ath and reading scores among America’s 13-year-olds fell to their lowest levels in decades, with math scores plunging by the largest margin ever recorded, according to the results of a federal test known as the nation’s report card.
The results, released Wednesday, are the latest measure of the deep learning setbacks incurred during the pandemic. While earlier testing revealed the magnitude of America’s learning loss, the latest test casts light on the persistence of those setbacks, dimming hopes of swift academic recovery.
More than two years after most students returned to in-person class, there are still “worrisome signs about student achievement,” said Peggy G. Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the federal Education Department.
“The ‘green shoots’ of academic recovery that we had hoped to see have not materialized,” Carr said in a statement.
There are a number of reasons for this. First, COVID disrupted learning for millions. Secondly, there has been a downslide in teaching content for some time. Some of this is in the name of equity. Increasingly, teacher training focuses not on content but on DEI issues. Third, standards have plummeted. Students get 50% for writing their names on their papers; and there are automatic retakes if students fail. Fourth, NCLB started the testing craze which concentrated learning on "teaching to the test." When it was only reading and math that was tested, schools abandoned teaching in the sciences and social studies. Students have very little background knowledge today which makes reading content more difficult. And finally, teachers are abandoning the profession in droves. Why stay in a profession when you are underpaid and treated with little respect from administrators, students, and parents? These are all problems much more endemic in the public schools. The Landons and Exeters continue to offer rigorous content without having to deal with low-bar state tests.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what lucrative careers do the fleeing teachers pursue?
DeleteCreative Solution Strategy:
ReplyDeleteIf you cannot meet the goal then just move the goalpost.