Pandemic-Related School Closings Have Far-Reaching Effects on Child Well-Being

Schools are wrestling with the consequences of long-term closures because of the pandemic. Photo by Chris Farber/UNICEF via Getty Images

A global analysis has found that kids whose schools closed to stop the spread of various waves of the coronavirus lost educational progress and are at increased risk of dropping out of school. As a result, the study says, they will earn less money from work over their lifetimes than they would have if schools had remained open.

Educational researchers like me know these students will feel the effects of pandemic-related school closures for many years to come. Here are four other ways the closings have affected students’ well-being for the long term.

1. Academic Progress

At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, most students were about four to five months behind where they should have been in math and reading, according to a July 2021 report by McKinsey and Co., a global management consulting firm.