Baltimore Community Reacts After Test Assessments Show COVID-19 Pandemic Impact On Learning in Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Maryland State Board of Education presented data on Tuesday that showed how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students in the state.
There were steep drops in math and English standardized scores from 2019 to 2021.
The state's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment found that only 40% of students tested were demonstrating that they were prepared for kindergarten in 2021. That is a decrease from 47% in 2019.
Those numbers did not shock the people WJZ spoke with on the topic.
"I was totally not surprised at all," Chris Gutwein, a retired Montgomery County School teacher, said. "I have grandchildren in the public school system and a daughter that is teaching in the public school system and I've been hearing this all along. The kids miss a tremendous amount when they miss Kindergarten and not having all that socialization was really tough on kids."
Only 15% of the students in grades 3 through 8 who tested in the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program math test scored proficiently in 2021, down from 31 percent in 2019.
Only 31% of students in those same grades passed the English standardized test, down from 44% in 2019.
Gutwein says she is concerned for students across Maryland.
"I am worried about kids that have missed some of these steps that they've missed, how can they go back and revisit that. It may be really difficult," she said.
Locust Point Lina Nielsen was also not surprised by the latest numbers and said she believes that in-person learning is important to help students be successful in school.
"Kids need to be in the classroom to learn. Online is good for certain things," said Nielsen.
Gutwein hopes that education leaders consider implementing changes to help students who have missed out on learning during the pandemic.
"Maybe the school systems need to be really looked at carefully," she said. "And post-pandemic it's going to have to be [different] than it was pre-pandemic."
