A new report from the California Department of Education (CDE) shows that students suffered academically during the 2020-2021 school year during Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns, particularly in math.
According to a report from Fox News, the results come from a student performance assessment conducted in the 2020-2021 school year when most California public school students were taking part in remote learning.
Fox explained that students across the board performed poorly in math, with minority students faring worse due to limited at-home academic resources available to them during the pandemic.
Minority students fared worse academically, with more than 60% of Black and Latino students not meeting English standards and about 80% of minority students not meeting math expectations. Various U.S. studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic and school lockdowns put lower-income and minority students at a significant disadvantage due to a lack of available resources such as computers and WiFi.
Overall, 49% of all students in all grade levels between three and 11 met or exceed expectations in English Language Arts. More than 21% of students exceeded ELA standards and nearly 28% met standards while about 23% almost met standards and 28% did not meet standards.
A surprising 41% of students in all grade levels did not meet math standards.
Only 34% of students in all grade levels met or exceeded expectations in mathematics. Only about 16% exceeded expectations in math and 18% met expectations while 25% almost met expectations.
In a statement published Thursday, California State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond said that “our road ahead is clear – we must continue to focus our energy and resources in supporting our students, families, and educators so they not only recover from the impacts of COVID-19but thrive in days ahead.”
In the statement, she added that this must remain “our top priority.”
In the CDE’s report, third and fourth grade students showed the most academic strength in math, with about 40 percent of students from both grade levels meeting or exceeding expectations. Less than 35 percent of students in all other grades met or exceeded expectations for their academic level.
Fox’s report adds that California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, approved a $123.9 billion education spending package in July. This funding will go toward expanding after-school and summer programs to accelerate students’ learning and address mental health and wellness needs.
"I am grateful to the Legislature and Governor Newsom for last year’s historic education package that provides a record-high level of funding to help transform our system to one dedicated to addressing all the impacts of COVID-19 on our students—academic, behavioral, social-emotional and physical," Darling-Hammond concluded in her statement.