US Students Slowly Recover from Pandemic Setbacks
2024-06-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1It is a usual school day for third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria, Virginia.
2On one side of the classroom, students surround teacher Maria Fletcher and work on making vowel sounds.
3On the other side, children read together from a book.
4In another part of the room, students sit at computers and get reading help from online tutors.
5Such activities have become normal for the students.
6Teachers at Mount Vernon and around the country are racing to get students to learn more, faster.
7The hope is to get past learning problems that have continued to affect students since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.
8America's schools have started getting back on track.
9But improvement has been slow and uneven.
10Millions of students - often poor or from minority groups- are making up little or no progress.
11Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading.
12Those findings come from the Education Recovery Scorecard. That is an examination of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard University and Stanford University.
13But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-2023 school year.
14And the $190 billion in federal pandemic relief money for schools runs out later this year.
15Thomas Kane is a Harvard economist who helped create the scorecard.
16"The recovery is not finished, and it won't be finished without state action," he said.
17"States need to start planning for what they're going to do when the federal money runs out in September."
18Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to quicken the recovery.
19Officials in the state of Massachusetts set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for reading help.
20But among other states with slow progress, few said they were spending more to speed up improvement.
21In Virginia, the Alexandria school district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring.
22Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, greatly benefited from extra reading help last year during second grade.
23But she is still catching up, her mother said.
24"She needs to get better. She's not at the level she should be," the mother said in Spanish.
25She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why.
26Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient receive high-intensity tutoring help.
27They also said they help students with the greatest needs.
28Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24 percent scored proficient in math.
29Just 28 percent of them scored proficient in reading.
30That is far lower than the rates among wealthier students. And the divide is growing wider.
31Failing to get students back on track could have serious effects.
32The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher wages and lower rates of arrest and imprisonment.
33If pandemic learning losses become permanent, it could follow students for life.
34The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states.
35All of the states saw at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023.
36Nine states saw reading scores drop during that time.
37Only a few states have recovered to pre-pandemic testing levels.
38In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70 percent of a grade level from 2022 to 2023.
39Math gains increased less, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019.
40Chicago officials say the improvements were made possible because of the nearly $3 billion in federal relief money.
41With the funds, the district trained hundreds of people in Chicago to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who centers on helping struggling students.
42The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education.
43At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city's South Side, just 3 percent of students met state reading standards in 2021.
44Last year, 30 percent met state standards.
45Federal relief funds permitted the school to hire an interventionist for the first time.
46Teachers get paid to work on student academic recovery outside working hours.
47Vincent Izuegbu is the principal at Wells.
48He said, "We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject.
49"That's very, very important in terms of the growth that we've seen," Izuegbu added.
50I'm Dan Novak.
51And I'm Caty Weaver.
1It is a usual school day for third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Alexandria, Virginia. On one side of the classroom, students surround teacher Maria Fletcher and work on making vowel sounds. On the other side, children read together from a book. In another part of the room, students sit at computers and get reading help from online tutors. 2Such activities have become normal for the students. Teachers at Mount Vernon and around the country are racing to get students to learn more, faster. The hope is to get past learning problems that have continued to affect students since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago. 3Slow, uneven improvement 4America's schools have started getting back on track. But improvement has been slow and uneven. Millions of students - often poor or from minority groups- are making up little or no progress. 5Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading. Those findings come from the Education Recovery Scorecard. That is an examination of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard University and Stanford University. 6But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-2023 school year. And the $190 billion in federal pandemic relief money for schools runs out later this year. 7Thomas Kane is a Harvard economist who helped create the scorecard. "The recovery is not finished, and it won't be finished without state action," he said. "States need to start planning for what they're going to do when the federal money runs out in September." 8Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to quicken the recovery. Officials in the state of Massachusetts set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for reading help. But among other states with slow progress, few said they were spending more to speed up improvement. 9In Virginia, the Alexandria school district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring. 10Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, greatly benefited from extra reading help last year during second grade. But she is still catching up, her mother said. 11"She needs to get better. She's not at the level she should be," the mother said in Spanish. She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why. 12Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient receive high-intensity tutoring help. They also said they help students with the greatest needs. Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24 percent scored proficient in math. Just 28 percent of them scored proficient in reading. That is far lower than the rates among wealthier students. And the divide is growing wider. 13Failing to get students back on track could have serious effects. The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher wages and lower rates of arrest and imprisonment. If pandemic learning losses become permanent, it could follow students for life. 14Few recovered to pre-pandemic levels 15The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states. All of the states saw at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023. Nine states saw reading scores drop during that time. 16Only a few states have recovered to pre-pandemic testing levels. 17In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70 percent of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains increased less, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019. 18Chicago officials say the improvements were made possible because of the nearly $3 billion in federal relief money. With the funds, the district trained hundreds of people in Chicago to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who centers on helping struggling students. 19The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education. 20At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city's South Side, just 3 percent of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30 percent met state standards. Federal relief funds permitted the school to hire an interventionist for the first time. Teachers get paid to work on student academic recovery outside working hours. 21Vincent Izuegbu is the principal at Wells. He said, "We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject. 22"That's very, very important in terms of the growth that we've seen," Izuegbu added. 23I'm Dan Novak. 24And I'm Caty Weaver. 25Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 26______________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28tutor - n. a teacher who works with one student 29on track - v. happening the way that you expect or want things to happen 30relief - n. things that are given to help people who are victims of a war, earthquake, flood, etc. 31district - n. an area or section of a country, city, or town 32benefit - v. to be useful or helpful to 33proficient - adj. good at doing something 34wage - n. an amount of money that a worker is paid based on the number of hours, days, etc., that are worked 35equivalent - n. having the same value, use, meaning, etc. 36standard - n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable 37opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done