Two decades ago, the standard for public education in this country was No Child Left Behind, the federal legislation intended to close achievement gaps among students. But now, as schools continue to struggle through another year of the pandemic, the unfortunate result is that more children are falling behind.
“For public schools, the numbers are all going in the wrong direction,” the Washington Post reported recently. “Enrollment is down. Absenteeism is up. There aren’t enough teachers, substitutes or bus drivers. Each phase of the pandemic brings new logistics to manage, and Republicans are planning political campaigns this year aimed squarely at failing public schools.”
The reliable national assessment called I-Ready, which tests millions of students three times a year in math and reading, has been able to quantify just how far behind students have fallen during the pandemic.
–The percentage of early grade students who are on grade level in reading is lower than it was prior to the pandemic. (Upper grade students are closer to previous levels.)
–The same is true for math. “The percentage of students who are on grade level (in mathematics) is not yet reaching pre-pandemic levels in most grades, and the gaps are largest in upper-elementary and middle school grades.”
–Fewer students attending schools that serve mostly Black, Latino and students in poor areas (such as many parts of West Virginia) are on grade level than students attending schools serving mostly White students.
Dan Goldhaber, an education researcher at the American Institutes for Research, told the Post, “The learning losses have been significant thus far and frankly I’m worried that we haven’t stopped sinking.”
The I-Ready report does not break down the data by state, however, the Statewide Summative Assessment standardized test results released last August demonstrate a precipitous decline in student achievement during the 2020-2021 school year in West Virginia.
Test scores were down significantly in math, science and English Language Arts. Math proficiency dropped in all seven grades tested. The biggest decline was among sixth graders, where aptitude dropped by 13 points to just 21 percent. And only one in four high school juniors tested as proficient in math.
School officials are fond of saying that students cannot learn if they are not in school, and absenteeism was up significantly last year. “The number of students who are chronically absent—meaning they have missed more than 10 percent of school days—nearly doubled from before the pandemic,” the Post reported, using statistics from EveryDay Labs.
A better educated population means more opportunity, less unemployment, improved quality of life, less crime, better health and greater civic involvement. A well-educated citizenry is a tide that raises all boats.
Public education has its faults, but it remains a cost-effective and egalitarian method of reaching the most students. There are many challenges in delivering that education, and research shows the pandemic has made the job even more difficult.