BILLY SHIELDS: While students are struggling to keep up socially and academically, educators are seeking new ways to support them.

University of Virginia Professor of Education and Public Policy Beth Schueler is with us now to talk about solutions.

VPM is working on a reading campaign with the University of Virginia Literacy Partnerships.

That collaboration had no bearing on the content of this interview.

What kind of learning loss did we see in Virginia as a result of the pandemic?

BETH SCHUELER: What we saw, looking at sort of test score outcomes for grades three through eight that tested grades on the kind of SOL exams that parents will be familiar with, was a pretty sharp decline in math achievement in that first post-pandemic year.

The decline was, you know, larger than changes we saw in any of the pre-pandemic years and was also larger than was observed in a number of other states around the country.

BILLY SHIELDS: So who was the most impacted, and did COVID exacerbate the achievement gap?

BETH SCHUELER: We find that those test score declines were larger for economically disadvantaged students than economically advantaged students.

Larger for Black and Hispanic students than students of other races and ethnicities, and also larger for English learners than non-English learners.

BILLY SHIELDS: And what are the best solutions for kids that are having a hard time catching up?

Why is one-on-one tutoring so effective?

BETH SCHUELER: It's hard for me to think of another educational intervention that is backed by as large a body of evidence and as kind of high quality and rigorous a research base as high-dosage tutoring in particular.

In part, that has to do with the sort of low tutor to student ratio allows for educators to really diagnose challenges more effectively and tailor their supports to individual student needs, and it also, I think, has to do with the potential for relationship building, right?

BILLY SHIELDS: What do you tell parents who say they're not able to shoulder these extra educational costs themselves?

BETH SCHUELER: There may be opportunities I would ask your teacher and administrator.

I know the state of Virginia is also providing some grants directly to families who qualify based on income for these kinds of services.

However, the sort of federal pandemic relief funding is kind of coming to a close and is kind of running out at the moment, and so I think this is going to be a big challenge going forward to try to fund some of these programs.

(upbeat music)