US Schools Help Students Behind in Math
2023-09-13
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1Across the United States, schools are working hard to help students catch up in math.
2Test scores after the pandemic show just how behind students are.
3On average, education experts say American students' math knowledge is about half a school year behind where it should be.
4Children lost ground on reading tests, too, but the math declines were more severe.
5Experts say online learning made it more difficult for math instruction.
6It was harder for teachers to guide students over a screen or see weaknesses in their skills.
7At home, parents were more likely to read with their children than to practice math.
8The result: students' math skills declined around the nation.
9And students are not recovering as quickly as educators hoped.
10Educators worry about how they will perform in high school and whether science, technology and medical fields will be available to them.
11Students had been making progress on national math tests since 1990.
12But over the past year, fourth- and eighth-grade math scores fell to the lowest levels in about 20 years.
13The information comes from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the "Nation's Report Card."
14"It's a generation's worth of progress lost," said Andrew Ho.
15He is a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.
16Jennifer Matthews teaches eighth grade at Moultrie Middle School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
17She said her students have shown little interest in understanding her pre-algebra and Algebra I lessons.
18"They don't allow themselves to process the material. They don't allow themselves to think, 'This might take a day to understand or learn,'" she said.
19Many students lack an understanding of math concepts.
20Basic fractions, for example, continue to confuse many of them, she said.
21Using federal pandemic money, some schools have added tutors.
22Some have started new approaches to teaching to help in the recovery.
23But that money will run out by next September before many children have caught up.
24Like other school systems across the country, Jefferson County Schools in Birmingham, Alabama, saw students' math skills fall from 2019 to 2021.
25Using pandemic aid, the system placed math coaches in all middle schools.
26The coaches help teachers learn new and better ways to teach students.
27About 1 in 5 public schools in the United States have a math coach, federal data says.
28The efforts appear to be working: State testing shows math scores have started to increase for most of the Jefferson County middle schools.
29Adding to the difficulty of catching kids up is the debate over how math should be taught.
30Some say schools should center procedural learning, like teaching kids to memorize how to solve problems step-by-step.
31Others prefer conceptual understanding, in which students learn underlying math relationships.
32Kevin Dykema is president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
33He said many people do not think of math as a fun subject.
34But "When people start to understand what's going on, in whatever you're learning but especially in math, you develop a new appreciation for it."
35Sarah Powell is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who researches math instruction.
36She said teaching math should not be either one way or another way.
37A change too far in the conceptual direction, she said, risks losing students who have not fully learned basic math skills.
38Even at a nationally recognized magnet school, the effect of the pandemic on students' math skills is clear.
39At the Townview School of Science and Engineering in Dallas, the incoming ninth graders in Lance Barasch's summer program needed to relearn the meaning of words like "term" and "coefficient."
40Barasch was not surprised that the students were missing some skills after their middle school years during the pandemic.
41The hope is that by taking a step back, students can begin to move forward.
42I'm Dan Novak.
1Across the United States, schools are working hard to help students catch up in math. 2Test scores after the pandemic show just how behind students are. On average, education experts say American students' math knowledge is about half a school year behind where it should be. 3Children lost ground on reading tests, too, but the math declines were more severe. Experts say online learning made it more difficult for math instruction. It was harder for teachers to guide students over a screen or see weaknesses in their skills. At home, parents were more likely to read with their children than to practice math. 4The result: students' math skills declined around the nation. And students are not recovering as quickly as educators hoped. Educators worry about how they will perform in high school and whether science, technology and medical fields will be available to them. 5Students had been making progress on national math tests since 1990. But over the past year, fourth- and eighth-grade math scores fell to the lowest levels in about 20 years. The information comes from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the "Nation's Report Card." 6"It's a generation's worth of progress lost," said Andrew Ho. He is a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. 7Jennifer Matthews teaches eighth grade at Moultrie Middle School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She said her students have shown little interest in understanding her pre-algebra and Algebra I lessons. 8"They don't allow themselves to process the material. They don't allow themselves to think, 'This might take a day to understand or learn,'" she said. 9Many students lack an understanding of math concepts. Basic fractions, for example, continue to confuse many of them, she said. 10Using federal pandemic money, some schools have added tutors. Some have started new approaches to teaching to help in the recovery. But that money will run out by next September before many children have caught up. 11Like other school systems across the country, Jefferson County Schools in Birmingham, Alabama, saw students' math skills fall from 2019 to 2021. Using pandemic aid, the system placed math coaches in all middle schools. 12The coaches help teachers learn new and better ways to teach students. About 1 in 5 public schools in the United States have a math coach, federal data says. The efforts appear to be working: State testing shows math scores have started to increase for most of the Jefferson County middle schools. 13Adding to the difficulty of catching kids up is the debate over how math should be taught. Some say schools should center procedural learning, like teaching kids to memorize how to solve problems step-by-step. Others prefer conceptual understanding, in which students learn underlying math relationships. 14Kevin Dykema is president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. He said many people do not think of math as a fun subject. But "When people start to understand what's going on, in whatever you're learning but especially in math, you develop a new appreciation for it." 15Sarah Powell is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who researches math instruction. She said teaching math should not be either one way or another way. A change too far in the conceptual direction, she said, risks losing students who have not fully learned basic math skills. 16Even at a nationally recognized magnet school, the effect of the pandemic on students' math skills is clear. At the Townview School of Science and Engineering in Dallas, the incoming ninth graders in Lance Barasch's summer program needed to relearn the meaning of words like "term" and "coefficient." 17Barasch was not surprised that the students were missing some skills after their middle school years during the pandemic. 18The hope is that by taking a step back, students can begin to move forward. 19I'm Dan Novak. 20Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 21_______________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23grade- n. a level of study that is completed by a student during one year 24allow - v. to permit 25concept - n. an idea of what something is or how it works 26fraction- n. a number (such as ¹/₂ or ³/₄) which indicates that one number is being divided by another 27tutor - n. a teacher who works with one student 28coach - n. a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer 29underlying - adj. used to identify the idea, cause, problem, etc., that forms the basis of something 30magnet school - n. a school that has courses in special subjects and is designed to attract students from all parts of a community 31term- n. the values on which mathematical operations occur in an algebraic expression 32coefficient- n. a number by which another number or symbol is multiplied