Critical – & I Mean CRITICAL – Point About “Learning Loss” That Is Being…..Lost

 

Much of the public date about in-person versus virtual instruction attributes reduced test scores to distance learning.

However, as these tweets point out, the majority of factors that influence student achievement lay outside the schoolhouse walls (also see The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher (& Outside Factors) Have On Student Achievement).

Here are some useful tweets.  I’ve blocked out a classroom inappropriate word in the first one, and I’m adding this blog post to Trying To Bring Research, Sanity, Teacher Expertise & Student Voice To The “Learning Loss” Discussion.

Very important thread https://t.co/nBiE4aX5Cl

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) January 9, 2022

Regression analysis has shown that family income and non-school factors account for 60% of the variance in student test scores (Haertel, 2013; Borman and Dowling, 2012; Coleman et. al., 1966).https://t.co/Hrj2icQiGa

— Corey (@DaKittenz) January 8, 2022

Only 20% of the variance is attributed to work inside of the school building – and only half of that falls within teachers’ control (ASA, 2014).

Put another way, out-of-school factors are SIX TIMES as powerful an effect on test score results as classroom teaching.

— Corey (@DaKittenz) January 8, 2022

Back to the pandemic where students lacked access to functional computers + high speed internet as well as adequate health care + healthy and safe homes, of course they wouldn't perform as well since COVID exposed and exacerbated the divide in outside of school living conditions.

— Corey (@DaKittenz) January 8, 2022

This isn't an endorsement for long term virtual schooling since government has still failed to resource + protect us, just a reminder that if we'd stayed in person all last year there would still be huge learning loss/gaps as virtual wasn't the true driver of academic outcomes.

— Corey (@DaKittenz) January 8, 2022

So anyone who continues the apples to oranges pandemic outcomes vs non-pandemic outcomes comparison is at best ignorant of half a century of remarkably consistent educational research and at worst is actively engaged in bad faith arguments to further their agenda.

— Corey (@DaKittenz) January 8, 2022