Core data trends mirrored state and district-level findings.
In some cases, individual student-level findings tracked closely with expected results. For example, students who received mostly or all virtual instruction tended to experience greater learning loss than those who primarily received in-person instruction. Chris Neale, Missouri Assistant Commissioner of Education, shared earlier this year that Missouri education leaders found “striking results” confirming the value of direct student contact with teachers relative to virtual instruction. The negative impact of virtual learning was more pronounced in Black and Hispanic student populations, which were more likely to use virtual instruction.
Data outliers challenged conventional wisdom.
The importance of individual student-level data was underscored by findings that did not follow perceived learning loss variations. Dr. Jeni Corn of the North Carolina Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration said, “We used the data to unpack and identify promising practices – ‘positive outliers of the pandemic’ is the language we use. Despite the chaos of the pandemic, learning was happening. Teachers were connecting with their students.”
Dr. Corn explained there were some interesting anomalies. Notably, students with disabilities and English language learners outperformed compared to the general population as it relates to learning loss. These populations have built-in supports, which Dr. Corn suspects made a difference, “We think it was [a result of] the direct, targeted services for those learners that we could activate as soon as the pandemic hit.”
These compelling findings are made possible by using all available assessment data, not a sample, and comparing students against themselves instead of a different set of test takers from years earlier. The results provide districts and states with valuable data for teachers as they return to the classroom to make decisions on targeted interventions for individual students.
Looking beyond recovery
The federal government has poured billions of dollars into learning recovery, and states are already being asked to account for how that money was spent. Did students get back on track? Did they make up what was lost? Did they even accelerate beyond pre-pandemic expectations?
This is an opportunity to rethink, innovate and transform education so that academic progress accelerates as the pandemic’s educational effects wane. Equipped with a trove of valuable learning loss data, states can understand their own unique and evolving challenges. They can more effectively prioritize interventions, continuously analyze and improve learning strategies and show how they used once-in-a-lifetime funding to impact all students positively.
Related:
Understanding historical trends and patterns in student data
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