The COVID-19 pandemic appeared to undo years of improvement for Texas students meeting grade requirements in reading and math, students who have done most of their schooling remotely suffering from “significant declines” by compared to those who attended in person, according to standardized test results released Monday by the Texas Education Agency.
In districts where less than a quarter of classes were held face-to-face, the number of students who met math test expectations declined by 32 percentage points, and the number of students who met expectations reading decreased 9 percentage points from 2019 the last time the test was administered. In districts with more than three-quarters of in-person instruction, the number of students meeting math expectations fell by only 9 percentage points and those who met reading expectations by 1 percentage point. Students of color and low-income students also saw larger gaps, although these gaps are smaller than between distance and in-person education.
“The impact of the coronavirus on what school means and what school is has been really profound,†Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told reporters on Monday. “What we now know for sure is that the decision in Texas to prioritize face-to-face training was critical.”
The STAAR test was optional last year due to coronavirus-related orders, but 87% of students still participated – up from 96% of students in 2019. Morath said those numbers make for “pretty effective comparisons.” The STAAR Assessment for Mathematics and Reading is administered from Grades 3 to 8.
Since 2012, test scores in the state have been improving steadily, but after COVID-19 disruptions, the percentage of students meeting reading expectations has fallen back to 2016 rates and the percentage meeting math expectations. fell to the pass rates of 2013. Mathematics test performance saw the biggest drop, from 50% of students reaching their grade level in 2019 to just 35% this year.
Percentage of Texas students meeting grade level expectations
The percentage of students in Grades 3 to 8 meeting grade level expectations fell in reading and math categories, according to the results of the 2021 STAAR standardized tests. Tests were not administered in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hispanic students in districts where more than three-quarters of learning takes place at a distance saw the largest declines compared to students in other demographic groups, with a 10 percentage point decrease in the number of students responding reading expectations and a 34 percentage point decrease in those meeting mathematics expectations. . Next are black students who mostly take distance education, who saw a 6 percentage point decrease in those meeting reading expectations and a 28 percentage point decrease in those meeting math expectations.
Students who took the test in Spanish also saw “much larger drops in grade level rates” than those who took the test in English, Morath said.
“The data can be daunting, but with it our teachers and principals are developing action plans to support students in the new school year,†he said. “Policymakers use it to direct resources where they are needed most.”
He said parents can also log on to TexasAssessment.gov to review their children’s results and develop strategies to catch up with them.
There were outliers among the results, with some distance learners showing progress and even some school districts containing a high concentration of distance learners with good results. These outliers will be investigated by a new commission on distance learning formed by the Texas legislature.
While many districts expected distance learning to continue as an option for next year, a bill that would have funded it died in the final days of the regular session of the Texas Legislature. Some programs have been canceled with thousands of students enrolled, such as at Frisco, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Morath said that on average, only 4% of students in all grades who are below grade level catch up within two years. But he pointed out that the recently passed House Bill 4545 was an opportunity to help catch up with students. The bill requires school districts to offer private lessons to any student who does not meet grade level expectations and to provide high performing teachers.
He said the agency will also offer “rigorous teaching materials, additional support for teachers, help where needed to lengthen learning time and targeted tutoring” this summer in an effort to bridge the gap.
Bob Popinski, director of policy at Raise Your Hand Texas, an education advocacy group, said the next step is to leverage federal stimulus dollars to “help stem the learning loss and slowdown. the academic growth that occurred “. The federal government has set aside $ 18 billion in relief funds for Texas public schools, although its distribution has been delayed for months. Two months ago, the state began distributing $ 11.2 billion in funds.
“Right now, school districts are asking their community for advice to get community engagement, they will have to release their plan within 60 days of getting federal funds,†he said, noting that parents can contact districts to weigh. “From that point on, it’s about getting these kids and high-dose after-school tutoring programs, then summer programs the next summer, but he’s also implementing [House Bill 4545]. “
Popinski said efforts to tackle learning loss will not be a one-time effort but could take a few years. The good news is that federal dollars will help create smaller class sizes, specialized tutoring, teacher professional development and other strategies to alleviate problems, he said.
“The availability of these federal stimulus dollars is a game-changer,” he said. “And it won’t happen overnight, but I think school districts and school administrators are really trying to plan and use this funding in a way that has impact and will be sustainable.”
Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner said in a statement Monday that the ratings came as no surprise. Her district lobbied for more summer school registrations to help students catch up.
“Helping our students in this task is not insurmountable – and, in fact, it has opened the door to new ways of doing things,†he said.
About 15,000 Fort Worth students are enrolled in summer school this year, three times the number of regular enrollments. The district is also stepping up its tutoring program and the presence of counselors and social workers on its campuses, while providing high-speed access to a quarter of its families to help them with their homework.
“We now have the opportunity to respond to this data with initiatives and solutions to accelerate student learning to regain and exceed pre-pandemic learning levels,†said Scribner.