A new national report identifies declines in student performance in every province and territory examined in Canada, with grade inflation obscuring the extent of setbacks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report, entitled "Pandemic Learning Loss in Canada: Student Performance Before, During, and After COVID-19", combines results from 15 studies across all Canadian provinces and territories, excluding Manitoba and Nunavut. It can be considered the most detailed and comprehensive analysis of Canadian pandemic learning loss to date.
Learning loss registered in each jurisdiction, but with variations
Using the data of the Ministries of Education collected between the 2014-2015 and 2024-2025 school years, the report shows that all jurisdictions recorded declines in at least some outcomes of standardized assessments. The scale and persistency of the phenomenon differed by subject, grade, gender, and region. Some rural students were more affected than others; additionally, mathematics gender gaps widened in favour of boys in many provinces.
"The clearest message from this report is that learning loss occurred across Canada, but it did not follow a single pattern," says project lead Tracy Vaillancourt , Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health and Violence Prevention and Full Professor at uOttawa's Faculty of Education. "Where students lived, what grade they were in, and how achievement was measured. Recovery efforts need to reflect those differences."
Grade inflation understated the magnitude of the challenges
Another of the report's findings is that there existed a gap that was unknown before. It is the discrepancy between the results of standardized assessments and teacher-assigned grades. While the former revealed the students' learning losses, the latter indicated improvement, which likely concealed the real magnitude of setbacks.
"This discrepancy can influence how we assess the need for recovery," explains Professor Vaillancourt. "Grades rose even as test performance fell. And if we use report cards only, we risk believing that learning loss never took place or has been recovered when it hasn't."
Key recommendations include:
• Prioritize evidence-based support for disadvantaged students and assess its impact on achievement and equity.
• Track achievement consistently over time; use teacher grades alongside standardized assessments.
• Plan for closure-related learning loss, keeping schools safely open and preserving essential student services.
Evidence-based recovery needed
As a result, the report suggests that governments need to focus on evidence-based strategies for improving academic performance, especially of the most vulnerable students, to reliably track student achievement over time, and to create plans for maintaining safe operation of the educational system in emergencies.
" Academic achievement is associated with a range of later outcomes, including educational attainment, employment, income, health, and well-being," concludes Professor Vaillancourt. "Accordingly, recovery of pandemic learning loss is not optional, and needs to start with understanding the current state of students."
More information about the report is available here: Pandemic Learning Loss in Canada: Student Performance Before, During, and After COVID-19 | The Royal Society of Canada . Authors: Patrick Charland, Université du Québec à Montréal; Sylvana Coté, FRSC, Université de Montréal; Scott Davies, University of Toronto; S. Helene Deacon, RSC College, Dalhousie University; George Georgiou, RSC College, University of Alberta; Guofang Li, The University of British Columbia; Tess Miller, University of Prince Edward Island; Amin Mousavi, University of Saskatchewan; Robert Renaud, University of Manitoba; Jeanne Sinclair, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Prachi Srivastava, Adelaide University; Tracy Vaillancourt, FRSC (Chair), University of Ottawa.
