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I have taught for a lot of years in grades 2nd - 12th. I could have told you students were struggling with basics. I seen many factors: poor teaching (teachers that don’t have skills themselves to teach the students), poor parenting, pushing students on when the did not learn skills needed, and skills shoved down to lower grades where students were not ready for them. I have struggled with getting student to learn what is required and what students can learn. Every year I see students with less skills needed than the year before. I do the best I can to help my students learn what will help them be productive adults. Patents want teachers to do ALL the work in raising their child but yell when teachers try. I have worked with teachers that have said I don’t know how to teach “_English or math so I skip it”. All these things set students up for to do poorly.
You hit the nail on the head with “bad” teachers. The problem is, we are making it easier and easier for non licensed people to come into the classroom since we are in a teacher shortage. We aren’t helping ourselves out. We need to find another way to get AND keep quality teachers in the classrooms!
Rising Star
These are trends that started before COVID, so while our collective response was insane beyond belief, it's not the only factor. As an ind teacher there's only so much you can do. However, what is within your control is how and what you teach. The bottom line? Teach the skills. Be old-school if you have to. Remediate, slow down if you have to, just make sure they can do what they need to do.
I look at my class and wonder if they’re going to be ready for middle school, let alone adulthood. I’ve made it a priority this year to focus on life skills as much as academics. We practice things like reading directions carefully or figuring out how much change they should get at the store... real-life applications that I hope will stick with them. It’s not perfect, but I feel like it’s a step toward closing some of those long-term gaps.
These numbers have been like this since way before Covid. That is one of the many reasons that the DoE needs to be shut down. Let the states do their own thing. A one size fits all has not worked. They are now bringing back a 70's and 80's program. Hooked on Phonics. Around here they did away with it because what the DoE said would be better. Well guess what it is not. Just like for Math, Common Core which is a disaster. That is why our numbers are horrible not Covid.
Covid showed us why it is not working on a bigger scale.
Although I do agree that as educators we all can do better and some of this is attributed to home life, the only real hard place is “passing.” The simple fact that students progress from 6th grade into Middle School or 8th graders promoted to High School even when they fail absolutely everything, to include PE, is the reason why we have these scores. I do believe the standards are being lowered but I don’t feel the expectations are. What is hurting these students is the simple fact that they continue to progress in grades even after failing everything. That’s it. I love all the data, I appreciate that we can do better, but the plain and simple fact is that students just continue to progress without being held back.
Facts
It wasn’t just the pandemic itself. It’s also our well-meaning response to the pandemic. Watered down expectations, compromised grading, etc. These did more damage than COVID ever could. Students learned how to cheat the system instead of learning. And in many places the COVID policies are still in place - 50s for all Fs, test re-takes, fear of holding students to high standards, etc. Until we can adopt a more “suck it up and figure it out” classroom philosophy, this downward trend will continue.
Interesting and very concerning results. I didn’t run into a paywall to read btw. I do feel like this is a systemic issue, we absolutely should be doing everything in our power to help these students not get even further behind, the concern is though we don’t have adequate resources or time to do that. Really feeling like a rock and a hard place.
I am tired of attributing this lag to Covid. It started long before that. A culture more narcissistically concerned about things, I.e. cell phones, Facebook, shoes. School’s purpose is to hold children until the parents get off work instead of what it should be. Now that was proven by Covid by the way.
You do know DOE doesn’t decide curriculum, it’s a funding source for our special ed kids and title one kids; student loans; free/reduced lunch.
States decide almost everything else.
Education in America is really a state and local responsibility, meaning that states and local school districts have the authority to determine their own standards, curricula, and testing requirements.
States have way more control over local education than most ppl think.
I feel like I’m always trying to get all the curriculum in before the state test. I don’t actually have time during whole group subjects to take a day to review a concept or spend a few extra days on it. I’m still always scrambling to double up on math lessons once the ELA state test is over. Its unequivocally NOT what is best for students and everyone knows it, but it’s what my district expects. My coteacher and I get creative and find pockets of time to break apart skills and re teach important concepts but every year we’re leaving kids behind and setting them up to fail later on :(. I hate knowing exactly how to help students but not having the time or resources to do it. That’s one of the hardest parts of the job for me.