Students are still struggling with learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study from the research group NWEA showed 2022 test scores are not rebounding to the same level as they were pre-pandemic.

In New York, math scores declined sharply throughout the state, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Researchers said the issue goes beyond test scores. The study also found existing education inequities were amplified by the pandemic.

Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach for America, said the learning loss is also the result of numerous issues coming to a head. She described it as trains on a collision course.

"On one train, we have children who are not well, both from a learning perspective and also from an overall wellness perspective," Villanueva Beard observed. "On another train, we have a teacher crisis happening where teachers are being asked to do more with less."

Villanueva Beard argued another issue is having an outmoded system which could not meet the moment. Some solutions she thinks will get kids back on track are hiring and retaining good teachers, and providing students with equitable learning opportunities, but noted a lack of innovation within the current education system could be a challenge.

Students have been facing problems with mental illness, due in part to the pandemic. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 44% of students felt persistently sad or hopeless during the first two years of the pandemic.

Villanueva Beard is concerned it will affect children in the long term.

"We are living in a society where uncertainty is the only guarantee," Villanueva Beard asserted. "Our children actually need to be able to be creative, have very clear skills around reading and math computational thinking."

She added a community approach must be taken to ensure kids fully recover from the pandemic, in terms of social emotional health and educational skills.

The shortage of school teachers and staffers has reached a crisis level in some public schools. An education advocacy group is making recommendations to fix that. Pennsylvania serves more than 1.7-million students in grades K through 12.

Rich Askey, Pennsylvania State Education Association president, said they plan to unveil a state legislative package that focuses on several key priorities to solve the school staffing crisis, including a boost in teacher salaries. Right now, some teachers average about $27,000 a year to start, and the plan calls for money to attract more candidates.

"First to set the annual minimum salaries for educators, school counselors, nurses, and other educational professionals at $60,000," Askey said. "And also, we want to look at a minimum wage for custodians, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, and other support staff at $20 per hour. "

Askey added there has been a dramatic decline in the number of college graduates entering the teaching profession. Pennsylvania issued more than 12,000 fewer first-year teaching certificates in the 2020-21 school year than it did in 2012-13, a drop of 66%.

Askey said in addition to affecting teachers and staff, the shortage has created challenges in the classroom, resulting in some kids having learning problems.

"I know of educators that are teaching two classes at the same time and on one side of the room, they might be teaching life science on the other side of the room, they might be teaching earth science, and that doesn't let our kids have the individual attention that is so needed, " Askey said.

Askey added the legislative plan would be taking a sustained multi-year commitment to be phased in over five years. It also includes paying college students in teacher preparation programs while they are student teaching, creating a scholarship program, and investing in the "Grow Your Own" program to help paraprofessionals and school support staff go back to college and earn their teaching degrees.

As educators across Massachusetts prepare to administer high-stakes tests for students this spring, new polling shows the public supports changes to the often stressful graduation requirement.

Seventy-four percent of poll respondents support a policy in which students would still take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests, but wouldn't need a passing grade to graduate.

Massachusetts Teachers Association vice president Deb McCarthy said the tests fail to reflect the depth and diversity of students' intelligence and learning styles.

"The score," said McCarthy, "is simply a measure of who is a good test taker."

McCarthy said recently introduced legislation - entitled the Thrive Act - would allow school districts to use coursework to determine a student's mastery of English, math, and science as required by state standards - rather than a one-time standardized test.

Massachusetts is one of only eight states requiring high school students to pass a test to receive their diploma.

Educators say standardized tests are especially difficult for students with Individualized Education Plans, English language learners, and students from low-income communities.

McCarthy said removing the pressure of high-stakes testing would improve outcomes for historically disenfranchised students.

"The research shows us that there's a direct correlation between the test scores and the ZIP codes," said McCarthy, "and it really is an opportunity gap, not an achievement gap."

The Thrive Act would also eliminate the state's power to take over underperforming schools, which tend to be located in some of the poorest communities with lower MCAS scores.

Backers of the legislation say it would give students, parents, and educators a greater say in how their schools are run.

A grant is helping student parents at a college in northwestern Montana.

The Aspen Institute has announced Blackfeet Community College and seven other institutes around the country have joined the Black and Native Family Futures Fund.

Linda Sue Racine is a counselor and the coordinator of the $75,000 grant at the school. She said COVID-19 hit the Blackfeet Reservation hard and many students are grieving.

"To be able to get good grades and all that you need to have some peace in your life," said Racine. "And I always feel that if we're not well mentally and emotionally and physically, then we're not going to be able to succeed."

The grant comes with technical assistance to implement programs as well. Blackfeet Community College is setting up the Native Student Parent Program, which will help young mothers with child care, food and transportation.

Racine said elders also are helping with the program. She said workshops for the young mothers include making traditional outfits for their kids.

"We just don't want our people to lose their cultural and their traditional way of life," said Racine. "So it's very important that we integrate it in everything we do."

The eight institutions that received funding are Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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