Why Did Students Struggle Most in Math during the Pandemic?

Why Did Students Struggle Most in Math during the Pandemic?

Students at American public schools struggled in math during the pandemic.

The National Assessment¹ of Education Progress (NAEP) is a math and reading test given to fourth and eighth grade students in public schools around the country. Results from this year showed that students' scores had the largest decreases in math since 1990, when the test was first released.

All areas of the U.S. reported lower test scores in math. More than one-third of students scored below basic levels. The decreases were also more severe in math than in reading.

There has been a lot of evidence showing that students struggled with remote learning during the pandemic. They especially struggled with math, said Frances Anderson. She is an education researcher with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a former teacher. Her work centers on math ability.

She said in an interview with The Conversation that students, who are not as skilled in math, need more face-to-face learning.

Anderson said that during remote learning, "teachers didn't have as many ways to keep students engaged. It was difficult to do hands-on activities and project-based learning, which are better for students who struggle in math."

She added that a lot teaching math is visual learning. "You need so much more than one screen," she said.

Heather Hill and Jon Star are professors at Harvard University's school of education. They spoke² on Harvard University's education podcast about the NAEP results. Hill said "math scores have always been more sensitive [than reading and English scores] to students' opportunities to learn."

She said a lot of reading skills are developed in the home, in addition to school. Kids can read books and the internet at home, or read text messages from friends, for example. But there are fewer ways for kids to work on math skills outside of the classroom.

"School is the only place that kids, for the most part, learn math," Hill said.

Star, who is also a math teacher, argued that NAEP scores were low for eighth graders because of the age at which these students started learning remotely. He said that the two years leading up to eighth grade, where scores declined³ the most, are extremely important for building math skills. He said those are the years when students start moving from arithmetic to algebra⁴, and other more complex mathematics. The NAEP for eighth graders largely tests algebra skills.

"So...it's no surprise that they're really struggling. Those struggles are not going to be easy to make go away," Star said.

He added that in online learning, teachers were forced to teach math using the "least desirable aspects of math instruction that we would want to see." Teachers had to lecture more and there was less student interaction, which is not as effective for math instruction, he said.

"It's not necessarily the teachers' fault, it's just the way that they've been forced to teach during the pandemic," Star said.

Hill added that there is some evidence that teachers do not perform as well when they teach math. Often, teachers do not especially enjoy math, nor think of themselves as math experts, she said. And that feeling can make it hard to teach the subject confidently.

Both said it is going to very difficult for schools to make up for learning losses during the pandemic, especially for the students who struggled the most. Especially with math, students returned from the pandemic with uneven⁵ abilities. It can be hard for teachers to form lesson plans for entire classes when the skills are so varied⁶ among students, Star said.

They agreed that to make up for the loss in learning, students are going to need a lot of extra help outside the classroom.

"Students who have fallen behind should have twice as much instruction," said Anderson, from the University of Nebraska.

Resources should go to students and communities which struggled the most, often minorities, Hill suggested. For example, tutoring students in small groups can help kids catch up in math.

Hill said although difficulties lie ahead, "kids are pretty resilient. You give kids opportunities to learn and they learn stuff."

Words in This Story

remote — adj. connected by a computer and not in a place such as a school or office

engage — v. to get involved or be interested in something

arithmetic — n. the part of mathematics that deals with adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing numbers

lecture — n. a talk or speech given to a group of people to teach them about a subject

resilient — adj. to become healthy, strong or to recover after something bad happens

opportunity — n. the chance to do something

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。