With all of South Florida’s school districts refusing to allow for classroom education options currently, comes a new study highlighting the concerns about distance learning which have been articulated by Florida’s Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and Education Secretary Betsy Devos. Distance learning isn’t just leading to a little less learning, it's leading to a loss of most of it.
According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Urban Education Institute, there are hard numbers we can point to regarding the amount of learning that’s taking place with distance learning options provided in lieu of classroom education options. Eleven percent of students are learning more with distance learning, twenty-five percent of students are learning about the same while sixty-four the percent of students are learning less.
This study illustrates a few interesting points. In terms of unlocking the potential in students, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. It’s notable that 11% of students are thriving in the virtual classroom environment. It’s also interesting that about a quarter are performing about the same. With the success of Florida’s Virtual School, the largest in the county, this is something which perhaps should be considered by parents who have and are seeing their kids thrive in this environment. A 75% increase in enrollment for Florida's Virtual School entering the 2020-2021 school year, it's likely many parents already have. But then we must address the elephant in the room. The incredible disservice being done for most students.
It’s alarming that nearly two-thirds of all children are learning less. The United States ranked 17th in reading, 19th in science, and 30th in math outcomes prior to the pandemic. If 64% of students are now performing worse what will that bring? Throughout the pandemic, the question has been asked about whether the remedy is worse than the disease regarding numerous policies. When it comes to education, what does the future look like for the next generation who already were trailing much of the developed world in education and are now being set-up in a system which is producing worse results for most? And that is independent of the fact that we’ve paid for classroom education which isn’t being provided, yet isn’t being refunded. We truly need to take back our schools. It’s empirical that Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties aren’t acting in either the best educational interests of students or taxpayers.
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