COVID-19 created a significant public health crisis that also triggered an education crisis, affecting 50 million students nationwide with the equivalent of half a year of lost schooling. The impact was particularly severe among socially and economically disadvantaged children in low-income communities of color.
While the country has made substantial progress in addressing the public health crisis, efforts to resolve the educational challenges have been slower. Jens Ludwig, an economist at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, emphasized the urgency: “As a country and as a city, we need to have our hair on fire as much about the learning loss problem as we had about the COVID problem because the stakes are arguably just as big.”
Ludwig serves as Pritzker Faculty Co-Director of the University of Chicago Education Lab. The lab collaborates with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and other districts to help students overcome pandemic-era learning loss through intensive tutoring. Preliminary findings indicate that individualized instruction can significantly improve student outcomes.
To understand the lab's impact, discussions were held with Jens Ludwig; Monica Bhatt, Senior Research Director; and Sadie Stockdale Jefferson, Executive Director.
Jefferson highlighted systemic issues in education such as poverty, inequality, and school funding based on local property taxes. She noted that these challenges disproportionately affect low-income student populations. Ludwig added that despite $800 billion spent annually on K-12 education in the U.S., there is insufficient research to maximize its social benefits. The Education Lab aims to bridge this gap by partnering with public schools to enhance educational outcomes.
Bhatt explained how data science tools like machine learning help identify which students need additional support and which policies are effective. She cited a successful initiative from over a decade ago where performance indicators helped CPS track student progress more effectively.
The lab’s partners have been receptive to their work. For instance, under Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago focused on youth violence prevention through programs like Becoming a Man (BAM), which showed significant reductions in violent crimes among participants. This success led subsequent mayors to invest further in similar initiatives.
Addressing pandemic learning loss has been a key focus for the lab. Bhatt mentioned pre-pandemic efforts with CPS to tackle "academic mismatch"—a situation where students' varying academic levels within a grade make it difficult for teachers to address individual needs effectively. Intensive tutoring has been tested as a solution.
Ludwig described the pandemic as exacerbating academic mismatches but noted that bursts of tutoring could significantly accelerate student learning if scaled cost-effectively.
A recent study by the Education Lab explored ways to combine technology and tutoring to reduce costs without compromising effectiveness. These findings inspired broader initiatives beyond Chicago, extending into Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and New Mexico through what is called the Personalized Learning Initiative.
Preliminary results from this initiative show promise in delivering effective high-dosage tutoring even amid diverse academic settings post-pandemic.