The study examined how school closures and the rapid transition to online learning may have impacted student performance. In March 2020, a global pandemic was declared in response to the quick spread of the COVID-19 virus. The impact of this global pandemic was felt across all areas of daily routines. Businesses closed, and many workers found themselves out of work. Families struggled to meet financial obligations, and social-emotional wellness began to deteriorate. School closures exacerbated these issues as parents struggled to find childcare, and students were isolated from their traditional learning and social-emotional support. Education was one of the most significantly impacted areas of daily function. With school closures, schools rapidly switched from conventional face-to-face instruction to online learning to maintain consistency regarding student learning. However, many areas, such as teacher preparedness for online teaching, student access to materials and teacher support, student engagement, and fundamental connectivity issues, challenged this instructional format's successful implementation. The current study analyzed 8th-grade student performance on the Florida Standards Assessment compared to their 6th-grade performance to identify any significant impact the COVID-19 instructional changes may have had on student performance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]