I remember how it was -- JR
The missing piece: Where is ‘education’ in the national conversation?
The staggering impact of COVID-19 on American lives and the economy was understandably the central issue in the first presidential debate and the vice presidential debate. But somehow, critical questions around education were absent in both debates. In fact, according to transcripts of both debates, the candidates used the word “school” fifteen times, but not always to describe K-12 education. The word “education” itself was stated just three times.
Clearly, this is a school year like no other. A recent Education Week analysis found that 74 percent of the 100 largest school districts in the United States opted exclusively for remote learning, dramatically impacting the education of over 9 million students. At the same time, increasing our nation’s educational achievement is a persistent challenge. The 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed that American students performed above average in reading, ranking 13th just behind Sweden and New Zealand, but below average in math. In math, we ranked 37th and fell behind Spain, Lithuania, and Hungary. American students’ average performance in both subjects has remained flat for approximately two decades.
Our nation’s lingering educational woes need to be addressed if we are going to lead the next generation in workforce productivity and entrepreneurship. These challenges are now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers, administrators, and families have made a herculean effort to engage students broadly in online learning that is not optimal. Even before the pandemic, cyber charter schools with sufficient infrastructure fell short of meeting high standards for student outcomes. A recent study from Indiana indicated that students in grades three through eight experienced significant, long-term declines in their math and English/language arts skills after shifting from a traditional public school to a cyber charter school when compared to their former public school peers, who were matched in terms of race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and academic achievement. These findings build on prior evidence from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and across the United States.
These challenges of under-resourced schools, especially in urban areas, and attempts at online learning are heightened by the continuing digital divide.
The result of the COVID-19 crisis is that students are projected to have fallen behind by a third of a year in reading and up to two-thirds of a year in math by this fall 2020. However, these losses are unlikely to be universal, and the top third of students may make gains in reading.
What impact does this have for our country? McKinsey and Company addressed this question in a recent study that estimates the impact on American business. Assuming that regular, in-person instruction does not resume until January 2021, the average American K-12 student may lose $61,000 to $82,000 in lifetime earnings due to educational disruptions faced during COVID-19. These financial losses will likely be greater for Black and Latinx students. Losses across all K-12 students are estimated at $110 billion in annual earnings with $98.8 billion attributable to COVID-19 learning losses and the remaining $11.2 billion from the associated increased likelihood of students dropping out of high school.
The challenges faced by our current education system and magnified by the COVID-19 crisis put America behind and leave us with little capacity to lead in the future. In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education’s A Nation at Risk cautioned “Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world. … Others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.” This language is dramatic and does not apply to all students and educators, but the data from four decades ago aptly fits today and demands our attention amid the ongoing crises faced by our nation. It is imperative that discussion about education enter the national conversation.
Columbia, MO, Board of Education votes for pre-K through 5th grade to return to a four day week next week
As people headed into the board meeting tonight ABC 17 News crews asked what their reactions would be to whichever way the board voted.
Most parents we spoke to and parents that spoke during the public comment section of the meeting said they hope the board decides to allow students to return to classrooms in-person four days a week.
“I would be ecstatic and I know my 11-year-old would be as well," said Kelly Hoober a CPS parent. "He told me he wants me to text him as soon as I find out the results.”
But if the board decides on a different option…
“Honestly I would be super disappointed," said Hoober "Crushed. I think I would honestly hate to go home and tell my 11-year-old to be completely honest.”
While a CPS teacher and President of a local teacher’s union said the four-day in-person learning is extremely concerning.
“Because that means we would not be social distancing to the level that our health department experts have instructed us to do so,” said Kathy Steinhoff.
Steinhoff said as long as the decision is made with the safety of students and community in mind then she would support the board.
“Our teachers want to be back in school just as much as our kids want to be back at school," said Steinhoff. "We just want to do it safely.”
“It’s just a tough situation all around," Hoober said. "I know teachers are doing the best they can and I know a lot of them want the kids back in school as well. I'm hoping for the best and I hope the teachers know that we support them we just want our kids back in school with them in person.”
During the previous discussion, staff members say many middle school students are not engaging in non-core classes like band or physical education. Grades in those classes are much lower than last year.
Board of Education member Teresa Maledy pointed out that, although high school students would return last, they are typically more tech-savvy and able to navigate online learning.
What Would a Second Term for Trump Mean for education?
When the Justice Department sued Yale University last week for considering race and ethnicity as one factor in its admissions policies, it was the latest example of the Trump administration pushing a conservative agenda by targeting colleges over issues like race and protests against conservative speakers on campuses.
And higher ed leaders worry that one of the impacts on colleges and universities should Trump be elected to a second term would be more of the same.
“I suspect what we’ll see is what we’ve seen over the past year -- an increased focus on populism with attacks on ‘elites,’” said Terry Hartle, the American Council on Education’s senior vice president for government relations and a top lobbyist for colleges and universities. “More micromanagement through heavy-handed executive orders.”
However, in other areas, it’s less clear what a second term would bring.
Just months into the Trump administration’s first term, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moved quickly to undo the Obama administration’s policies aimed primarily at for-profit colleges -- one that that had made it easier for borrowers who had been defrauded to have their student loans forgiven, and another to prevent federal student aid from going to colleges where graduates couldn’t earn enough to repay their debts.
Borrower defense protections, gone. Gainful employment requirements, gone.
But with those policies already dismantled, higher education leaders say it’s unclear what policies affecting colleges and universities would next be high on the administration's agenda.
Conservatives like the members of the Republican Study Committee, a group in the House of Representatives, are pressing for changes like letting Pell Grants be used to for job training that does not require a college degree, in order, they say, to reverse a “bachelor's-or-bust” mentality in the nation. And Trump has made moves like ordering the removal of requirements for college degrees for federal jobs unless absolutely necessary -- a popular move with a base of supporters who disproportionately did not pursue higher education.
But the Trump campaign, in contrast to Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s wish list of policies including making public colleges free and or canceling much of the nation’s student debt, hasn’t laid out a detailed higher education platform three weeks before the election.
The Education Department didn’t comment on what DeVos’s higher education priorities might be in a second term, despite the array of issues facing higher education, including the high drop-out rate this fall of low-income students. Or even if she plans on being around.
“They’ve aggressively deregulated. What’s left for them to do? It’s hard to know,” said Amy Laitinen, director for higher education at the left-leaning think tank New America, who served as an adviser to the Obama administration on higher education.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/10/12/what-second-trump-term-would-bring-higher-education
Australia: Victoria to employ thousands of tutors to help students catch up after coronavirus lockdownThe Victorian Government is spending $250 million to recruit and deploy more than 4,100 tutors to Victorian schools next year to help students who have struggled during the state's coronavirus lockdown.
The Government will also allocate $30 million to recruit 600 tutors to work with disadvantaged students in Catholic and independent schools.
"We know some students thrived during remote learning, but we also know some struggled. This is about ensuring that no student is left behind," Mr Merlino said.
"My message to parents and carers, if your child has fallen behind, we will bring them back up to speed."
The package will support more than 200,000 students who have may have fallen behind in their studies or become disengaged during remote learning.
Almost 600,000 students returned to face-to-face learning in Victoria yesterday, after two months of learning from home under the state's coronavirus lockdown.
'Our kids need you': Government appeals to potential tutors
The Education Minister has appealed to retired teachers, casual relief teachers and pre-service teachers to put their hands up to fill the roles being offered. "We want you, and our kids need you," he said.
"It's important to note and to understand this is over and above the existing workforce."
The Government expects 80 per cent of the positions to be filled by women.
The funding includes $8.6 million to recruit 16 Koori support workers across the state, and 60 multilingual and bicultural workers to support students whose first language is not English.
The tutors will be deployed for the duration of the 2021 school year, with individual schools given autonomy to determine how best to use the extra support staff.
Students will be individually assessed during the remainder of this year to identify those who need extra help to get up to speed.
The Education Minister said the tutoring could happen in small groups of up to five children, in sessions of around 45 minutes.
"All the evidence, international and domestic, shows that this is the best way to get the biggest difference in bringing kids back up to speed," Mr Merlino said.
"The Grattan Institute released a report that shows small-group tutoring can provide an additional five months of learning in just 20 weeks."
Meredith Peace, the president of the Australian Education Union's Victorian branch, said teachers welcomed the support.
"It will take some pressure off schools as they work to give their students the best educational outcomes both this year and into next year."
***********************************
My other blogs:
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
*******************************
No comments:
Post a Comment