“COVID Learning Loss”
“Pandemic Delay”
“Student Learning Gaps”
I see and hear these catch phrases all the time. Just Google ‘COVID Learning Loss’ and you’ll see what I mean. Here’s a sampling of some articles that point out how learning has been affected during the pandemic:
Pandemic learning loss is real and kids need help to catch up, education experts say
Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic
The pandemic has had devastating impacts on learning. What will it take to help students catch up?
As Superintendent, I hear about the COVID effects:
“How are you going to have students catch-up?
“Many students are further behind now than they would have been if the pandemic never happened.“
“What will you prioritize to make up the difference?”
“How will you accelerate learning so that they are up-to-date?”
I understand the concern being expressed. I do.
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The Power of Why 
Thanks, Dave for sharing. I agree with this and would add or emphasize that in some sense our focus should be on educators. The kids as you have suggested are alright. Alright in the sense that they aren’t broken. But I worry educators are broken and their continued brokenness may negatively impact children. Obviously, this is not about blame but continuing to acknowledge the varying degrees of readiness and well-being that our educators are at. My wonderings lie in how we can continue to support and celebrate educators and ensure that their well-being will positively impact themselves, each other and kids.
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HI Dean. You are right. The stress and strain on our educators has been enormous during this time of ever-changing expectations. We have made mental-health awareness a critical part of our support strategies in our district, but there is always more we can do. Our educators are the life-blood of our system, and we need to do what we can to support them. Thank you for your BANG-ON comments.
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I think some parent angst revolves around a fear of standardized and Provincial testing. The question they may be
meaning to ask is about whether that testing is going to include areas that our children might not have learned or achieved to the extent expected pre-Covid. If parents can be assured that any Provincial testing is not going to adversely affect their children’s progress through the system, especially in high school, there wouldn’t be such angst?
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Hi Sheila, great question! Provincial assessments such as the FSA, numeracy and literacy assessments are less focused on content, and more around skill level. They allow us to determine where students may be having some difficulties at any one particular point in time. They are not used to indicate final student achievement, but more around their growth over time. We will continue to use them as a tool in our tool chest of instruments to determine how we can best support all students.
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