Students Could Have Lost as Much as 183 Days of Learning Time in Reading, 232 Days in Math During First Four Months of Largely Virtual Schooling
;)
Untangle Your Mind!
Sign up for our free newsletter and start your day with clear-headed reporting on the latest topics in education.
The last time Deyanira Hooper鈥檚 son Jeremy took California鈥檚 state assessment, he was 15 points from meeting proficiency standards. But when schools closed last spring, his live instruction from a teacher dropped to 20 minutes every three days.
Even though her fifth-grader is now getting three hours of class on Zoom each day from his Los Angeles school, she鈥檚 worried that his scores will dip much further the next time he takes the test, especially in reading comprehension. And she鈥檚 concerned that her eighth-grade daughter Noemi won鈥檛 be ready for high school next year.
鈥淭eachers are teaching at the same pace for everybody,鈥 she said in Spanish through an interpreter. 鈥淪ome kids finish, and that’s good. If they didn鈥檛, it鈥檚 like, 鈥楾oo bad, we鈥檙e in a pandemic.鈥欌
Like parents across the country, Hooper worries about the learning her children have missed and the long-term effects it will have on their progress. last week by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University provided a sobering estimate of the learning loss caused by school closures: Across 19 states, it ranged from a third of a year to a year in reading, and from three-fourths of a school year to 232 days in math. The report suggested frequent assessment going forward and said new approaches to teaching will be needed to 鈥減lot a recovery course.鈥
For the report, CREDO worked with NWEA, a nonprofit assessment organization, to build on of the impact of school closures and the limitations of virtual instruction on student learning. Now, about a month into a new school year, the Stanford results present a more alarming description of the challenges for teachers in a year where additional disruptions are likely.
鈥楿psetting, but needed鈥
鈥淭he takeaways from this analysis are upsetting, but needed,鈥 said Jim Cowen, executive director of the nonprofit Collaborative for Student Success, which advocates for high academic standards and holding schools accountable for student progress.
The report 鈥 which describes the results as 鈥渟cientifically grounded estimates of what happened to students since March鈥 鈥 fills a gap left by the absence of annual state assessments this year, Cowen said.
鈥淗owever, those annual tests remain the best tool to inform accountability systems, school report cards, and continuous improvement efforts over the long-term,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s we recover from this emergency, we need that kind of consistent, reliable data to help students succeed.鈥
Based on past estimates of summer learning loss, NWEA predicted in April that some students would experience setbacks typical of a summer, while others could fall off track by a year.
Stanford鈥檚 results, while still 鈥渁pproximations,鈥 are more representative of students than NWEA鈥檚 national sample because the model includes data on every student in the 19 states, said Margaret Raymond, the director of the research center.
Paige Kowalski, executive vice president of the Data Quality Campaign, agreed that the study presents a sort of 鈥減ost mortem鈥 of what happened to student performance last year. But she said it鈥檚 important to dig further and examine issues such as which students lacked reliable internet, whether students were already behind grade level prior to the pandemic, and which schools had low participation in distance learning.
Using CARES funds to catch up聽
The results show wide variation across states. For example, in reading, the average loss ranged from 57 days of learning in North Carolina to a full school year 鈥 183 days 鈥 in South Carolina. In math, days of learning lost ranged from 136 in Wisconsin to 232 in Illinois.
Ryan Brown, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Education, challenged the study鈥檚 approach.
鈥淚t assumes no instruction took place after March,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淪outh Carolina teachers, and I am sure others across America, would strongly disagree.鈥
But he added that the state has poured much of the funding it received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act into helping students recover or maintain skills. Over $50 million was used for Academic Recovery Camps 鈥 four-week, in-person summer sessions focused on reading and math.
With another $159.2 million, the state added five days to the beginning of this school year for students in preschool through eighth grade. The program was targeted to students more likely to fall behind, including those who didn鈥檛 have good attendance in virtual classes. The students were assessed at the beginning of the year and will be tested again in December.
Other researchers agree that many students have probably lost some ground, but raised questions about how much. The study assumes 鈥渢hat students learn at the same rate in the spring as in the rest of the year, even though the end of the school year often has more non-instructional time relative to early times in the year,鈥 said Elaine Allensworth, with the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.
Raymond of CREDO responded that because of school closures, typical end-of-the-year activities like field trips and school fairs didn鈥檛 take place, but there were examples of districts that ramped up virtual instruction quickly. That would help explain the wide range within states, in which students in some districts lost very little learning time and others lost a full year, she said
Kathleen Lynch, a professor at the University of Connecticut, noted that research on the summer slide 鈥 and how it affects different groups of students 鈥 remains mixed. 鈥淚 do think some caution is warranted in making projections about COVID learning losses extrapolating from summer learning loss studies,鈥 she said.
Raymond agreed that the research base on summer learning loss is fairly thin, but maintained that NWEA has 鈥渢he deepest bench of data and experience鈥 on the issue. She added that it will be valuable to get assessments from this fall 鈥渢o gain a better sense of how the analyses fared.鈥
In math, Lynch said, it鈥檚 important for teachers to continue this fall with grade-level content for all students while still identifying those needing extra help. Math instruction in the U.S., she added, is often repetitive.
鈥淎dding more review time to an already-redundant math curriculum may hold students back unnecessarily, crowding out chances to introduce new content in depth,鈥 she said. 鈥淭eachers should be provided with time to meet with their colleagues in adjacent grades to help students recover specific missed material, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of mathematical content.鈥
Allensworth added that the results don鈥檛 suggest teachers, or parents, should narrow the focus on instruction to reading and math 鈥渙r double down on those subjects at the expense of learning about other things going on in the world.鈥
鈥楶lan better for next spring鈥
The report suggests that some districts serving students with greater needs might be less equipped to implement recovery plans. Raymond said she鈥檚 not recommending that states dictate how districts approach instruction and intervention for students this year, but that some might have to reach out for greater expertise and work with community-based organizations to 鈥済et kids back on track.鈥
In a released in August, the Learning Policy Institute, also at Stanford, said expanding the school day 鈥 with an emphasis on key academic standards, tutoring programs, and working with community organizations like the YMCA 鈥 is 鈥渁 means by which to recover lost learning opportunities, whether in person or online.鈥
Kowalski stressed the importance of conducting assessments in the spring of 2021 and 鈥済etting at the heart of the data鈥 demonstrating why students might not participate, such as school buildings still being closed or parents opting out.
She added that because districts are still at varying stages of reopening in person this fall, it will likely be next year before schools have a better understanding of which students need the most support.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that we will recover any learning loss,鈥 she said, 鈥榖ut we could all start to plan better for next spring.鈥
Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter
