School Closures Affect Learning by Denise-Maria Ordway

Question

In the weeks since public schools across the country closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, parents have repeatedly asked educators: How will this affect my child’s academic career? The short answer is that no one knows for sure. The long answer: Because school districts have never suddenly closed campuses on this scale before, researchers have not studied such a disruption. Education experts can make predictions, however, based on what they know about how students responded to shorter or more localized shutdowns in the past. We asked for insights from F. Chris Curran, who co-directs the Education Policy Research Center at the University of Florida. Curran recommends journalists read academic articles that examine school closures caused by infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or severe weather. Journalists also should review research focusing on student absenteeism — missing class because of sickness or injury, for example. Another area of inquiry worth looking into: How scheduled school closures each summer can slow — and even reverse — student progress. Decades of research document what educators refer to as “summer learning loss.” Based on the literature, Curran predicts school closures due to the pandemic will be harmful to student achievement.

Which sentence best summarizes a central idea of the text?
*
5 points
A Summer school closures lead to learning loss.
B Educators can only predict what school closures will do.
C There are very few examples to study about school closures.
D Based on the evidence, school closures will be harmful to learning.

Answer 1

D Based on the evidence, school closures will be harmful to learning.