Some Parents Do Not Know Their Children Struggle in School
2023-03-08
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1It is widely known that students' test scores decreased across the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2But many parents do not know that their own child or children are among those whose scores have suffered.
3In Boston, Massachusetts, Evena Joseph did not fully understand how much her 10-year-old son was struggling in school.
4She found out only with help from somebody who knows the Boston school system better than she does.
5Joseph is a Haitian immigrant.
6Her son, J. Ryan Mathurin, was in the 30th percentile in reading.
7That means 70 percent of students had stronger reading scores than him.
8But Joseph did not know how far behind her son was until a hospital where he was receiving treatment connected her with a bilingual aid.
9"It's only because I was assigned an educational advocate that I know this about my son," Joseph said.
10Schools have long faced criticism for failing to inform some parents about their kids' progress in school.
11But after COVID-19 school closures, the importance of keeping parents informed has in many ways never been greater.
12There are many chances to catch up, thanks to federal COVID aid.
13But it will take better communication with parents to help students get the support they need, experts say.
14"Parents can't solve a problem that they don't know they have," said Cindi Williams.
15She is co-founder of Learning Heroes, a nonprofit working to improve communication between public schools and parents about student progress.
16In 2022, Learning Heroes questioned 1,400 public school parents around the country.
17The group found that 92 percent believed their children were performing at grade level.
18But in a federal survey, school officials said half of all U.S. students started this school year behind grade level in at least one subject.
19The struggles that brought J. Ryan to the hospital for mental health treatment began in third grade.
20That was when he returned to in-person school after nearly a year of learning online.
21J. Ryan was getting angry in class, disrupting lessons and leaving the classroom.
22J. Ryan showed these behaviors during English and other classes, including Mandarin and gym.
23He did better in math class, one of his stronger subjects.
24But Joseph said teachers never told her about her son's problems with reading.
25Last spring, she sought treatment for her son's depression.
26She was helped at the hospital with the parent advocate who speaks English and Haitian Creole.
27The advocate pushed to get J. Ryan's scores from the tests given each fall to measure student learning.
28She explained to Joseph what it meant for J. Ryan to be in the 30th percentile in reading.
29Before this year, schools in the Boston system could decide whether to share test scores with parents.
30But it is not clear how many were doing it.
31In the fall, Boston schools started a communications program to help teachers explain testing results to parents as many as three times a year.
32Research shows there are many reasons teachers might not talk to parents about a student's academic progress, especially when the news is bad.
33"Historically, teachers did not get a lot of training to talk to parents," said Tyler Smith.
34He is a school psychology professor at the University of Missouri.
35School leadership and support for teachers also make a difference, he added.
36Teachers might also think that poorer parents do not care about their child's progress, said Williams, the co-founder of Learning Heroes.
37Without these discussions, parents only look at report cards.
38But report cards are considered to be subjective.
39They may not be the best signs of overall student success.
40Many school systems have used their federal pandemic recovery money for summer school, tutoring programs and other actions to help students recover from the pandemic.
41But students have not used the extra help as much as educators had hoped.
42If more parents knew their children were behind academically, they might seek help.
43After J. Ryan moved to a new school, Joseph stopped getting phone calls from the teacher complaining about his behavior.
44Joseph said her son is getting good treatment for his depression.
45But Joseph said she has not received a report card this year or the test scores that the district claims it is now sending to families.
46She said, "I'm still concerned about his reading."
47I'm Dan Novak.
1It is widely known that students' test scores decreased across the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2But many parents do not know that their own child or children are among those whose scores have suffered. 3In Boston, Massachusetts, Evena Joseph did not fully understand how much her 10-year-old son was struggling in school. She found out only with help from somebody who knows the Boston school system better than she does. 4Joseph is a Haitian immigrant. Her son, J. Ryan Mathurin, was in the 30th percentile in reading. That means 70 percent of students had stronger reading scores than him. But Joseph did not know how far behind her son was until a hospital where he was receiving treatment connected her with a bilingual aid. 5"It's only because I was assigned an educational advocate that I know this about my son," Joseph said. 6Schools have long faced criticism for failing to inform some parents about their kids' progress in school. But after COVID-19 school closures, the importance of keeping parents informed has in many ways never been greater. 7There are many chances to catch up, thanks to federal COVID aid. But it will take better communication with parents to help students get the support they need, experts say. 8"Parents can't solve a problem that they don't know they have," said Cindi Williams. She is co-founder of Learning Heroes, a nonprofit working to improve communication between public schools and parents about student progress. 9In 2022, Learning Heroes questioned 1,400 public school parents around the country. The group found that 92 percent believed their children were performing at grade level. But in a federal survey, school officials said half of all U.S. students started this school year behind grade level in at least one subject. 10The struggles that brought J. Ryan to the hospital for mental health treatment began in third grade. That was when he returned to in-person school after nearly a year of learning online. J. Ryan was getting angry in class, disrupting lessons and leaving the classroom. 11J. Ryan showed these behaviors during English and other classes, including Mandarin and gym. He did better in math class, one of his stronger subjects. But Joseph said teachers never told her about her son's problems with reading. 12Last spring, she sought treatment for her son's depression. She was helped at the hospital with the parent advocate who speaks English and Haitian Creole. 13The advocate pushed to get J. Ryan's scores from the tests given each fall to measure student learning. She explained to Joseph what it meant for J. Ryan to be in the 30th percentile in reading. 14Before this year, schools in the Boston system could decide whether to share test scores with parents. But it is not clear how many were doing it. In the fall, Boston schools started a communications program to help teachers explain testing results to parents as many as three times a year. 15Research shows there are many reasons teachers might not talk to parents about a student's academic progress, especially when the news is bad. 16"Historically, teachers did not get a lot of training to talk to parents," said Tyler Smith. He is a school psychology professor at the University of Missouri. School leadership and support for teachers also make a difference, he added. 17Teachers might also think that poorer parents do not care about their child's progress, said Williams, the co-founder of Learning Heroes. 18Without these discussions, parents only look at report cards. But report cards are considered to be subjective. They may not be the best signs of overall student success. 19Many school systems have used their federal pandemic recovery money for summer school, tutoring programs and other actions to help students recover from the pandemic. But students have not used the extra help as much as educators had hoped. If more parents knew their children were behind academically, they might seek help. 20After J. Ryan moved to a new school, Joseph stopped getting phone calls from the teacher complaining about his behavior. Joseph said her son is getting good treatment for his depression. But Joseph said she has not received a report card this year or the test scores that the district claims it is now sending to families. 21She said, "I'm still concerned about his reading." 22I'm Dan Novak. 23Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 24_____________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26advocate - n. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy 27survey - n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something 28disrupt - v. to cause to be unable to continue in the normal way 29depression - n. a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way 30psychology - n. the science or study of the mind and behavior 31subjective - adj. based on feelings or opinions rather than facts 32district - n. an area established by a government for official government business 33tutor - v. a teacher who works with one student