Journal of K-12 Educational Research 21 The research was done to give educators a better idea of what the 2020–2021 academic performance of students would look like compared to previous, uninterrupted years of learning. The results of their study showed that under the COVID slide projections, students would end the 2019–2020 school year with only 63–68% learning gains in reading and only 37–50% learning gains in math compared to a normal school year. Students who had the combination of chronic absenteeism and COVID slide would have less than 30% of their typical learning gains in both math and reading. Personalized learning is an approach to learning that diverges from the “one-to-many, fixed-pace approach” (CREDO, 2020, p. 6). Personalized learning allows the learner to individualize the approach to accessing and demonstrating knowledge and skills (Pane et al., 2015). The approach to how learning is personalized can vary between settings, but has the common thread of demonstrating mastery of a concept before moving to the next level of content (Bray & McClaskey, 2015). Personalized learning aims to deepen the level at which students learn by providing access to content and instruction based on the student’s current level of performance in a subject (Bray & McClaskey, 2015). The current study determined the effectiveness of personalized learning environments at addressing learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Personalized learning has been around in the United States in various forms over the last two centuries, from Lancaster’s (1821) one-room schoolhouse model of selfpaced, mastery-based, peer-supported learning to the more modern competency-based learning. Dewey (1915) believed education should have students solving realworld problems as a way of learning. Dewey’s idea of education can now be seen in project-based and problembased learning. Skinner (1968) created a learning machine that adapted questions based on student answer and gave students immediate feedback. Vygotsky (1978) formed the idea of the zone of proximal development, the ideal area of instructional focus for maximum student growth. Skinner and Vygotsky’s concepts are implemented in modern adaptive assessments and analysis such as MAP Growth testing. Montessori (1949) believed that children learn best through natural growth and development through exploration. Her educational philosophies are still implemented in Montessori schools. Despite centuries of various forms of personalized learning, little research has been done on the effectiveness of current personalized learning environments. Studies regarding the effectiveness of personalized learning began being published around 2010. Results of the studies have shown that personalized learning increases in effectiveness the longer it is consistently implemented (Pane et al., 2015, 2017). Students in personalized learning environments are showing significant growth and achievement compared to peers in more traditional learning environments, especially in the area of math (Basham et al., 2016; Pane et al., 2015, 2017; Rogers, 2018). Math performance among all students is lower due to COVID slide, and traditionally underperforming populations have taken the largest hit in academic achievement (Lewis et al., 2021). Lewis et al. (2021) reported that students in lower grade levels when the pandemic hit showed the greatest amount of learning lost. Traditionally underperforming populations such as at-risk, limited English proficiency, minority, and economically disadvantaged showed even larger amounts of lost learning compared to peers (Office for Civil Rights, 2021). Students in the post-pandemic world are not showing the same amount of academic gains compared to students in the same grade level pre-pandemic (Dawson, 2022). With the pre-pandemic research showing strengths of personalized learning in the areas greatest impacted by learning loss due to the pandemic, the current study aimed to determine if there is still a relationship between personalized learning and academic achievement post-pandemic. Research Design The current study used NWEA MAP Growth assessment data from a large, urban school district in North Texas. The district has a personalized learning cohort, and five schools that had begun implementation of personalized learning prior to the 2019–2020 school year were
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