Schools Still Unsure of How Much Learning Was Lost During Closures this Spring
Saturday, October 31st, 2020 -- 8:02 AM
(AP) -A complete picture has yet to emerge of how much learning was lost by students during the pandemic.That’s all right with educators like Wisconsin Rapids' Superintendent Craig Broeren, whose top concern is figuring out where each student stands now. Wisconsin Rapids isn’t administering any special test to measure how much district wide progress stalled after classrooms closed in March. Such data wouldn’t capture a student’s unique circumstances or point a way forward, Broeren said. Instead, the district is sticking with its usual fall assessments. Those tests can roughly estimate learning loss since the spring, but leaders say they are most useful for pinpointing what students know now and tracking how much they learn. That approach is the norm nationwide. Most states aren’t requiring all districts to administer uniform tests to measure students’ slippage.
Rather, districts generally are using the tests they give each fall to guide instruction for the school year and, in many cases, also assessing students’ mental health and well-being, an approach favored by many experts and educators who say a rush to quantify learning loss could demoralize students and teachers. But as many schools continue distance learning or brace for more virus-related closures that could further slow progress, the patchwork approach to testing this fall worries some advocates and policymakers who say it’s difficult to plan academic recovery this year without consistent data across districts and states.
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