Children are struggling with their literacy and reading skills due to the pandemic, and it is calling for change to happen. The COVID-19 pandemic affected a lot more than people’s health if they contracted the virus. There have been ripple effects being felt all across the world, and some of the hardest hit has been children. Schools went remote, and children were learning behind a screen. Everyone was wearing face masks, sometimes making it difficult for children to read expressions and understand what is being told to them. Experts are still finding new struggles that children are facing every day.

According to USA Today, children are falling behind when it comes to reading throughout the pandemic and this is being reported by teachers and experts. The news outlet visited classrooms in different states to get an idea about how school was adapting and how children were learning to read.

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When it comes down to reading, it is not an easy thing to learn and it can take years. This was implied by Laura Taylor, a professor of educational studies. They are pointing at the lost time from being in school, schedules that are not consistent and the limits of teaching capabilities to blame when it comes to the delay in reading. These are all extra challenges that have been placed on an already challenging learning experience.

While it was stated that the full implications that COVID-19 has had on learning can not be known right now, because the pandemic is still ongoing. They will need to access what the “damage” is when the pandemic is over. However, they can say that there are early indications on just how much is being lost during this time, and they are stating that it is impacting the younger grades the most. This is also not the first time this issue has been highlights.

According to PR Newswire, in September 2020, experts were also concerned about the rise in illiteracy among children due to the pandemic.

They pointed to a report that was done by Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and they looked at an early reading assessment that shows that almost half of students that are in kindergarten and grade one are scoring in the lowest category in early literacy skills. This is a substantial increase from last year. They also looked at about 400,000 students in more than 1,400 schools, and it showed that Black students are at an even greater risk of not learning to read.

This information can be important to highlight the need for literacy intervention and may point experts on their priorities when the pandemic ends and how they can help these students.

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Sources: USA Today, PR Newswire