COVID-19 has been a ‘disaster for education.’ NC leaders warn learning gaps will widen.
North Carolina education leaders warned Tuesday that fewer students could graduate and more students may have to repeat the school year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has altered how the state’s 1.5 million public school students have learned since the spring, with schools reporting absences are up and grades are down. Deputy State Superintendent David Stegall told state lawmakers on Tuesday that there could be long-lasting educational consequences due to the pandemic.
“There’s going to be a huge gap in our students’ path through education,” Stegall told the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. “There are going to be learning gaps that are going to take years to recover from, without a doubt. As a parent, as an educator, it’s obvious.”
Lawmakers said the problems could get worse if they’re not addressed.
“This has been a disaster for education,” said Rep. Craig Horn, a Union County Republican and co-chairman of the oversight committee.
A ‘wasted year’ for students?
Sen. Rick Horner, a Nash County Republican, said schools have tried to educate students but it’s been a “wasted year.”
Education worldwide has been disrupted by the pandemic. In North Carolina, schools were closed for in-person instruction in mid-March by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Cooper has allowed elementary schools to fully reopen with new safety measures such as wearing face masks and daily health screenings. But he’s requiring middle schools and high schools to limit the number of students on campus to maintain social distancing requirements.
The majority of the state’s public school students started the school year with only online classes. But Stegall said 82% of school districts are now offering at least some in-person instruction.
He said 18% of districts are staying with online classes only, but they all plan to bring at least some students back for in-person classes beginning in January.
On average, Stegall said 59% of the state’s students are now learning in person on a daily or limited basis. He said 36% of students are learning all virtually.
Some subjects can be taught well online and families should have the option for virtual learning, but Stegall told lawmakers “there are some parts of education that can’t be done remotely.”
Attendance, grades down
Attendance is down, which Stegall says is posing a severe challenge for educating students. On average, Stegall said 89% of students are regularly attending in-person classes and 81% are regularly attending online classes.
“Those students who are truly not there are missing a significant number of days,” Stegall said. “It will probably have an impact on pass rates, graduation rates and so forth.”
Stegall pointed to how school districts across the state have reported higher failure rates. For instance, Wake County says about 25% of middle school and high school students failed at least one class during the first quarter this school year, up from 15% the prior year.
Nationally, elementary and middle school students have fallen measurably behind in math, according to a report Tuesday from a non-profit company that administers standardized tests, the Associated Press reported. The report also found that a disproportionately large number of poor and minority students were not in schools for assessments this fall.
North Carolina’s graduation rate hit a record high this year, when high schools were directed to do what they could to make sure seniors graduated on time. But Stegall told lawmakers that he sees “graduation rates going down quite significantly.”
The state could see the largest number of students not being promoted to the next grade level in 100 years, according to Stegall. He said some parents want their children to repeat the grade because they’re concerned they’re not learning the material this school year.
Another challenge facing the state is how public school enrollment is down by more than 50,000 students compared to last year. It’s especially down at kindergarten, where families might be holding their children back until after the pandemic.
Stegall said the state will have to prepare for the possibility of a larger than normal kindergarten class next school year.
The state needs to develop a plan to address all these challenges or it “will prohibit the growth of our state for years,” according to Rep. Ashton Wheeler Clemmons, a Guilford County Democrat.
“We have to deal with what’s immediately in front of us, but as leaders for these districts across our state, we also need to also have people forward thinking about what’s coming, or else these holes will plague our state for a generation,” Wheeler Clemmons said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 2:24 PM.
