A study by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) shows that learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting Indiana public schools.

The study, titled “School Learning Loss in the Post-COVID Environment,” used test scores from the Indiana Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network (iLEARN) from 2021-22 and 2022-23 to measure learning loss in Indiana’s public K-12 schools.

Recovery of learning loss has been slow and uneven, with poverty being the primary determinant of learning loss, according to the study.

Drs. Michael Hicks and Dagney Faulk, along with Madelyn Ponsier, a student research assistant at CBER, conducted the research.