The purpose of this descriptive qualitative case study was to discover Second through Fifth Grade rural North Texas teacher perceptions focusing on reading and mathematics student achievement gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown affected students not only academically but also socially as well. Through a qualitative case study design, this study collected qualitative data by interviewing seven-Second through Fifth Grade teachers through semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and MAP data by analyzing MAP data collected in the beginning and middle of the year from the 2019-2023 school years. The social learning theory was utilized to guide this study's theoretical framework. The data collected revealed themes regarding what teachers perceived as the learning gaps before the COVID-19 pandemic and afterward, along with the shutdown's impact on students' social and emotional needs. The main research question was: How did COVID-19 affect students' academic achievement from 2021 to 2023? Two sub-questions addressed student achievement gaps in reading and math. This study's findings show that before the COVID-19 pandemic, students had more significant learning gaps in reading than in math. On the other hand, after the COVID-19 pandemic, there were more substantial math gaps than reading. The data reflected the findings from associated literature that indicated a more significant math learning gap than reading upon return. The researcher asserted that the closure resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected students' academic performance in mathematics and their social skills. Although this study exclusively examined the perceptions of Second through Fifth Grade teachers in a rural North Texas school district, forthcoming research could broaden the sample size and undertake a comparative analysis. [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.]