Student Performance Gains
Student Performance Gains
Student Performance Gains In 2020-21 And 2021-22. Math And English Language Arts Scores Increased In Grades 4-5 Despite Nationwide Learning Loss
National Trends
Research suggests that academic achievement among Kindergarten-12th grade students throughout the United States has declined as a result of the disruptions in education caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in one nationwide sample of students, there were statistically significant decreases in average i-Ready1 diagnostic scores for reading in grades 3-5 and math in grades 3-4 (see Figure 1 and Table 1 below).
In addition to lower initial i-Ready scores, studies indicate that overall gains were slower for students nationwide during the pandemic, particularly among students who started the year already behind their peers.
Due to these findings, our team wanted to understand whether students accustomed to full-time online schools showed similar declines. From our research, we found that there are noteworthy differences in achievement between the below reports and Florida Virtual School (FLVS) students in online elementary school.
As the international extension of FLVS, FlexPoint provides schools and districts outside of Florida with tools and resources to successfully implement Kindergarten-12th grade online learning programs.
FlexPoint and FLVS provide the same award-winning digital courses designed for the online learning environment, as well as instructional model, which includes evidence-based approaches, professional development for instructors, and personalized learning that allows students and teachers the flexibility to communicate one-on-one when needed.
Figure 1: Nationwide Declines in Reading and Math i-Ready Diagnostic Scores During COVID i
COVID calculations represent the average among students whose initial diagnostic was in Fall 2019, 2020, or 2021.
Table 1: i-Ready Independent Samples t-test Results (Nationwide Sample)
1 i-Ready is an online program for reading and/or mathematics that includes an adaptive diagnostic assessment that helps teachers determine student needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year (https://i-readycentral.com/familycenter/what-is-i-ready/).
Full-Time Online Elementary School Trends
The pandemic did not appear to negatively impact learning for FLVS Elementary students. In fact, despite a much smaller sample size, there were statistically significant increases in average FSA scale scores for FLVS students in grades 4-5 during the pandemic. Improvements were especially notable for students in grades 5 whose average scale score in ELA increased by 5 points.
Figure 2: Improvements in FSA Scale Scores Among FLVS Students During COVID
COVID calculations represent an average of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 FSA scale scores.
Table 2: FSA Independent Samples t-test Results (FLVS Full Time Students)
