JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Where do we go from here in the uphill battle to increase student test scores to at least pre-pandemic levels?
Educators are taking action after new data shows test scores are down, particularly for younger students in Duval County.
In June of 2020 First Coast News spoke with tutors at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville and they predicted there would be learning loss due to the pandemic. Now more than two years later, data is showing that happened and which students may need the most help.
"I see where the fourth grade students, I can see where their gaps are more evident than the eighth grade students," said Academic Coach Kathy Jones at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville.
Jones says she's seeing more elementary school students having trouble reading. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows reading and math scores for Duval County fourth graders declined more than eighth graders since 2019.
"These children who didn't necessarily fully develop their building blocks are now in third and fourth grade," Jones said. "They have missed enough where it is an absolute struggle for them."
Duval still fared better than many school systems of the same size. Math scores nationally fell by the largest amount recorded. Research published this summer by NWEA, the Northwest Evaluation Association, shows younger grades have recovered up to 35 percent of learning they'd lost, but low-income and minority students are behind.
Jones says parent involvement, tutoring and possibly holding a student back a grade are all options families should consider. She has some advice that's simple and you can do daily with your child.
"When you're in the grocery store and you're walking down the cereal aisle, ask your child, 'Hey, do you know what that says?'" Jones said.
Getting students the help they need now, she says, means setting them up to succeed in the future.
Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene says the school system can take pride in the fact test scores were higher than many other large cities, but that "we must continue efforts to enhance and accelerate learning for students who experienced school in the COVID era.”
The school system did not answer First Coast News's questions before deadline about what that looks like.
Workers at Jacksonville Public Library have encouraged families to take advantage of their free resources.