Taking stock of the trajectories of pandemic-related education reforms

This chapter covers and summarises a range of COVID-19-related topics, from school closures and remote learning to gradual returns to in-class instruction and from contingency strategies and remedial policies to catch-up schemes and education provisions for the most affected and disadvantaged students in the countries included in this volume. Cross-national reflections on these topics are drawn from previous chapters to share policy suggestions in conclusion. Analyses take a step back to consider key factors in preparedness that affected the extent to which policies that were intended to mitigate learning loss were successful and the ways that governments and education systems handled the impact of the pandemic on educational structures. We compare different policy arrangements covering schooling and teaching methods during COVID-19 periods. We then point out the type, magnitude and domain of the major learning deficits found at both the country level and the educational stage. Finally, we look at innovative policy reforms that have been and are soon to be implemented aimed at overcoming COVID-19-induced learning deficits and reducing the resulting educational inequalities between disadvantaged and advantaged students.