The headline is: \u201cPANDEMIC CLOSURES IMPACT KID\u2019S TEST SCORES!!!!\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s screamed from the rooftops, the \u201cshocking\u201d result of the Covid era \u2013 the \u201cCovid Gap\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0I was a teacher for over thirty-five years. I made the \u201cmistake\u201d of taking a long-term substitute job the week before Covid closed the world.\u00a0\u00a0We switched \u201con the fly\u201d to online education.\u00a0\u00a0When kids did come back the next year, it was with masks, alternating schedules and days, and limited interactions with classmates and teachers.\u00a0\u00a0So my question is simple:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat the Hell did you expect?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cworld\u201d was already complaining about education before the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0So when schools were shut down, and a whole different form of mass education applied with \u201conline\u201d schooling, did you think it was really going to improve things?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And, shock of shocks (not), urban schools had worse outcomes than suburban schools.\u00a0\u00a0How could that be a surprise to anyone?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know that Covid was a dramatically \u201curban\u201d disease, so of course urban schools took more draconian actions.\u00a0\u00a0And we know that poorer folks had less computer and internet access, and less opportunity for childcare.\u00a0\u00a0So now \u201centerprising reporters\u201d discovered the \u201cgreat revelation\u201d that education was impacted more in urban than suburban schools (some that completely ignored Covid protocols):\u00a0\u00a0the \u201cCovid Gap\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can go back and argue again whether Covid protocols were necessary. \u201cMonday morning Quarterbacking\u201d is an American tradition. The best science of the time became the political issue of the day. We really don\u2019t know the cost that states like the \u201cFree Republic of Florida\u201d or Texas paid for pretending Covid wasn\u2019t serious. How many thousands died that didn\u2019t have to die? But that question; who was right, who was wrong, who should have been sacrificed, doesn\u2019t really matter anymore. Either way, we are left with the \u201cCovid Gap\u201d in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look, I bet Ukrainian test scores are down too. In fact, I bet test scores are down worldwide. Whenever there\u2019s societal disruption, schools become the \u201cfrontline\u201d, and education gets left behind. So whether Dr. Fauci was right or wrong isn\u2019t the issue anymore. The best intended or necessary choices of that time all have a current outcome. Kids aren\u2019t \u201cup to snuff\u201d on their scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the Covid pandemic, we saved the American economy with a dramatic expansion in government spending. Even as the unemployment rate approached 15%, the government was plowing trillions of dollars into businesses through the PPP \u201cloans\u201d. And we were individually getting money as well, thousands of dollars, checks with the a \u201cthank you note\u201d from the President so we knew who sent it. And there was money pushed into schools systems. Covid protections, improved ventilation systems, better online accessibility were included. But, Covid relief money or not, the online education era was, for the vast majority of students, nowhere near as effective as going to school, being in class, and having a teacher in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know what works in education: smaller student to teacher ratios and more time on task. We also know what the most expensive factor in education is: the salaries of the teachers (80% of most school districts\u2019 budgets). If you want to fix the \u201cCovid Gap\u201d, it\u2019s going to cost you. Want longer school days, or all-year schooling, or more teachers in class, all important possible solutions? Don\u2019t expect teachers to do that for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
More teachers: today, fewer students are even going into the profession. More time: today, schools are attacked for everything from books on the shelves to the courses in the curriculum. A portion of the public doesn\u2019t even trust the time their kids spend in school now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both of those solutions require more money. It\u2019s fine for the news media to \u201cdiscover\u201d that students are falling behind, especially after Covid. But unless Americans are willing to put the same kind of investment into education that we put into the economy to avoid a \u201cCovid Depression\u201d, it\u2019s all just talk. There is a literal price to pay to fill in the \u201cCovid Gap\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n