Educators See Lower Engagement, Lower Achievement During the Pandemic

A survey of K–12 math and writing teachers released today found that most believe student engagement has waned during the pandemic and that student achievement has also suffered.

According to the survey, conducted by ed tech company Texthelp, 85% of writing teachers and 76% of math teachers found student engagement in their respective subjects to be lower since the start of the pandemic.

Further, a substantial one-third of writing teachers said that 75% of students are failing to meet writing expectations. And 80% said that half or more of their students were failing to meet expectations. Writing teachers also indicated they need help, with 73% saying they need more training to teach writing well. And 49% of them said they have spent less time on writing instruction during this period.

According to Texthelp: "The survey also uncovered some positive outcomes. Nearly all of the teachers took advantage of digital tools to support remote, hybrid, or in-classroom learning. In many cases, they used more than one tool to make sure students had access to the curriculum and were engaged. Nearly every teacher saw the value and benefit of digital tools in their classroom. And the majority (nearly 90%), are planning to continue to use learning tools during the coming school year. These trends indicate that the modern classroom is using technology to adapt to the complex needs of students, wherever they are learning."

Texthelp is the maker of EquatIO, a math instruction tool that is free for teachers, and WriQ, a writing instruction tool.

The survey gathered results from 323 U.S. educators, including 198 writing teachers and 125 math teachers. Further details can be found at texthelp.com.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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