The reading ability of children has plummeted compared to pre-COVID times thanks to lockdown policies that led to the closure of schools, according to a new study.
“A study by researchers from TU Dortmund has found that German children in the fourth grade of primary school are far less capable of reading than their predecessors who passed through the grade pre-pandemic,” reports Breitbart.
A standard reading test taken by fourth graders from 2021 was compared to results using the same test from 2016.
The number of children who had a reading level rated “good” to “very good” has dropped by 7 per cent while over a quarter of students who took the test in 2021 now have problems with reading comprehension.
“If you express it in years of learning, the children are missing an average of half a year of learning,” said Dr. Ulrich Ludewig, who helped to lead the study. “If the change in the composition of the student body is taken into account, the gap while slightly smaller, the significant decline in mean reading ability remains.”
With reading being a crucial aspect of every subject, the impact also had a knock on effect in other areas of learning.
The study once again highlights the devastating impact that COVID lockdowns had on children and the morally vacant position of those who supported them.
UNICEF previously warned that pandemic school closures led to a “nearly insurmountable scale of loss to children’s schooling” and that “intensive support” is needed to get kids back on track.
As we previously highlighted, for many children, the damage could be permanent.
Speech therapist Jaclyn Theek says that mask wearing during the pandemic has caused a 364% increase in patient referrals of babies and toddlers.
“They’re not making any word attempts and not communicating at all with their family,” she said, adding that symptoms of autism are also skyrocketing.
https://twitter.com/darrengrimes_/status/1486348600393220102
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