COVID-era K-12 learning loss demands urgent response

For anyone concerned about the impact of the pandemic on schoolchildren, a pair of new reports has confirmed our worst fears.

This one-two punch documented the reversal of decades of progress. It was a sobering reminder that we must redouble our efforts to support a generation of young learners.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that test scores for 9-year-old students in 2022 declined five points in reading and seven points in mathematics compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first-ever decline in mathematics.

This NCES’s long-term assessment does not contain state-level data. However, in a separate report, Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative found that about 5.8% of the state’s third-graders, or a total of about 5,680, received scores on reading tests last year that could result in them being required to repeat a grade. The report was based on results from the M-STEP exam taken last spring by 95% of students in grades 3-7.

Both studies showed the lowest-performing students in every quartile sustained the biggest learning loss, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity. However, just as COVID-19 took a disproportionate toll on the health and well-being of non-white households, learning losses were most severe among Black, Latino, and low-income students.

The pandemic left a wide wake of damage, some of it far beyond the control of schools: staffing shortages, anxiety and mental health threats to children, for example. But this is all the more reason we need comprehensive, collaborative strategies to make up for lost learning — and to resume our forward progress.

Regaining lost ground

This will not be easy. Fortunately, West Michigan is home to several proven education innovations that were in place before the pandemic. At TalentFirst, where our K-12 Working Group brings business and education leaders together to collaborate on solutions, we are proud to have partnered with and advocated for several of these innovations.

Some examples:

Competency-based education: A growing body of research shows students make better gains when they advance based on their proficiency with the content — rather than time spent on the content. This approach enhances student and teacher engagement alike and is expanding nationwide. One leader in this movement is Kenowa Hills Public Schools, one of seven districts statewide selected in 2017 to launch a pilot program. The success and leadership of Kenowa is informing our advocacy, alongside groups such as the Future of Learning Council, for state policy to support development of competency-based education programs.

Reading Now Network/Michigan Transformational Learning Collaborative: This West Michigan-led innovation was formed by 20 superintendents across the region to improve early literacy. By developing intervention strategies for those students not reading at grade level, the Reading Now Network transformed the way teachers and literacy coaches were working with students. In fact, the effort was so effective it was expected to show big gains in student literacy levels before testing was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. The program now is adding numeracy and expanding to school districts across Michigan as the Michigan Transformational Learning Collaborative (MiTLC).

Center for Sound Literacy: This Grand Rapids nonprofit founded eight years ago by John and Nancy Kennedy works within K-5 schools to combine continual literacy coaching for classroom teachers with direct intensive interventions for students that are based on their individual level of reading proficiency. During COVID-19, while many local schools went fully remote, the foundation was able to successfully continue in-person student learning using extensive safety protocols such as masking and air filtration. The program posted a noteworthy accomplishment: At the same time other students in the state were losing ground, students participating in the Center for Sound Literacy program actually showed significant gains in reading, effectively catching up students who were two to three grade levels behind.

What these successes show

Advances such as these are the result of long-running collaboration in West Michigan between employers, educators and policymakers. And they are encouraging. But the pandemic proves we need to continue working together, and that we must increase and accelerate our efforts.

West Michigan business leaders have long recognized that a quality education is an essential building block so every student can thrive and reach their full potential. This is why TalentFirst has been a strong advocate for investing in quality preschool for at-risk students and increased per-pupil funding in K-12, particularly for at-risk students.

This support remains as strong as ever in the wake of the pandemic, which has sparked intense transformation in almost every aspect of our lives. Just as business, health care, and other sectors have adapted to the shifting landscape, we need to apply the lessons of the pandemic to our education strategies.

The academic losses highlighted by these recent studies should galvanize us to build on and expand successful strategies like those above using the unprecedented investments made in K-12 education recently. The need is urgent, and the stakes are high. We cannot afford a lost generation. We owe it to these kids — and our own future — to ensure they have the education and support they need to thrive.

Kevin Stotts is president of TalentFirst, an alliance of West Michigan CEOs who are joined by HR leaders, educators, workforce leaders and policymakers to collaborate on resources, strategies, tactics, advocacy and accountability to improve the recruitment, development and retention of talent in West Michigan.