As the nation grapples with an increase in COVID cases due to the spread of the Delta variant, a recent report makes clear one thing policymakers should not do in response: Close down in-person learning. 

The study, from the consulting firm McKinsey, shows how school shutdowns and lockdowns set back millions of American students—and hurt the poorest and most vulnerable families hardest. It reiterates how prolonged school closures, instigated by overly cautious politicians at the behest of intransigent teachers’ unions, may have set back an entire generation of American children. 

The McKinsey report uses testing results from spring 2021, translating points-based scores into a “months-of-learning-lost” metric and comparing this year’s results to pre-pandemic levels. The results show that, on average, elementary school students lost the equivalent of five months—or half a school year—of learning in math, and four months in reading.  

Results varied by race and income, and unsurprisingly, students of color and from poorer families suffered most. From The Federalist.