EDITORIAL

Test scores confirm challenges ahead

Posted 11/11/21

The release of RICAS standardized test scores across Rhode Island have demonstrated in a most shocking way that our worst fears regarding COVID's effect on education have proven true. With few exceptions, districts across the state saw significant

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EDITORIAL

Test scores confirm challenges ahead

Posted

The release of RICAS standardized test scores across Rhode Island have demonstrated in a most shocking way that our worst fears regarding COVID’s effect on education have proven true. With few exceptions, districts across the state saw significant decreases in proficiency in both math and English language arts (ELA), with only 33 percent of students statewide meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA and 20 percent meeting or exceeding expectations in math. Warwick, Cranston, and Johnston each score lower than the state average overall, sometimes by as much as 9 percentage points.

Perhaps the more striking numbers relate to growth, which show that about half of students are in the “low” percentile of growth for ELA and more than 60 percent of students ranked in the bottom of growth for math. This shows that not only are scores abysmal now, they aren’t showing signs of improvement year over year.

Of course, the glaring anomaly contributing to these most recent scores cannot be ignored. The pandemic has not only disrupted the traditional means of education for our young people across the state, it has completely decimated the possibility of having a normal school experience for the entirety of the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 school years.

The recent testing proves what education experts have been saying since schools shut down in the spring of 2020 — that there is no substitute for consistent, in-person learning. Remote learning, while it may have its benefits in certain situations, cannot be expected to produce the kind of educational outcomes that we must expect from our districts, nor should teachers be asked to deliver those results when forced to compartmentalize lesson plans into a purely digital curriculum. It simply isn’t fair or realistic.

Young students are suffering from an inability to properly learn critical, fundamental skills such as reading and language comprehension due to their teachers and peers being masked, unable to do things like see lips move and learn proper phonetics. Teachers have been unable to utilize model-based learning to reinforce basic mathematic principles because these implements cannot be properly sanitized and used throughout a classroom.

The physical challenges of the pandemic are not the only contributor to these outcomes. Students have been caught in the midst of a terrifying period of existence for the past 20 months, which has had profound psychological and emotional impacts that are likely to leave hidden scars for years to come. It hardly seems surprising that we would see the results of all of these factors in our most recent test scores.

But we must not take these alarming numbers as a sign that all hope is lost. It must be used as inspiration for improvement and the impetus to invest in our schools. We must hire more math and ELA interventionists to assist students who are struggling, and focus on supporting programs, teachers and administrators who prioritize student achievement.

This moment also emphasizes the importance of resisting anti-scientific fear mongering regarding vaccines. Getting your child vaccinated is one of the surest ways to get back on track towards a normal, mask-free education.

There is certainly a long road ahead to improve our educational outcomes, but we must not dwell in despair if we are to meet those challenges head-on.

RICAS, testing, scores, editorial

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