Declining test scores, social skills caused by school boards and teachers unions, mother says
A mother-of-four from Fairfax, Virginia, blames school boards and teachers' unions across the country for the decline in students' math and reading scores.
The "absenteeism" trend is still depleting classrooms nationwide as the pandemic era draws to a close, raising questions about the harms done by remote and hybrid learning and causing concern among parents and educators alike.
"Some districts still ‘pivot to remote’ - what happens when kids can't pivot? They're absent, they miss material, they fall behind, they're absent some more. Chronic absenteeism of the last two years is a cautionary tale," Arlington Parents for Education, a non-profit coalition of parents, tweeted Saturday.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the coalition said the message that treating physical school attendance as "unimportant" is a major culprit behind the decline.
"We continue to be concerned about the level of absenteeism following the return from COVID school closures, which we have heard anecdotally from teachers is greater than typical at this time of the year," the organization wrote.
DEMOCRATS TRY TO REWRITE HISTORY AROUND SCHOOL CLOSINGS, REOPENINGS AMID LEARNING LOSS
Back to school concept. School empty classroom, Lecture room with desks and chairs iron wood for studying lessons in highschool thailand without young student, interior of secondary education (iStock)
"When educators and administrators send the message that physically attending school is unimportant – whether by closing schools during the pandemic, applying quarantine restrictions that are more onerous than needed, or (as in Arlington) trying to establish virtual instruction programs – it is not surprising that absenteeism would increase.
"School districts should be emphasizing, in word and deed, the importance of physically attending schools, where our teachers can have their greatest impact," they added.
The issue goes far beyond Arlington, however.
Researchers affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and the nonprofit organization Attendance Works discovered at least 10.1 million students were "chronically absent" during the 2020-2021 school year, according to The Washington Post, but the problem may be getting worse.
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Masked students receive an in-person art lesson at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on January 05, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
"Early data from a handful of states during the pandemic’s second full school year shows that absenteeism may have dramatically worsened. Rates will probably double, compared with the pre-pandemic year, researchers said — an "alarming" increase," Donna St. George, an education reporter for The Washington Post, wrote.
She added that these researchers claim the issue has "clearly driven down test scores" since the pandemic began, citing Johns Hopkins education professor Robert Balfanz as directing the problem to "less instruction" or "less-consistent" instruction.
St. George noted four states – Ohio, Virginia, Connecticut and a portion of California – whose data indicate alarming spikes in absenteeism for the 2021-2022 school year, even doubling as Balfanz predicted.
MORE THAN 30% OF LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICTS KEEPING COVID-ERA REMOTE LEARNING OPTIONS
A sign taped to the front door of Pulaski International School of Chicago reads, School Closed after Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest school district, said it would cancel classes since the teachers' union voted in favor of a return to remote learning, in Chicago, Jan. 5, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska (REUTERS/Jim Vondruska)
Project Baltimore dissected the issue in Maryland and made similar findings, especially in Baltimore County.
"Fewer and fewer students are attending public school in Maryland on a regular basis," FOX 45's Chris Papst wrote last month.
He characterized the problem as any student who misses more than 10% of the school year, and said the issue may even be criminal.
"It’s not just a barrier to student learning. It can also be illegal," he wrote.
Numbers jumped from 19% chronically absent in 2019 to 22% chronically absent in 2021, but Baltimore's elementary schools bore the brunt of the crisis with 30.5% chronically absent in 2022.
Amy Adams, president and spokesperson for the Baltimore County Parent and Student Coalition, told Fox News Digital several COVID-19-related policies - including mask requirements, restricted extracurricular activities and school closures, among others, lasted into early 2022 before a ""normal" return to classes this fall.
"Quarantine protocols were in place [for the 2021-2022 school year] sending exposed kids home repeatedly for prolonged periods for possible exposure and not permitting them to return until a certain number of days passed or a negative PCR Covid test was obtained," Adams said.
"Over 35 of the 175 schools closed again during January 2022 due to staffing shortages related to the local Covid surge-once again disengaging students from their school community and routine."
Adams, like others, voiced concerns over public schools' failure to engage a large percentage of the student body in consequence of the pandemic, noting that 15% of Baltimore County Public Schools' 111,000 students were "unable to be engaged" during the first term of the 2021-2022 school year.
"The Baltimore County Parent and Student Coalition tried to talk to our school and county leaders starting in the summer of 2020 about the unintended consequences prolonged school closure would have on the whole child. We watched as schools around the country and state re-opened in fall of 2020 and wondered what was so different about our students that required school buildings to remain empty," she wrote.
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"The Coalition is very interested in seeing data related to chronic absenteeism and then have the school system put forth a plan to address it. We know that children must first be in school and second be engaged in school to make strides and make up the academic and social shortcomings of the last 3 atypical years. We also know that in order for a child to have options as an adult in society, they much have at least a basic education," she added.
Nashville, Tennessee's FOX 17 found a similar predicament in area schools, saying the number of chronically absent students doubled since the pandemic and the regional board are looking to establish a committee to home in on the issue.
In Georgia, mass absences also took metro Atlanta and surrounding counties by storm during and after the pandemic, with the Atlanta Journal Constitution chalking up a bounty of the absences to quarantines, diagnoses, or waiting for test results during the Omicron surge in January.