In a recent article titled: Ed Department Official: Grades Are Up, Scores Are Down. Education ‘Runs on Lies, education writer Mark Schneider discusses what is perhaps the most tragic and pervasive issue in public schools. The crux of it - in Schneider's words: "As a country, we’ve dummied down standards. We’ve reduced them due to political pressure, and we’ve actually been lying to children and parents telling them they’re ready when they’re not . . . ”
If you are an educator yourself or an incredibly astute parent or student, you likely know what Schneider means. And it truly is heartbreaking. The fact that test scores are tanking while grades are on the rise is a clear sign that what's taking place in schools and the pressure on public school teachers has created an environment that just isn't getting it done.
Precipitating those challenges further, many colleges no longer require test scores for consideration in their admissions processes - one of many concessions of pandemic education.
This has us wondering:
Where are the current standards for college?
How are Universities making admissions decisions?
Based on what criteria exactly?
Has the current lack of clarity about college and career readiness trickled down to k-12 schools? To what end?
And most importantly, when will we begin scaling back these COVID era concessions for students and families, and once again let teachers teach, and students genuinely learn?
Of course, no one suggests full reinstatement of pre-COVID rigor and accountability without a gradual release of support. Right now, we think MORE initial support for students is needed. However, the kind of intervention we are proposing does not aim to inflate grades and disregard student performances on objective testing measures. Instead, we want to help schools create equity for students who have fallen behind and are no longer proficient with interdisciplinary skills at authentic grade-level standards.
Shoreline does this all over CT by providing school staffing solutions for special education; content-specific private, small group tutoring, and homebound instruction; general ELA and math interventions; and highly qualified long-term substitutes across all grade levels and content areas.
We work with public and independent districts at nearly every level, helping school leaders fill recent vacancies, or implement supplemental services and interventions to help
make up for lost learning.
To learn more about who we are and how we can help your school, visit www.shorelinetutors.com.