“… Shortening the school day or rushing through curriculum is counterproductive to developing functional literacy in the digital age. ~ Daniel J. Levitin,
“Many kids don’t get enough time in school for the stuff they need help with. Teachers [need] more time for their students during the day and more time to thoroughly go through lessons instead of speeding through them.” — Teen Ink
And yet: Some 2,100 schools in 26 states have adopted a 4-day school week, with Colorado coming in at 66% and Missouri at 25%.
Plus, as Education Week’s Jill Barshay writes, “Many grade-inflating teachers say that they feel pressure from administrators to comply with equitable grading policies that forbid zeroes, allow unlimited retakes, and eliminate penalties for late work…”
At the same time, about homework, a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of 279 teachers finds that:
- 40% said homework has decreased in the last two years.
- 33% said it has stayed the same.
- 3% said it’s increased.
- 24% don’t give any homework at all.
About homework, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Dr. Jessica Calarco says, “It’s hard to assign homework at a level that every student can complete fully independently without needing an adult to help them…” She adds that, “It is just too difficult for kids to eat their dinner, go to all these extracurricular activities, and get a decent night’s sleep.”
About homework, Boston University’s Dr. Janine Bempechat counters Dr. Calarco with: “Instead of no homework, schools can, instead, create opportunities for students to complete homework during the school day or provide assistance after school. That’s how we should be thinking about the equity issue rather than minimizing homework; otherwise, it may end up hurting the very kids we want to be helping the most.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Barshay also noted that “… A’s are more common. Failure is rarer than it once was. At the same time, student achievement as measured by standardized tests like the ACT and NAEP [the Nation’s Report Card] has stagnated or declined. Grades say students are learning more. Test scores say they are not.”
And so, the Educational Opportunity Project finds that:
~ In reading, 83% of districts report declining reading scores over the last 10 years.
** On average, 4th graders scored 219/250 (Proficient level = 238).
** 8th-grade reading levels were at their lowest since 1990.
** Just 35% of 12th graders scored at or above the Proficient level.
~ In math:
** Just 31% of 4th graders scored at or above the Proficient level, with 61% below it.
** The 8th graders scored 9 points below pre-pandemic levels, equal to one full grade level.
** 78% of 12th graders scored at or below the Basic level.
And that should keep us all awake at night…
~With my thanks, Carol
