You Asked: How Do We Combat Learning Loss?

​You have questions—we have the answers.
 
One fear many parents express to us is the potential for long-term negative effects from an extended virtual school experience. Many parents share this fear. In an April survey by Learning Heroes, fifty-four percent of parents expressed concern about keeping their child on track for grade level, and a similar percent expressed concern that school closures and changes would have a negative impact on their child’s education.  Little has changed for students over the course of the spring semester, summer, and subsequent return to virtual education in the fall, with many students unaccounted for or unable to attend on a regular basis.
 
While each student responds differently, we find most are not thriving in the current distance-learning environment. Even high achievers are finding the expected level of self-instruction and class management to be exhausting and defeating. This week, Maryland’s State Superintendent urged school systems to start bringing students back in limited numbers to counter the perceived effects. While many predictions were being made about the potential for learning loss during the early days of the pandemic, we are just now starting to see real data from standardized test results that can quantify the effect.

Incoming Data on Learning Loss

Since the start of school restrictions, many organizations have attempted to quantify the potential effect of school closures and distance-only learning. While all expected some learning loss, they differed in magnitude.
 

• In April, the NWEA, developer of the MAP assessment given to students nationally, expected students to return to school with only 50 percent of their math gains and a 70 percent of their reading gains from the prior year.
• Brookings Institution’s May report anticipated students would be most behind in math, for there to be greater variability in student abilities than normal, and that students who had lost the most knowledge during the summer were unlikely to recover as quickly as they would in a normal year. The non-academic effects – psychological, emotional, and physical – were expected to be the most damaging.
• Looking to put the effects in financial terms, McKinnsey & Co. projected that the average K-12 student would lose up to $82,000 in lifetime earnings, or the equivalent of a full year of work, because of the effects of their learning loss. When calculated for the entire K-12 cohort, they estimate $110 billion in lost earnings potential.
• More recently, Stanford-based education research organization CREDO projected students lost up to 232 days of learning in math on average, depending upon their state, in the nineteen states they analyzed.

 
The first data from the school year is now in, and the results tend to vary greatly depending on the individual student’s background. 
 
On a national level, students who tested did better than predicted. NWEA analyzed data from the 4.4 million 3rd-8th grade students who took the MAP test in fall of 2020 and compared their results from prior year cohorts. Their key findings were:
 

1. Math scores average 5-10 percent lower compared to students in the same grade in prior years.
2. Most students exhibited learning gains in both math and reading since the spring, but they were lower on average than gains by students in prior years, and more students fell behind comparatively.

 
Montgomery County Public Schools recently released initial results for the 2020-2021 school year as well, and many students are performing poorly. The Washington Post reported that failure rates in math and English increased as much as six-fold for some students, quoting school board member Rebecca Smondrowski as saying “It breaks my heart to see so many of these numbers. We knew that gaps were going to get bigger, but these are huge.”
 
Reports from other U.S. school systems mirror this assessment.
 

• Fairfax County, Virginia’s system reports that the number of students earning low marks in two or more subjects increased for all student groups when compared to the prior year.  According to one high school teacher interviewed by the Post, 50-70 percent of his student’s had gone from earning B’s and C’s to earning D’s and F’s, and this despite the teacher’s extra efforts to identify struggling students and work with them to catch up.
• The state of Tennessee projected a learning loss rate 2.5 times that of a normal summer based on testing conducted in August.
• The Dallas school board is considering reducing academic goals for the year to be more realistic with what students can achieve. Based on their MAP assessment, 30 percent of students lost ground in reading and 50 percent did in math.
• In St. Paul, Minnesota, nearly forty percent of high school students have failing grades, double what the school system normally records.

 
These stories are echoed across the country this fall as parents, teachers, schools systems, and governments all strive to find the best solutions for their students.
 

How Can Learning Loss Be Tackled?

​As the pandemic continues and the depth of the problem continues to expand, several recommendations have been made to combat the Covid-slide.
 

• The NWEA recommends:
  • a focus on equitable access to high-quality math teaching and learning,
  • the transparent reporting of data on student’s learning progress by school systems,
  • the adequate funding of school re-openings and student-support services needed to return students, and
  • closing the digital divide with increased access to the internet and technology.
• An Education Week analysis of existing evidence and studies recommends
  • building a solid foundation with the school’s offerings, engagement, and curriculum,
  • closely tracking students with known indicators and then intervening with a variety of options as a student appears less engaged,
  • providing high-dosage tutoring for 50 hours a semester, and
  • providing Acceleration Academies that meet during school breaks to provide focused learning to a small group.
• Based on their analysis, EPI recommends:
  • Providing schools resources for effective distance education and support services
  • Invest extra effort in students who need it upon return to in-person schooling
  • Ensure every student has access to conditions and resources that improve their learning and development.

 
For parents concerned about their child’s status, we offer the following tips:

• Know the expectations. You have to know where your child should be in order to get them there. These are usually communicated early in the year, but feel free to contact your child’s teachers or guidance counselor to get more information so you can be an informed participant.
• Check in daily – at the dinner table, before bed, in the car –so you know how your student is doing.
• Look for the signs of a struggling student like dropping grades, defensiveness when asked about classes, or overly high anxiety about small problems.
• Address it sooner than later. Coursework is often cumulative and sequential, so the longer a student falls behind, the more long-term damage is done.
• Teach your student how to self-advocate. No one can help them more than they can help themselves. Being able to ask for help is a big first step on the road to catching up.
• Keeping a student on track is a group effort that includes the student, the parents, the teachers, and any school support staff or administrators needed. At the core of this team is open communication from the student and among the team members. The student struggling the most if often the one to say the least about their struggles.
• Trust your gut. We see everyone being affected right now, so some struggle is to be expected. But if you know your child, you will know in your gut when their struggle is something more serious. Listen to that voice and start the conversation with your child about getting the help they need.

Benefits of 1-on-1 Tutoring

If your student has struggled with distance learning, you have probably considered the potential benefits of tutoring. Our experience has repeatedly demonstrated the advantage that 1-to-1 instruction provides students of every ability and grade level, but especially those who need to catch up to their grade-level expectations.
 
By meeting with a student regularly, a tutor can quickly pinpoint gaps, target them to shore up core skills, and build a trust with the student that engenders a renewed love of learning and leads to the increased confidence that comes from regular academic success. Our tutors are experts in their subjects and experienced in their teaching methods, providing a welcome resource for students’ learning and growth.
 
Have a question you need answered? Call or email us; we are here to help every student find the best solution for their educational needs.