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.