Math learning deteriorates due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Study

The study was conducted to understand parent perceptions and concerns in their child's learning, measuring their learning gap in learning. [Image: Shutterstock]

With a nationwide suspension of schools since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a high learning loss amongst children across grades, especially in math is reported in a recent study commissioned by Cuemath with market research firm AC Nielsen.

The study highlights the learning challenges faced by students during the pandemic with five out of 10 parents feeling that the learning loss had led to forgetting basic concepts and the inability to grasp fundamentals between Grade 1 and Grade 5.

The study also highlights that 44 percent of parents have reported fear of math as a prominent factor for learning loss.

“This is one of the reasons why one in every three parents of children from Grade 1 to Grade 3 feel additional pressure while teaching their kids. Furthermore, six out of 10 parents feel that enhanced classroom teaching methods such as interactive videos, game-based learning, and DIY activities by either schools or EdTech platforms are lucrative solutions to address this learning loss,” a press release by Cuemath said.

“This finding is supported by the fact that online learning platforms are preferred over offline neighbourhood tuitions by a whopping 150 percent,” it added.

The study was conducted to understand parent perceptions and concerns in their child's learning, measuring their learning gap in learning. 1200 samples, split equally across cities and grades, were collected across 6 metros: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad, for Grades from 1 to 12.

Parents feel that their children were unable to grasp mathematical concepts compared to other subjects in the past 18 months. Parents also feel that these issues sprout at an early age amongst students. These parents believe early intervention is needed to focus on the subject, preferably from Grade 1 (28 percent) or Grade 3 (26 percent) onwards. However, parents of older students (Grade 6-12) feel that they must start building focus later, i.e., Grade 5 onwards.

Parents of middle and higher-grade students (6–12) worry that inefficient learning of Math may lead to reduced marks in that subject. Moreover, peer pressure is identified as a prime concern for 40 percent of parents of students in 11th-12th. 47 percent of parents in Hyderabad and Bangalore agreed that learning loss impacts the clarity of concepts among students in the future. Inability to solve an indirect question is seen as the key impact of learning loss among students for 44 percent of parents in Kolkata.

Meanwhile, 87 percent of the parents feel that EdTech platforms will be as important to their children today, even after schools reopen in post-COVID times.