The NAEP results highlight the continued effects of COVID-19 on our students and confirm what educators have been saying for more than two years. The pandemic exacerbated existing gaps in opportunity and learning experiences between students in well-funded schools and those in chronically underfunded schools. The impacts on students of color, English learners and students with disabilities were particularly acute.
Standardized tests are a snapshot in time and must be viewed alongside other indicators that tell us about student learning conditions and life experiences. Viewed in isolation, scores alone cannot identify what our students need or how to best support them.
Teachers work with all school staff to meet students where they are and provide high-quality education while also addressing student trauma, mental health issues, and other pandemic-related challenges. They need the support and cooperation of policymakers and education officials, not guidance that permits ineffective approaches like dual teaching, requiring educators to simultaneously teach both in-person and remote students.
Facing multiple disruptions and an unprecedented shortage of teachers, paraeducators and support staff, school counselors, social workers and psychologists, our dedicated educators have gone to great lengths to ensure their students learn, grow, and thrive.
