How one school is making changes to combat pandemic losses in math and reading
National Test results released last month It shows that despite giving schools nearly $190 billion in the federal pandemic relief fund, none of the state scored higher in math and reading than the pandemic level in math and reading.
At Cramer High School in Washington, D.C., eighth grader Aiyden Wiggins told CBS News that he struggled with mathematics after returning to full-time in-person learning.
He and his classmates spent about 1.5 years of distance learning during the pandemic.
“We are still working to fill the gaps they don’t have at the lower levels,” said Mohamed Koroma, an English art teacher in grade 8. “There are lower reading levels.”
one Research released on Tuesday From Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth, there are also references to the widespread growth of absenteeism, especially in high poverty areas.
“The biggest thing is putting them in buildings,” Koroma said. “Once we bring them into buildings, learning happens.”
The chronic absenteeism rate in Columbia public schools was 37% in the 2023-2024 school year, down from 41% in the previous school year.
But the new study found some highlights: Despite the overall decline nationwide, more than 100 local school districts performed better than before the math and reading pandemic.
Public schools in Washington, D.C. are not yet available, but over the past two years, the country’s capital has ranked No. 1 in math and reading recovery – a notable improvement is given the 32nd place in math recovery in 2019. In 2024, read the fifth in the same period.
Kramer High School principal Katreena Shelby said the turnaround for her school was “beginning to think, maybe I need to think in a different way.”
“How do we make classrooms smaller but provide kids with more remedial opportunities during school?” she said.
One of the solutions is so-called high-impact tutoring, where tutors can help students in class during class hours. This is a successful program in other regions as well.
Washington has also invested some pandemic funding in more teachers, offering a $1,000 stipend to some people who have completed literacy training courses.
Training and professional development “makes me a better teacher…I think the quality of work students provide is improved because of the improvement in our coaching.”
“It provides kids with more literacy and math support, which not only affects how we improve our literacy skills, but also reduces truancy by 20% in a year,” Shelby said in encouraging them. ”
“They would come to me and say, hey, look, this is my new math score. Look at everything I do in (English Art). They’re happy to show me, and that excitement translates into their schooling more She often said.
Aiyden Wiggins agrees. He said his own attendance rate had improved. “It’s just the school’s enjoyment and energy,” he said, making him want to keep coming back.
