Foregone and Forgotten Learning: COVID-related Learning Losses from National Assessments in Bangladesh and experimental evaluation of a learning takeup program

Bangladesh witnessed an overall 1.5 years of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Research from several countries provides evidence that school closures have generated steep learning losses. We conducted a large-scale learning assessment in Bangladesh comprising 7,218 grade 9 students to determine the current learning levels of students after 14.5 academic months of school closures. This was based on the National Assessment of Secondary Students (NASS) 2019 framework and covered a nationally representative sample of 300 schools. This study tracks 4997 students who took NASS 2019 and administered psychometrically linked tests in Math and Language (Bangla). The study includes Grade 8 and NASS 2019 grade 6 questions to estimate forgotten and forgone learning. The initial results show that for grade 9 students, 14.5 months of COVID-related school closures led to 26 months of learning loss among secondary students. Around 69 percent of learning losses were students failing to learn new skills (learning forgone), but 31 percent of learning losses were students forgetting skills they had already acquired (learning forgotten). There was also a sharp increase in learning inequality. The poorest students lost 50% more learning than the most affluent students.

The study also comprised a phone-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) lesson to assess the demand for additional instruction. The students were randomly assigned to three groups (one control and two treatment arms) and provided a dedicated call number. The control group students received no message. Treatment 1 - The students were informed about the returns to education. Treatment 2 - The parents were informed about the returns to education. The lesson's content was carefully selected to be suitable for delivery over IVR.