"A majority (62 percent) of parents of high school students say they are concerned that school closures because of COVID-19 will cause their child to fall behind in their academic career, according to a recent Kaplan nationwide survey*. The survey also finds that less than half (48 percent) of the parents surveyed are confident that they can manage their child’s learning at home, given the support and information they currently have.
One study finds that as of March 25, almost every state has closed their schools because of COVID-19, affecting at least 55.1 million students.
The Kaplan survey also finds that a majority of high school parents are also thinking about a series of other COVID-19-related issues that may impact their children:" …
Kaplan is in the business of selling exam prep materials so of course they want parents to panic about this.
Very nearly every student in the US (as well as millions of others around the world) will have their academic year disrupted. That means that the education system will have no choice but to account for the disruption when classes resume and when students work their ways through the college application process. It’s not like there are a whole lot of not-affected-by-any-shut-down students out there for the colleges to favor over the stay-at-home bunch.
I’m not too concerned for DS21. He’s in grade 11 and his course load this semester was mostly elective courses with just 1 core class (chemistry) having had a much heavier first semester. TBH he has a late birthday and could use some time to mature so we were considering he might take a gap year after graduation any way. We’re not in a rush for him to get through school and the extra time could be a bonus for him. Taking a pause is not the end of the world.
I remember a study that showed that kids from enriched homes with educated parents had higher reading levels after the summer, but that was not true for families where both parents worked or the educational resources were lower. So the impact will be worse for some than others.
I am sure my kid (freshman) will fall behind and that eventually her Board scores will suffer for it. I don’t give a crap. I just want her to have a semi normal childhood again. If she misses out on top tier colleges, oh well. There are more important things.
Maybe I am in the minority, but my S’s school is doing an outstanding job at distance learning. He is a sophomore and I am not at all worried about him being prepared for next year. His online school day runs 8:30-2:25 just like it does when school is in session. He has homework for several hours.
His tests are verified with the online verification thing (not sure what it’s called) and I also sign off that he didn’t have any books or notes while he took the test.
I work in a school district (not as an educator), and I know that our leaders were waiting for direction from the county and state. It took time and then there are issues of access for students as well as IEPs and special education.
All along we have been training staff on how to do e-learning with daily seminars using meet. Our teachers who have been doing e learning for a couple of years are helping teach as well.
In planning meetings, there are concerns about students who will do well in classes but might not in this abbreviated timeline complete all of the units for for a course. Specifically math is the biggest concern.
Our teachers are already revamping their teaching next year to include those chapters in summer work or the beginning of the school year and testing to see where kids are going to struggle.
Basically we have never been in this situation before. Students may temporarily be behind over all, but it won’t be “forever”. Since students are stressed, lonely, lacking a schedule, I’d hold off on supplemental enrichment on top of them learning to learn in a new way.
Daily students email me - how do I know when my class will be live online - I need to know the day before so I can be prepared! How do I learn at home, I can only learn at school? As well as - my mom lost her job and now we don’t have internet how can I learn online? Or my older brother needs the computer for college, I don’t get to use it as often. Or, My parents have to work and I have to take care of my brothers and get them online schooling - I can’t be online with my class at the same time.
So try not to obsess with missing school. Everyone is on the same boat and it will all work out.
DD’s online learning is definitely more lax than the classroom was. Only 3 kids showed up for a 9:30am online lecture one day. DD said one of the other kids told the teacher “Jeff sleeps until 1:00”. The school isn’t strictly following their ordinary daily schedule, however, so often teachers are giving lectures at the same time and some kids have to watch the video recordings later to catch up on one class or the other. There is lots of understanding and forgiveness, but I told DD not to get used to it.
As far as DD is concerned, the only class I am concerned about is math. Not that she is struggling, but because it builds on itself more so than the others she takes. If they don’t get through the entire curriculum this year I worry about her being prepared to continue in the fall. Fortunately her tutor will work online with her to keep her on track.
My son’s online learning is also quite lax. @LTmomof2 is your son in a private school? I’ve compared notes with a friend whose kids attend private school and they are working like yours, quite rigorous and synchronous, whereas our (very good) public is more scaled back, concerned about screen time, asynchronous, and seems very basic.
I am 100% concerned about my high schooler’s mental and physical health. Just the lack of routine for 6 months (spring through summer) will make for a huge adjustment in the fall or whenever they go back. Increased screen time? Not just concerned, but living it. Physical health concerns? Absolutely. His coach is sending daily workouts which is nice, but it’s not that rewarding to force yourself to workout in your room. Just hanging out in the house 24/7 (he does take occasional runs with siblings) makes for a sedentary lifestyle, not healthy for anyone let alone growing kids, plus all of the snacking. (We are in a state that has a very strong stay at home order).
I’m not really concerned about “falling behind” because all of the kids are in the same ‘sinking sea that sinks all ships’. Now, if he was an A+ student with a chance for huge scholarships or Ivys and will be in a super competitive spot for college admissions, I might be concerned about things that would affect his ACT/SAT, etc. But he’s not.
I read a thread from my school’s K-3 PTO about parent difficulties within online learning and man, that situation seems SO MUCH harder.
@TS0104
Yes, my son is in private school and I do realize that can make a difference. He is very much missing spring sports and his friends. I never thought in a million years I would say this, but thank God for Fortnite. At least he gets to talk to his friends even though he can’t see them.
OMG @LTmomof2 little did we know that the Fortnite craze would actually have some benefits for upcoming major lifestyle changes! I should get my S reconnected with that…he’s playing a different online game with just 1 or 2 remote friends. Thx for the tip. As for private vs public, as my friend said, well, the private school parents are paying a lot of $$$, so there are much higher expectations from the parents. Plus, maybe the private schools don’t have to consider as strongly any limitations at home (resources, home life situations) that the publics need to consider. Good luck. I don’t know about you, but I am much more concerned about my high schooler than my college kids right now…they seem to be dealing with the situation much better.
My son is a senior and honestly, I just don’t care at this point. Half his classes are electives he doesn’t really need so I wish they’d just let him drop them. His college spot is secure and while he might not do as well on his AP test he’s not trying to test out of taking the class in college either.
My 4th grader is not getting much in the way of academics right now, but he’s getting to spend a lot of time with his much loved older brother that is (hopefully) headed off to college this fall. I’m working from home and there’s a lot more family time and a lot less scheduled rushing about. Maybe he’s learning other things about life that are ultimately more important than diagramming sentences? Either way, it is what it is and we’re all in the same boat.
My kids’ high school puts out syllabi for the semester. They are finishing the syllabus for each class through remote learning. Not too concerned about my Freshman. I’m confident that my junior is not behind because she is taking mostly AP’s and her school either finished (before schools closed) or is finishing the national curriculum, so she should be good as well.
I have a 5th grader I am not too worried about a Freshman that spends 30 mins on school work and 11 hrs on Fortnight and a junior who is doing well in school but has yet to take an SAT or ACT. She was to take both of those for the first time in March and April. She has ADD and a 504 and had weekly private tutoring since January for both. She did not very well on her PSAT so was hoping to be able to have multiple shots at her SAT so far we have had none. Her applications will be due in November and not sure when she will be able to take these tests?
“Very nearly every student in the US (as well as millions of others around the world) will have their academic year disrupted”
I agree with @happymomof1. I do not see this as having an impact on students applying to “hard to get accepted to” universities for the simple reason that every student in the world is being impacted the same way.
Over the next four or five years there might be very slightly more students taking calculus as a freshman in university rather than as a senior in high school. I do not think that this is a big deal.
For some reason this has reminded me of a few times that the Tour de France was interrupted by cows or other animals. They just stop while someone clears the animals out of the way, and then resume their race.
Our kids will resume their race when the pandemic is over. It will be over at some point.