To Close Pandemic Academic Gaps, Experts Point to a ‘Cascade’ of Skills Young Kids Will Need To Work On
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At his Kumon Math and Reading Center Franchise in San Antonio, Sarit Kapur is accustomed to working with children who are at risk of falling behind in their academic progress.
Now, according to the tutor, due to the impact of the pandemic, not only is the risk a reality, but the gap between students is widening.
"Many students who were on the cusp of falling behind before the transition to virtual learning have indeed fallen behind," explained Kapur. He can clearly see the significant disparity in academic achievement among students who have spent the past two years in pandemic schooling as he tailors his tutoring sessions to match each child’s mastered level, rather than their age or grade level.
According to Kapur, the last time most second graders received the type of instruction that allowed them to develop their reading skills was during the first half of kindergarten in 2019.
It is no secret that early education nationwide has suffered setbacks during the pandemic. School closures, mask mandates, and remote learning have altered the way students learn to read, oftentimes resulting in outcomes inferior to in-person instruction.
Now, experts emphasize that it will take more than simply picking up where students left off two years ago in order for young students to fully recover. They highlight the importance of addressing students’ social, emotional, and behavioral skills, as these aspects significantly impact reading comprehension. Rushing students through the learning process is discouraged in favor of maintaining focus on their well-being and exercising patience.
In a typical year, young students would be refining their reading abilities based on years of foundational literacy skills, such as listening, speaking, and following along as sentences unfold on a page.
The educational deficit extends beyond functional reading skills. By first grade, students would also be familiar with classroom routines, proficient in participating during group activities, and well-versed in the classroom atmosphere.
However, many early elementary school students have not had the opportunity to develop these skills. Aside from the challenges posed by pandemic schooling, national data indicates that more parents opted to keep their young children out of pre-K and kindergarten during the pandemic. Consequently, a larger-than-usual number of children are now encountering classroom learning for the first time this year.
Kapur emphasizes that learning to read encompasses more than recognizing letters and sounds. He has always worked with pre-K students on fundamental skills such as pencil grip and sustaining focus for more than a couple of minutes at a time. These skills are typically expected to be established before entering kindergarten. However, he has observed an increase in older students requiring assistance with these skills.
"There has definitely been a rise in the number of children, especially those who did not attend school," Kapur notes.
Studies validate the increase in students performing below grade level in reading. The University of Virginia reports an 18-percentage-point rise in the number of first graders not meeting grade-level expectations. A nationwide study reveals that reading losses are concentrated primarily in the early grades, specifically kindergarten through second grade. These years are crucial for literacy development, as students are expected to have acquired reading skills by fourth grade in order to transition into "reading to learn."
For young readers, particularly those in pre-K and kindergarten, virtual learning was unable to provide all the resources and support they needed. They required the classroom environment. However, even returning to in-person schooling did not resolve all the challenges as anticipated. The second year of the pandemic saw intermittent closures and a return to virtual learning, disrupting the continuity of the school year. Additionally, it is challenging for students to focus on sentences like "A rat has a hat" when they have been preoccupied with the health concerns of family members. It is also difficult to distinguish between the sounds made by the letters "m" and "n" when teachers wear masks that cover their mouths.
Now that mask mandates are being lifted and school closures are becoming less frequent, teachers are shifting their focus to the collection of skills that students must acquire before reaching fourth grade in order to read fluently.
"To gain a comprehensive understanding of students’ academic needs, it is crucial for teachers to delve deeper," emphasized LaMonica Williams, the director of early reading programs at Teaching Matters, a nonprofit organization in New York that provides coaching and mentorship for teachers in low-income schools.
It is not enough to solely rely on flashcards or increasing the number of books students take home. As we bring the students back to the classroom, a different level of engagement is essential," Williams explained. Teachers need to be aware of the impact of the pandemic on their students and how they are adjusting to being back in a physical learning environment. It’s important to understand what worries them and where their frustrations lie.
Challenging Environments
The Palo Alto Unified School District in California has observed a familiar pattern among students. Those whose parents could afford private, in-person programs while schools were closed have fared better compared to those solely dependent on public schools.
Disparities have always been present between low-income Black and Latino students in Palo Alto and their white and Asian counterparts, who historically achieve higher outcomes. These discrepancies prompted Palo Alto to develop the Every Student Reads Initiative even before the pandemic hit.
The initiative was designed to address differentiation and acceleration. Consequently, Palo Alto administrators anticipate that it will be relevant in narrowing the learning gaps exacerbated by the pandemic. Research suggests that the best approach is to keep students with their grade-level peers and provide additional support to reinforce any missing skills, rather than placing them in remedial classes.
Although more students may require assistance, the district plans to allocate resources accordingly. For example, their summer programming, which typically focuses on enrichment for low-income students, offered direct reading instruction to any student who was below grade-level in reading. The more time students spend with their teachers, the better, according to Anne Brown, the assistant superintendent of elementary education in Palo Alto.
The predictability of schedules, rules, and rituals in a classroom helps students settle into a mindset that is ready for learning. However, the time spent away from the physical classroom has had a domino effect on other areas of learning.
Developmental Cascades
Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, a professor of applied psychology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, states that academic skills, such as reading, develop alongside social and emotional growth. She explains that a particular skill is the culmination of various factors working together.
In Steinhardt’s Play and Language Lab, Tamis-LeMonda investigates the concept of "developmental cascades," which refers to the interconnectedness of skills during early childhood. For instance, children develop social and emotional skills while also expanding their vocabulary to express their feelings.
The pandemic disrupted many of these cascades as students experienced isolation and anxiety. However, there is a silver lining – while these skills may have regressed like falling dominoes, they can also progress concurrently.
"Practice… is the key to mastery of any skill," Tamis-LeMonda affirms.
Sitting still, much like reading, is an area that requires gradual development adjusted for the pandemic and appropriate for each age group, according to Tamis-LaMonda. She encourages parents who wish to support their children in building this skill to approach it with patience. For example, if a child is resistant to sitting for longer than five minutes to practice sight words, she suggests gradually increasing the duration to ten quality minutes instead of forcing an entire miserable hour.
