This talk discusses findings from a recent Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) analysis of the impact of the pandemic on cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes across the industrialized world. More specifically, mathematical literacy results from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) were juxtaposed against five previous test administrations to examine the impact of school closures across Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Europe. The findings, gleaned from approximately 1.45 million student test profiles, suggested an important intersection between cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. In particular, pandemic-related learning deficits for students with high levels of a sense of belonging and growth mindset were approximately half a school year for mathematics. Conversely, for students who were frequently bullied, the COVID-related losses averaged 1.5 school years. Overall, the analysis indicated that students, when controlled for the trend, experienced a loss of 0.07 standard deviations in their sense of belonging to school, an increase of 0.14 standard deviations in fixed mindset, and a 3% decrease in the probability of being frequently bullied, compared to past student cohorts. The seminar concludes with a discussion of the long-term implications of the current findings for mathematics literacy in both compulsory and higher education systems.

Bio:

Louis Volante (PhD) is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University and a Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT / Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. His interdisciplinary scholarship focuses on the global governance of education; politics, policy, and large-scale reform; political economy of education systems; international achievement surveys and policy diffusion; and impact evaluation of policies and programmes. Professor Volante’s research is widely referenced in academic and policy communities and has received continuous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). His current SSHRC-funded research examines the long-term impact of the pandemic on student learning outcomes.