 2016 and 2021. Learning decline estimated with PIRLS data is not only composed of learning loss due to COVID-19 but also European performance trends and national policy changes. The study illustrates the education performance decline in Europe by providing information on 20 year reading achievement trends, average performance declines and increasing number of the share of low performing students across European countries. Results of previous national counterfactual impact evaluation studies measuring learning decline in languages due to COVID-19 are compared to PIRLS reading achievement declines between 2016 and 2021. Furthermore, the study examines recent developments of educational inequalities within Europe by first comparing countries' education distributions between 2016 and 2021 and second by investigating changes in the share of children lacking important reading skills by socio-economic background.
Subjects: 
COVID-19
pandemic
educational inequalities
school
PIRLS
Europe
JEL: 
I21
I24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
804.22 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.