Students’ Lack of Focus Is the Top Barrier to Learning, School Leaders

A lack of student attentiveness and focus is causing disruption in public schools across the nation as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic linger, new data says.  Twenty-six percent of public school leaders reported that “a lack of focus or inattention from students” had a “severe negative impact” on learning during the 2023-24 school year, according to new National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data. This number spiked to 75 percent when school leaders were asked if students’ lack of focus or inattention had either a “moderate” or “severe” negative impact on learning.