THE LEARNING CRISIS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC - Sobering Results Of A Deepening Trend - April 2022

Jul 19, 2026

A regional learning crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) preceded the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving most students below minimum proficiency levels in foundational numeracy and literacy. The pandemic triggered prolonged school closures and a forced shift to distance learning, sharply worsening attendance compared with enrollment and pre-pandemic attendance baselines. A major share of students attending education during the pandemic reported disengagement from learning activities at home. The crisis deepened existing inequalities, with expected higher dropout and lower learning outcomes for already disadvantaged populations. Recovery requires re-enrollment efforts, standardized in-class assessments, and programs aligned to teach at the right level to gauge and reverse learning losses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

Main Messages

A. The critical state of education systems in LAC before the pandemic

Learning outcomes in grades 3 and 6

Cross-country disparities in performance

Figures and assessment context (ERCE/MPL)

Publilic Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized THE LEARNING CRISIS IN LATINAMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SOBERING RESULTSOFA DEEPENING TREND* April 2022 Main Messages • The Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region was suffering from a deep learning crisis, before the COVID-19 outbreak, with most students being below minimum proficiency levels for critical foundational competencies in numeracy and literacy, according to the Fourth Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE)1 . • The pandemic that hit the region in March 2020 led to a massive shutdown of educational systems, placing LAC as the region with the longest duration of school closures in the world. • The impact of school closures on education service delivery was significant. The forced move to distance learning negatively impacted attendance in the education process, both when compared to enrollment rates (-10 percent) and with pre-pandemic attendance rates (-12 percent). Most worryingly, 1 in 4 students attending the education process during the pandemic confirmed being disengaged from learning activities while at home. • The COVID-19 led to a crisis within a crisis, deepening pre-existing inequalities that characterize the LAC region, as the most vulnerable populations were disproportionately affected. A significant increase in drop-out rates and decrease in learning outcomes is expected, especially for these groups and countries which were already not doing well pre-pandemic. • There is a sizeable schooling and learning recovery agenda ahead of LAC, where re-enrollment campaigns, standardized and in-classroom assessments, and programs to teach to the right level will be fundamental to determine the exact depth of educational losses and start recovering. * This note was prepared by Juan Diego Alonso , Juliana Chen Peraza, María José Ramírez, Erika Schutt, María José Vargas Mancera, and Mónica Yáñez Pagans (Education Practice, World Bank) . The authors are grateful for comments from Marcela Meléndez, Adriana Camacho, Pablo Hernández, and Laura Tenjo from the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) . 1 See UNESCO (2021); Los Aprendizajes Fundamentales en America Latina y el Caribe – Evaluación de Logros de los Estudiantes – ERCE 2019 – Resumen Ejecutivo (Foundational Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean – Assessment of Learning Outcomes – ERCE 2019 – Executive Summary), available at [https://en. unesco.org/sites/default/fi](https://en. unesco.org/sites/default/fi)les/resumen-ejecutivo-informe-regional-logros-factores-erce2019 . pdf_0. pdf. THE LEARNING CRISIS IN LATINAMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN AND THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SOBERING RESULTSOFA DEEPENING TREND* April 2022 A. The critical state of education systems in LAC before the pandemic The recent results from ERCE confirm the deep learning crisis that was taking place in the region before the outbreak of the pandemic. ERCE measures standardized learning outcomes of students in 3rd and 6th grades covering three main disciplines — reading, mathematics, and natural sciences in 16 countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) .2 Results for 2019 show that almost half of 3rd graders do not reach the minimum proficiency level (MPL)3-44 percent for reading and 48 percent for math (Figures 1 and 2) -and more than two-thirds do not reach it by 6th grade-69 percent for reading and 83 percent for math (Figures 3 and 4) . There are wide disparities among countries for both grades. For example, for 6th grade, countries like the Dominican Republic (98 percent below MPL for math) and Nicaragua (87 percent below MPL for reading) perform poorly while Peru (61 percent below MPL for math) and Costa Rica (with 46 percent below MPL for reading) show the best performance. Figure 1: Percentage of students in grade 3 below MPL in reading, 2019 Percentage 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 73% Dom . Rep . Nicaragua Guatemal

FAQs

What evidence shows that LAC faced a learning crisis before COVID-19?

ERCE results indicate that nearly half of grade 3 students fell below minimum proficiency in reading and about half in math, with even larger shares below proficiency in grade 6.

How did COVID-19 affect education attendance and student engagement?

School shutdowns and the move to distance learning reduced attendance compared with enrollment and pre-pandemic attendance rates, and one in four students reported being disengaged from learning activities while at home.

Why is the pandemic described as a crisis within a crisis in LAC?

COVID-19 intensified pre-existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable populations, leading to expected increases in dropout rates and declines in learning outcomes.

Jul 19, 2026

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