Patrinos, Harry AnthonyJakubowski, MaciejGajderowicz, Tomasz2023-08-092023-08-092023-08-09https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40164To what extent has the learning progress of school-aged children slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic? A pre-registered analysis of the first international assessment to be published since the pandemic is conducted to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on student reading. The effect of closures on achievement is modeled by predicting the deviation of the most recent results from a linear trend in reading achievement using data from all rounds using data from 28 countries in Europe and Central Asia. Reading scores declined by an average of 20 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to just less than a year of schooling. Losses are significantly larger for students in schools that faced relatively longer closures. While there are no significant differences by sex, it is shown that lower-achieving students experienced much larger losses.enCC BY 3.0 IGOCOVID-19 IMPACTLEARNING LOSSSTUDENT ACHIEVEMENTLEARNING INEQUITYLOW ACHIEVING STUDENTSREADING ACHIEVEMENT LOSSWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-10542