Ten Realities About the Covid Learning Gap

It’s time to uncover the truth

Introduction

The disruptions in education have been unavoidable these days. Schools that reopened their doors with safety guidelines in place have needed to close during the pandemic due to the spread of the coronavirus. This has impacted hybrid programs where students attend school in-person and online. The number of students who participate in virtual learning has been increasing as covid cases also increase. These fluctuations and changes have been adversely impacting students.

I recently introduced the term

“covid learning gap”

as a way to help educators and parents realize that the pandemic is negatively impacting student learning. My exclusive definition of the covid learning gap refers to the learning disparities that now exist among many students because of the interruptions and changes in education during the pandemic. In summary, students have not been learning as they usually do.

The link to an article that I published about the covid learning gap follows.

I recommend that this article be read to help readers further understand my definition of what I believe is becoming a growing phenomenon in education because students are simply falling behind in their overall development.

This current story uncovers the realities associated with the covid learning gap.

Discover the Truth

Teachers and other educators everywhere have been working very hard to do their best to provide their learners with quality educational experiences. Many have relied on their creativity to facilitate this. I wrote an article that celebrates their professional efforts during the pandemic. A link to this story follows.

Despite the dedication of hardworking, compassionate, and talented educators, there are unavoidable factors that have interfered with the capacity of students to make progress at school. I believe ten significant pandemic related conditions exist in education today that support my beliefs about the existence of the covid learning gap. Each school-related factor is described below.

1. Many students have been habitually absent from their online program and unaccounted for throughout the pandemic. They have either failed to sign in for their virtual program at all or in a consistent manner. Some of the causes for this include family transiency and homelessness. School officials and social workers are among the employees who have diligently tried to locate students to urge them to participate in their educational program.
2. A number of the students who qualify to receive special education services and have an IEP (Individualized Education Program) have not been able to receive some or all of the supports associated with their specially designed instruction. These affected students have not consistently received all the modifications and accommodations that they are entitled to receive.
3. Some parents believe that it is the exclusive responsibility of teachers to educate their children. They refuse to provide any structured at home support with their online learning. These disengaged parents fail to hold their children accountable for attending virtual classes or completing their assignments as well.
4. There are still incidents of schools and districts failing to provide technology devices to the students who need them. It has been impossible for these students to participate in daily instruction provided online.
5. Many of the families who need an internet connection to support their child’s virtual learning still do not have it within their homes. Connectivity problems result in learning inconsistencies because students are forced to find hot spots each day. Because of this, some days may be harder than others to attend school virtually.
6. Changing life circumstances within families have resulted in at-home student learning becoming a very low priority. Families have been grieving the loss of loved ones due to covid-19 while others have been impacted by sickness related to the pandemic. Job loss and financial hardship have also gripped many families while others within some families have become victims of domestic violence. Some family members have been suffering due to mental health concerns. Coping with these adverse conditions have become what is most important within these families.
7. A lot of teachers throughout the United States who have been required to return to their traditional posts to teach in-person have been worried about their safety and the safety of their loved ones. Their concerns have become so overwhelming that they have taken very specific employment actions. Some have taken an extended leave of absence while others have left the teaching profession through resignation or retirement. These personnel changes within impacted schools have caused many inconsistencies with the delivery of cohesive instruction to students in these school environments.
8. Students who are English learners may suffer academically if the school fails to maintain open lines of communication with their parents in their native language. This exclusionary communication failure prevents parents from knowing and understanding all of the changes going on with their child’s education. This group of students may not consistently participate in virtual programming as they should because of this.
9. Many parents who are classified as essential workers as well as those who have worked outside of the home throughout the pandemic have not been able to consistently and adequately supervise their child’s educational program at home.
10. Despite the instruction that teachers provide during live or recorded lessons, some students have needed extra help completing independent assignments at home. Some parents have been unable to provide assistance for a number of reasons. There are parents who lack the background knowledge to be able to help their children with their studies. Others lack the confidence to try to provide assistance. Other parents may be too busy to help.

Other Discoveries

It is obvious that educators are extremely consumed with all of the issues relevant to addressing the most immediate concerns in their schools today. However, as science and medical advances are being made so that a covid vaccine gets approved and citizens are encouraged follow safety protocols with a higher level of fidelity, educators must begin looking to the future.

All of the implications associated with the covid learning gap must be acknowledged now so that plans are made to help solve all the problems related to student learning. School districts and state and federal educational leaders along with policy makers must begin to coordinate their efforts to develop strategies for combating this all of the student learning deficits that are now erupting in schools everywhere.

I listed several recommendations to help facilitate the planning process in my previously mentioned article called “The New Covid Learning Gap In Education”. These suggestions are shown below.

“The Plan to Combat the Covid Learning Gap

1. Each state must amend their “Every Child Succeeds Act Consolidated State Plan”. (This exclusive and mandated plan accentuates accountability at the state level to ensure student academic growth that the No Child Left Behind federal legislation did.) The pressure of high-stakes testing must be removed, at least temporarily. Testing should be replaced with a robust emphasis on student remediation. Such an enhanced remedial curriculum would provide teachers with rigorous opportunities to reteach concepts from past and prerequisite courses taken during the pandemic.

2. Student grade level retention should not be considered a viable solution in response to the learning deficits that I anticipate will aggressively emerge.

3. Efforts to engage with the parents of students must be intensified. Positioning parents as partners with their child’s educators will enable them to provide increased levels of support with their child’s education both at school and at home.

4. Students not impacted by the covid learning gap must be provided individualized opportunities to flourish academically and developmentally. Parents must work with their child’s teachers as a member of their educational team to determine the strategies for ensuring the continuous growth of these students.

5. As educators continue to engage in continuous professional development and training, they must change their thinking about student learning. Empathy and compassion along with increased patience must become the foundation and purpose for their paradigm shift. Teachers, professors, and other educators must grow to realize the deep impact that the pandemic has had on student learning at all developmental levels. The impact will be pervasive. They have to avoid the use of blame and ridicule while addressing student deficits that will manifest due to the covid learning gap. Instead, they must grow to realize that perseverance on their part and the part of their learners will ultimately narrow and close the covid learning gap.”

Conclusion

Educators are credited for their professional diligence throughout the pandemic. Despite their continuous efforts to provide quality learning experiences for their students, many adverse conditions related to covid-19 exist that are beyond the control of school personnel. These factors have contributed to the development of a new situation in education that I have named the covid learning gap.

According to my definition, the covid learning gap refers to the learning disparities that have developed among students because of the educational inconsistencies that have manifested within schools during the pandemic.

In this article I outlined ten circumstances within schools and families that have contributed to the gaps in student learning that now exist. I also share viable solutions for school leaders as well as state and federal educational policy makers to consider in solving the covid learning gap problem. It is my opinion that these powerful professionals must acknowledge this problem in education now so that plans are made to solve it.

Thank you for reading this article. If you enjoyed it, consider reading more of the stories that I have published related to education, family engagement in education, civic engagement, and the impact of politics on family life. Be sure to visit my profile at Dmauricev.medium.com.

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Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ.