Beyond Learning Loss: Student School Experiences Before, During, and After the Pandemic

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

The pandemic disrupted schools’ ability to provide students with essential academic and social-emotional resources. To date, research on pandemic-related learning loss has focused on standardized test scores and absenteeism, leaving the impact on student experiences underexplored. This study examines 6 years of student survey data to assess how student experience outcomes changed before, during, and after the pandemic. Using piecewise growth models, we find that school climate trajectories differed markedly from those of test scores and absenteeism, suggesting these measures capture distinct dimensions of school quality. Further, student engagement, in the highest poverty schools, declined an average of 0.21 points on a 1–5 Likert scale upon return to in-person (SE = 0.09, p <  .05), even as students reported an average increase of 0.75 points in valuing of learning (SE = 0.16, p <  .05). These findings underscore the limitations of existing accountability measures and offer lessons for addressing student engagement.

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First published online July 13, 2026    

DOI

10.1177/08959048261461466

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