The mainstream media are filled with warnings about “learning loss” and how we must measure it and why students should go to summer school to make up for what they have “lost.” If we can’t quantify it, they say, how can we know which students are behind? This is silly. There was no “pre-test,” so there can’t be a “post-test.” A test that students take this spring can’t possibly demonstrate “learning loss,” since they can’t be compared to anything else. If you want to know where students are in their learning, ask their teacher.
Here are some good readings on “learning loss.”
Peter Greene gathered some and calls his post a “learning loss debunkery reader.” And don’t miss Peter’s personal tale of his own “learning loss.” It began right after high school graduation, when he realized he had forgotten algebra!
Russ on Reading turned “learning loss” into a Henny Penny fable, in which the wolves are trying to get into the henhouse.
“Wait a minute. Are we sure our children have lost their CONTINUE READING: Don’t Believe the “Learning Loss” Hoax | Diane Ravitch's blog