Pandemic Remote Learning at Scale

The forced 2020–2021 Zoom-based model achieved a 0.0% closure rate on the achievement gap, with low-income students losing an additional 3.2 months of learning compared to prepandemic averages. Technology delivered at scale without human scaffolding proved 47% less effective than structured in-person instruction, cementing this as a systemic failure that Pearson’s narrower misstep could never replicate.