Editor’s Note: Portions of this story have been updated to more accurately reflect the role of the state Department of Education.
As Delaware gears up for its third full school year since the start of the pandemic, newly released state assessment results show that students are still playing catch-up.
Last school year, 2021-2022, was the first year that most students returned to the classroom full time since the pandemic disrupted the end of the 2020 school year, according to the Delaware Department of Education. With most students still learning either virtually or in a hybrid format in 2021, the department cautioned that comparing test scores across these two years was “not appropriate” due to “vastly different” student experiences.
Still, many of the same trends in last year’s standardized test scores are still apparent in 2022’s data.
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The average proficiency across all subjects and assessments is still lower than it was before the pandemic. The average math proficiency across all public and charter schools was just 30% in 2022, a decrease of 32% from 2019. The Education Department also reported that 42% of students were proficient in English language arts, a 21% decrease from pre-pandemic rates.
Overall, the state assessment scores for math and English rose in the past year. The same could not be said for science, social studies and SATs.
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Only 1 in 4 Delaware students tested were proficient in science last year, according to data from the Department of Education. Similarly, less than a third of students tested were proficient in social studies.
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On the SAT, 47% of students were proficient in the evidence-based reading and writing portion, and 38% were proficient on the essay. Less than a quarter were proficient in math.
And while these scores represent a drop for students across the board, Black and Latino students continue to lag significantly behind their white and Asian peers — a pattern that predates the pandemic. Even in 2015, the earliest reported year of state assessments available online, the proficiency of Black and Latino students on standardized tests was well below the state average. The same is true of students with disabilities and those still learning English.
Theresa Bennett, director of the Office of Assessment for the Department of Education, said that the state, along with districts and charters, analyzes these disparities so that they can “determine where that support and resources need to go.” She said the department will continue to partner with districts and charters to help them analyze their data, identify needs and implement plans to address the disparities.
Specific examples include the mathematics and literacy plans. The technical assistance, coaching and resources provided to educators from the state are not to help them with the content, they are to help them with how to teach the content, differentiating to meet learning needs and styles.
A first-grade teacher doesn’t need support on how to add two-digit numbers, but they may need support on how to most effectively teach that skill to different types of learners. This is how you close those gaps, the Education Department said: by better meeting student needs.
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Bennett said some educators may not have aligned their curriculum to the test subjects. These issues must be addressed at the district or charter school level.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.