Open AccessCOVID-19 Resulted in Lower Grades for Male High School Students and Students With ADHD
Author(s) -
Rosanna Breaux,
Nicholas C Dunn,
Joshua M. Langberg,
Caroline N. Cusick,
Melissa R. Dvorsky,
Stephen P. Becker
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of attention disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.076
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1557-1246
pISSN - 1087-0547
DOI - 10.1177/10870547211044211
Subject(s) - psychology , covid-19 , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , pandemic , at risk students , academic achievement , young adult , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , medicine , mathematics education , disease , pathology , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Objective: Researchers have speculated that the COVID-19 pandemic may expand the academic performance gap experienced by at-risk students. We examined learning experiences during the 2020 to 2021 school year and the impact the pandemic has had on high school student grade point average (GPA), including predictors of change in GPA from 2019–2020 to 2020–2021.Method: Participants were 238 adolescents (55.5% male), 49.6% with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in the United States. Adolescents reported on their GPAs via online surveys.Results: GPA significantly decreased on average from 2019–2020 to 2020–2021 school year. ADHD status and biological sex significantly moderated change—students with ADHD and male students reported decreased GPA, whereas students without ADHD and female students’ GPA did not change. Low income and Black/Latinx students had lower GPAs in both school years.Conclusion: It is imperative that additional supports be provided for at-risk students to help them catch up on missed learning during the pandemic.