The EEF’s rapid evidence assessment examines the existing research for all available estimates of the impact of school closure on the gap between students experiencing disadvantage and others, to help inform the potential impact of current school closures due to Covid-19. It is based on a systematic search of 11 studies and supplemented by a subset of 9 studies from the existing evidence base.

Key findings and implications include:

• School closures are likely to reverse progress made to close the gap in the last decade since 2011.
• Supporting effective remote learning will mitigate the extent to which the gap widens.
• Sustained support will be needed to help disadvantaged students catch up.