Study: Pandemic learning losses could cost students $70k in lifetime earnings

Children’s learning loss during the pandemic could result in them losing an estimated $70,000 in lifetime earnings, according to a study conducted by economists at Stanford University.

According to Eric Hanushek, who studies the economics of education, the effects of the pandemic could amount to a loss of $28 trillion over the course of this century.

“The economic costs of the learning losses will swamp business cycle losses,” Hanushek told The Wall Street Journal, citing declining math scores among graders. His study found that the pandemic caused between 0.6 and 0.8 years of missed school.

The WSJ also reported that an analysis conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that students’ math scores nationwide dropped by the largest amount ever in 2022. Not a single state or large urban district had improved math scores during the pandemic, according to the Journal.

The effects of this, according to Hanushek, will result in less educated, lower-skilled and less productive adults, who will be earning 5.6 percent less during their lifetime.