Delta variant forcing districts to find new ways to assess learning

At this point last year, we hoped we’d be on the other side of COVID-19. Instead, the combination of the Delta variant and a new school year means educators and administrators are finding themselves in a state of flux. Cases in school districts are on the rise. Large numbers of students are quarantining. In some instances, there aren’t enough teachers in school buildings to conduct in-person learning.

As we enter the third school year affected by the pandemic, teachers are facing a whole new type of disruption to their ability to teach. Now more than ever, they need to be able to continually assess learning, to have a line of sight into what students know and what students do not yet know.

Why is it so hard right now?

It was challenging enough for teachers to figure out how to quickly transition all of their instruction to a remote environment, and to creatively assess how much students were learning and retaining. The reality with Delta is teachers are now battling constant change, with classes or entire schools temporarily shuttering and then reopening. Pockets of students are coming in and out of the classroom due to quarantines or sickness. Teachers or substitutes are often impacted in a similar fashion. The result is a perpetual disruption of instruction, impacting different students and educators at different moments continuously.