According to recent data from Chalkbeat, Chicago Public School students are still suffering from the deleterious educational effects of Covid-19. Non-verified standardized test results indicate a severe drop in performance from previous scores in the 2018-2019 school year. After testing third through eighth-graders, the unofficial results show that only fifteen percent of students met the state standard for math and twenty percent for language arts. This is a stark contrast to pre-pandemic test scores where nearly twenty-five percent of students met the standard for math and twenty-eight percent for language arts.
While these results are preliminary, they present concerns for educators throughout Chicago. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade had particular difficulty, indicating a lack of foundational knowledge that may lead to more severe problems at the middle school level. Paul Zavitkovsky, an assessment specialist at the University of Chicago states, “the implication here is that without deep structural interventions at the middle school level that have been very difficult to achieve under the best conditions, the likelihood of learning recovery for kids now entering the middle school years is pretty low.”
As this preliminary testing data was released sooner than in years past, education officials and administrators are able to use the summer to prepare intervention methods specific to students’ needs. Many educators plan to get students back on track via recovery plans and skill-oriented teaching. However, teacher shortages and staff burn-out may pose even more problems for struggling students and educational staff to overcome during the school year. Many worry that the long-term effects of this education crisis will have an adverse effect on students for years to come.
Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
nate@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266