Nearly 8 in 10 K-12 Teachers Say Pandemic Caused Learning Loss

New Survey Also Finds 4 in 10 Teachers Feel Unprepared for 2021-22 School Year

Denver, CO and Portland, OR—September 1, 2021— Nearly eight out of 10 K-12 teachers (79%) said they believe the pandemic caused their students to lose out on learning and 72% said it set back their students’ learning, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll of over 900 K-12 teachers across the United States sponsored by Agile Education Marketing and SheerID. The vast majority of K-12 educators (77%) also said the past school year was their hardest year of teaching ever, with 40% admitting they feel unprepared for the upcoming school year. 

“We are seeing more administrator and staff turnover as a result of the pandemic. For example, superintendent turnover went from 13% last year to 18% in 2021, which will make it more challenging to address learning loss,” says Verlan Stephens, Managing Partner Agile Education Marketing.  “Once states begin publishing testing results we will have a better picture of learning loss hot spots.”

Learning loss was a major concern with 86% of teachers saying their school is taking steps to address learning loss for students that may have occurred this past year. To do so, they are primarily offering traditional summer school (76%). But only about one-third are evaluating or adjusting their curriculum for the upcoming year (36%), providing tutoring (32%), or offering access to online curriculum tools and applications (31%).  Read more to gain insights into the real-life impacts of these findings.

40% of Teachers Increased Out-of-Pocket Spending
More than a third of all teachers (35%) believe their school’s budget did not adequately provide for their needs in terms of classroom supplies, instructional resources, and professional development this past school year. Forty percent of teachers who spent money out of pocket said they spent more out-of-pocket to augment their learning and classroom supplies and materials the past school year than in years past. More than a third of teachers (35%) said they spent $500 or more of their own money.

Teachers Appreciate Support From Peers, Their School And Private Sector
Teachers cited key factors that helped them manage the hardships of the past school year: 85% cited support from other teachers; many others cited support from school administrators (58%), as well as support from family members and friends (73%). Additionally, technology software (72%), and hardware (58%) were important in surviving the last school year.

A majority of teachers said they would take advantage of a teacher discount, if companies provide them. Eight out of 10 teachers said they know a brand is teacher-friendly if it is able to provide solutions to their unique challenges. Additionally, many say offering teacher-specific discounts (65%) or supporting causes tied to education (53%) would signify a brand is teacher friendly. Almost all teachers (98%) would share a teacher discount offer with their peers, primarily by telling others about it in person (78%), or forwarding the email with the discount in it (75%). These shopping behaviors are described in more detail on the SheerID blog.

“According to this year’s survey results, nearly all teachers consider being a teacher (96%) and the school where they work (81%)  important aspects of their overall identity. Google’s delayed plan to end third-party cookies gives marketers the opportunity to start preparing for major changes by adopting new strategies to connect with consumers in a more meaningful manner using first-party data,” said Jake Weatherly, Chief Executive Officer at SheerID.

Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online by the Harris Poll on behalf of Agile Education Marketing and SheerID from June 16 to August 2, 2021 among 924 K-12 teachers. A random sample of teachers were invited to participate by email from Agile’s database of K-12 teachers as well as through social media. Results are not weighted and are therefore only representative of the individuals who completed the survey

About Agile Education Marketing
At the intersection of market intelligence and business, Agile Education Marketing is top-notch marketers backed with industry expertise – the only data provider focused solely on the business of education. We harness market intelligence to enable our clients’ innovative programs built on database intelligence, data services, targeted outreach, and multi-channel optimization.

About SheerID
SheerID is the leader in identity marketing. With SheerID, brands identify and acquire consumer communities — such as the military, students, teachers, and more — with personalized offers, gated by instant verification from the largest set of authoritative data worldwide. SheerID verifies over 2.5 billion people via 200,000 authoritative data sources; provides global insights from hundreds of the world’s leading brands, and never shares or sells customer data. As a result, the world’s biggest brands — including Amazon, The Home Depot, Spotify, and T-Mobile — rely on SheerID as their identity marketing partner. Founded in 2011, SheerID is backed by Voyager Capital, Arnold Venture Group, Brighton Park Capital, Centana Growth Partners, and CVC Growth Partners.

Contact:
Matt Tatham
SheerID
[email protected]
917-446-7227

Stacy Skelly
The Reis Group, on behalf of Agile Education Marketing
[email protected]
703-477-6938