F Is For 2020, D Is For 2021
Repeat School Year 2020?
COVID-19 has decimated the education system at the most fundamental level all over the country. The simple act of taking away in-person learning in an already flawed system—not being able to teach as they always have—accurately measuring a student’s ability to progress to the next grade has become impossible and completely unrealistic. The fact is—though few want to admit it—students have lost at least a year of their educational lives. It will not be miraculously recovered, it will affect us for a generation, grade levels must accept a full year shift in material: every grade level class of 2021 needs to be held back.
Aside from how unpopular that idea is, I know it is also nearly impossible based sheerly on capacity in the classroom. New students of the correct age cannot be added to those not ready for the next grade. But now we are faced with years of colleges accepting students even less prepared than usual. Perhaps, one solution is to require and provide—for free—at least a year of community college for the next decade? I suppose that, too, will be considered ridiculous and few legislators will be willing to find a way to pay for it. The US is already very behind on education compared to the other developed countries. We must do something.
I am not the only one concerned and, luckily, some version of my more drastic idea is being considered. Guilford County in North Carolina is hoping to add an extra semester, summer school, have weekend learning, and tutoring programs. That, however, is only being considered only for students identified as “struggling” instead of simply including all students. The superintendent is also focusing more on middle and high school grades when younger students development is equally crucial.
Other options—some of which have already been implemented and their progress studied—include what’s called “remediation learning” and “acceleration learning.” According to Zearn, a non-profit focused on academic strategies nationwide, acceleration has had better results across economic and racial backgrounds. Both involve integrating a number of lessons from other grade levels within the grade the students’ current level. The difference between these two approaches is—as should be obvious—remediation incorporates lessons from the grade just below, while acceleration integrates a few lessons from the grade below to be sure students have the foundation and lessons from the grade level above.
The approach that shows more equal results for all students is acceleration. The remediation approach has already been in practice in targeted groups—mostly poor minorities—with minimal progress. My motto has always been “expect more, get more.” I feel that is exactly what acceleration learning does. It seems to be proving me right. There are still many issues, blockades, and logistics even before COVID-19 that must be dealt with.
Many districts already struggled with curriculum choices that affect learning. Restricted by lack of funds, staff or access to proper training for special needs students, schools are unable to provide students an acceptable level of education. Those in low income families are always impacted more due to poorer school districts. Perhaps, finding ways to overcome the learning crisis caused by the pandemic will force change in other areas of failure in our education system.
Some of Chicago’s schools are trying to decide whether to fail students who could not do the work or learn the material during the pandemic. Sometimes, failing grades were caused by lack of access to computers for remote learning—thus, poor attendance—but many simply could not cope emotionally during isolation making learning impossible. If they did not learn the material, failing the student is essentially holding them back a year.
I understand that teachers do not want to send their students onward when they are not prepared. That is why the education system needs to accommodate every student by giving them the extra time to be prepared. Are they going to be excited about more class and a longer school year? Probably not. But preparing them for the future, giving them the tools and a chance for the best future possible, is worth the discomfort, time, and money. We, our society, fail ourselves if we fail them.
May Nerd-dom abound!
Katrina Pavlovich
References
Sarah Karp, “In Pandemic’s Wake, Numbers Tell The Story Of A Devastating Year For Many Chicago Students” https://www.wbez.org/stories/in-pandemics-wake-numbers-tell-the-story-of-a-devastating-year-for-many-chicago-students/36fc7420-8919-4cb1-8c2d-5ceaa8afe1bc
Chicago Board Meeting:
Kerri Brown, “GCS Considers Extra Semester, Programs To Help Mitigate Pandemic Impacts” https://www.wfdd.org/story/gcs-considers-extra-semester-programs-help-mitigate-pandemic-impacts?campaign_id=174&emc=edit_csb_20210527&instance_id=31703&nl=education-briefing®i_id=109289145&segment_id=59199&te=1&user_id=d7b8e412c9eb39f67e91d3d05be66a74
TNTP reimagine teaching, Zearn, “Accelerate, Don’t Remediate: New Evidence from Elementary Math Classrooms”