Understanding the Imperative
As a society, our communal goal must be to prepare every student to progress academically with the skills he/she needs to be successful in school and life. The Covid-19 pandemic has made this goal immeasurably more challenging as underscored by findings in studies conducted by various researchers, states, and most recently, in the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores. In most states, average NAEP scores declined in both math and reading as compared to scores in 2019, the last time NAEP assessments were administered. The average fourth-grade math score fell by five points and the average eighth-grade math score fell by eight points, the
largest NAEP math declines ever recorded. Average reading scores fell by three points in both fourth and eighth grade. Declines were most severe among the lowest-performing students.
The pandemic-related learning losses are not just a concern for educators and parents, they are likely to have significant economic repercussions for decades. In a 2021 study of the effects of Covid-19 on education, McKinsey & Company noted that: ... unless steps are taken to address unfinished learning, today’s students may earn $49,000 to $61,000 less over their lifetime owing to the impact of the pandemic on their schooling. The impact on the US economy could amount to $128 billion to $188 billion every year as this cohort enters the workforce. 1 To mitigate the societal effects of Covid-19, we must remediate s tudents’ learning loss as rapidly as possible . Since students’ academic progress is most often measured by their performance on standards-aligned assessments, campus and district leaders should focus on delivering standards-aligned instruction, remediation, and tutoring to help all students master state standards.
© Learning List, Inc. 2022
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