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Draft:Post-Covid American Student Literacy Crisis

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The Post-Covid American Student Literacy Crisis is a United States Education crisis representing the recent and rapid decline of school enrollment, mathematic and reading comprehension, chronic absenteeism,[1] as well as a statistic decrease in average test scores and passed courses.[2][3][4][5]

The pandemic was not the all-encompassing cause of the crisis. Advocates raised concerns about declining reading comprehension and classroom performance in 2019.[6]

Causes[edit]

Switch to Online Learning[edit]

In midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, starting in March 2020 of the 2019-2020 school year, nationwide schools began committing to 3-8 week periods of absences from in-person school, to be replaced with online class, typically over zoom. This initial commitment for students transformed into capricious and experimental mixes by various locales of full online learning, hybrid courses, and in-person instruction with face masks, until the 2022-23 school year. The latter being an unknown and unusual way of life for United States citizens, causing political controversy, particularly in regards to school mandates.

Students in schools who received longer periods of remote education had a correlated decrease of reading and mathematics achievement.[7] During remote learning, academically struggling students delayed proper progress due to fewer opportunities to have meaningful teacher intervention, thus worsening their proficiency.[8] In Ohio, english language arts comprehension and test scores declined uniformly across grades 3-10.[9] Similar trends appeared in a multitude of states.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

Mental health[edit]

COVID-19 lockdowns contributed to a worldwide economic recession. Not limited by, but included financial, interpersonal, and health challenges. This led to family stress and a hike in childhood mental health problems.

Youth mental health had been an extensive issue prior to the pandemic. Since 2007, suicide has been the second leading cause of death for 10-24 year olds.[16][17] Childhood anxiety and depression diagnoses have increased dramatically between 2016-2020.[18]

An estimated 203,649 children under 18 in the United States, a ratio of 1:360, lost a caregiver or parent to Covid-19. Seventy percent of the 203,649 were under the age of 13.[19] Childhood grief is now more prevalent an issue.[20]

For children in troubled homes, with alcoholic or abusive parents, distance learning meant they had no escape.[21]

For younger students during lockdowns and remote learning, many had friendship networks dissolve, putting their social development and lives on complete pause. The return from remote learning to an in-person school schedule led to challenges in anxiety unlike other generations past's experience.

Educators say they also see a concerning increase in apathy — about grades, how students treat each other and themselves — and a lot less empathy. “I have never seen kids be so mean to each other in my life,”[21]

Teacher Shortage[edit]

Teacher retention has been an issue for the past ten years, with there being a gradual flight of teachers especially in the public education sector.[22] Opportunities for better pay, drawbacks of personal freedoms, behavioral classroom obstacles, and heavy stress[23] have been central components in the gradual fleeing of educators, as well as the decrease of young adults willing to begin a career in K-12 education.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated these trends. In Arkansas during the 2021-22 school year, only 77.6% of teachers were retained in their original schools.[24]

Behavioral Issues[edit]

[25][26][27][28]

Lack of Phonics-Based Language Education[edit]

[29][30]

Extensive Adolescent Screen Time[edit]

[28][31][32][33]




References[edit]

  1. ^ Fortin, Jacey (2022-04-20). "More Pandemic Fallout: The Chronically Absent Student". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  2. ^ Irwin, Véronique; De La Rosa, Josue; Wang, Ke; Hein, Sarah; Zhang, Jijun; Burr, Riley; Roberts, Ashley; Barmer, Amy; Bullock Mann, Farrah; Dilig, Rita; Parker, Stephanie; Nachazel, Thomas; Barnett, Megan; Purcell, Stephen (May 2022). "Report on the Condition of Education 2022" (PDF). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute for Educational Sciences.
  3. ^ Fortin, Jacey (2022-04-20). "More Pandemic Fallout: The Chronically Absent Student". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  4. ^ Lake, Robins; Pillow, Travis (November 1, 2022). "The alarming state of the American student in 2022". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  5. ^ Barron, James (2023-08-10). "Why Many New York City Children Can't Read". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Dana (2022-03-08). "It's 'Alarming': Children Are Severely Behind in Reading". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  7. ^ Goldhaber, Dan; Kane, Thomas J.; McEachin, Andrew; Morton, Emily; Patterson, Tyler; Staiger, Douglas O. (May 2022). "The Consequences of Remote and Hybrid Instruction During the Pandemic" (PDF). Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research.
  8. ^ Mervosh, Sarah (2021-07-28). "The Pandemic Hurt These Students the Most". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  9. ^ Kogan, Vladimir; Lavertu, Stéphane (26 February 2022). "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Student Learning in Ohio: Analysis of Spring 2021 Ohio State Tests" (PDF). The Ohio State University, John Glenn College of Public Affairs.
  10. ^ Agency, Texas Education (2021-06-28). "TEA Releases Spring 2021 STAAR Grades 3-8 and End-of-Course Assessment Results; Outcomes for In-Person Learners Appreciably Higher Than for Those Who Were Remote". tea.texas.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  11. ^ Herron, Arika (14 July 2021). "ILEARN 2021 results show pandemic's impact on learning could take years to recover from". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  12. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Julia Silverman | The (2023-09-21). "Oregon student achievement remains mired far below pre-pandemic levels, new test scores show". oregonlive. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  13. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Betsy Hammond | The (2022-09-22). "Oregon students' reading, writing and math skills plummeted amid pandemic, first scores since 2019 show". oregonlive. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  14. ^ Rex, Kristina (2023-09-19). "2023 MCAS results show Massachusetts has "long way to go" to recover from pandemic learning loss - CBS Boston". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  15. ^ Guthrie, J. Edward; Woods, S. Colby (July 2022). "Pandemic Effects on Student Attendance and Achievement during the 2020-21 School Year: Trends from Six Tennessee Districts" (PDF). Vanderbilt University, Tennessee Education Research Alliance: 7–15.
  16. ^ Prinstein, Mitchell J. (2022-01-28). "US youth are in a mental health crisis — we must invest in their care". The Hill. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  17. ^ Stone, Deborah M. (2021). "Changes in Suicide Rates — United States, 2018–2019". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 70 (8): 261–268. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7008a1. ISSN 0149-2195. PMC 8344989. PMID 33630824.
  18. ^ Lebrun-Harris, Lydie A.; Ghandour, Reem M.; Kogan, Michael D.; Warren, Michael D. (14 March 2022). "Five-Year Trends in US Children's Health and Well-being, 2016-2020". JAMA Pediatrics. 176 (7): e220056. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056. PMC 8922203. PMID 35285883. S2CID 247437803.
  19. ^ Treglia, Dan; Cutuli, J. J.; Arasteh, Kamyar; Bridgeland, John M.; Edson, Gary; Phillips, Steven; Balakrishna, Anjali (28 February 2022) [December 2021]. "Hidden Pain: Children Who Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID-19 and What the Nation Can do to Help Them". Covid Collaborative: 7–41.
  20. ^ Lee, Sherman A.; Neimeyer, Robert A. (2022-01-02). "Pandemic Grief Scale: A screening tool for dysfunctional grief due to a COVID-19 loss". Death Studies. 46 (1): 14–24. doi:10.1080/07481187.2020.1853885. ISSN 0748-1187. PMID 33349159. S2CID 229351253.
  21. ^ a b Gecker, Jocelyn (4 April 2022). "With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health". Associated Press. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  22. ^ García, Emma; Kraft, Matthew; Schwartz, Heather L. (26 August 2022). "Are we at a crisis point with the public teacher workforce? Education scholars share their perspectives". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  23. ^ Diliberti, Melissa Kay; Schwartz, Heather L.; Grant, David (2021). "Stress Topped the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19". RAND Education and Labor. doi:10.7249/RRA1121-2. S2CID 243031812.
  24. ^ "Arkansas Teacher Turnover During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic". Office for Education Policy (OEP). 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  25. ^ Jimenez, Kayla (2023-06-12). "Behavior vs. books: US students are rowdier than ever post-COVID. How's a teacher to teach?". tangent.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  26. ^ Prothero, Arianna (2023-04-20). "Student Behavior Isn't Getting Any Better, Survey Shows". Education Week. ISSN 0277-4232. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  27. ^ Wong, Alia; Jimenez, Kayla (2023-06-12). "Distracted students and stressed teachers: What an American school day looks like post-COVID". tangent.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  28. ^ a b Gueron-Sela, Noa; Shalev, Ido; Gordon-Hacker, Avigail; Egotubov, Alisa; Barr, Rachel (2023-03-01). "Screen media exposure and behavioral adjustment in early childhood during and after COVID-19 home lockdown periods". Computers in Human Behavior. 140: 107572. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107572. ISSN 0747-5632. PMC 9677335. PMID 36438719.
  29. ^ Goldstein, Dana (2020-02-15). "An Old and Contested Solution to Boost Reading Scores: Phonics". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  30. ^ Brooks, Greg (19 July 2023). "Disputing recent attempts to reject the evidence in favour of systematic phonics instruction". Review of Education. 11 (2). doi:10.1002/rev3.3408. ISSN 2049-6613. S2CID 260049198 – via British Educational Research Association.
  31. ^ Takahashi, Ippei; Obara, Taku; Ishikuro, Mami; Murakami, Keiko; Ueno, Fumihiko; Noda, Aoi; Onuma, Tomomi; Shinoda, Genki; Nishimura, Tomoko; Tsuchiya, Kenji J.; Kuriyama, Shinichi (2023-10-01). "Screen Time at Age 1 Year and Communication and Problem-Solving Developmental Delay at 2 and 4 Years". JAMA Pediatrics. 177 (10): 1039–1046. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.3057. ISSN 2168-6203. PMC 10442786. PMID 37603356.
  32. ^ Nagata, Jason M.; Cortez, Catherine A.; Cattle, Chloe J.; Ganson, Kyle T.; Iyer, Puja; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten; Baker, Fiona C. (2022-01-01). "Screen Time Use Among US Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study". JAMA Pediatrics. 176 (1): 94–96. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.4334. ISSN 2168-6203. PMC 8561427. PMID 34724543.
  33. ^ Khan, Asaduzzaman; Lee, Eun-Young; Horwood, Sharon (2022-06-01). "Adolescent screen time: associations with school stress and school satisfaction across 38 countries". European Journal of Pediatrics. 181 (6): 2273–2281. doi:10.1007/s00431-022-04420-z. ISSN 1432-1076. PMC 8869349. PMID 35211815 – via Springer Link.