Students in Williamson County have been back at school, either online or in-person, for roughly a month. In that time, school officials said, teachers have been working to determine how students are faring after months of being away from the classroom.
While Franklin Special School District and Williamson County Schools officials said educators are still conducting screenings, a national study conducted in May by Successful Practices Network and the Center for College & Career Readiness with data from 1.6 million students showed that between the end and the beginning of the school year, students typically lose between 20%-36% of their gains in reading.
Compounded with school closures from the coronavirus, that loss in learning could be higher than average this year, according to Stuart Udell, the study’s author and the CEO of Achieve 3000, an online learning platform based in New Jersey.
“We think learning loss by back-to-school may be up to a high of 49%, which translates to about five months of learning loss,” Udell said.
Mary Decker, associate director of teaching and learning for FSSD, said while the district regularly administers screening assessments to determine if students need additional support, this year, the district is working harder to reach students who are at risk of falling behind.