We analyze a panel survey of primary-school-aged children across 220 villages in rural Tamil Nadu to measure the “learning loss” caused by COVID-19-induced school closures and the pace of recovery after schools reopened. Students tested in December 2021 (18 months after the school closures) displayed learning deficits of ∼0.73σ in math and 0.34σ in language compared to identically aged students in the same villages in 2019. Two-thirds of this deficit was made up within 6 months after schools reopened; students had fully recovered 20 months after the reopening. While students over 6 years old have returned to pre-pandemic levels, those under 5 have levels above those of their same-age peers before the pandemic. We discuss possible reasons for (and the implications of) this recovery.