Students of color and those from low-income backgrounds were suffering from deep inequities and opportunity gaps even before the pandemic, and these same students were disproportionately impacted by school closures and prolonged remote instruction.
Now, recently released assessment results from the New York State Department of Education reveals the impact of interrupted instruction on student learning in English Language Arts (ELA) and math. Statewide, less than half of all students in grades three through eight are proficient in ELA and math. And while there were gains in ELA and losses in math proficiency across all racial groups, the proficiency gaps between student groups are alarmingly wide.
These findings underscore the critical need for districts to drive resources to the students most in need of additional support to master the skills appropriate for their grade level. The state of New York received $14 billion in federal pandemic relief aid since 2020 and as of August 2022 had spent only 19% of available funding. Additional funding combined with concerning assessment data provides districts with an unprecedented opportunity to invest in evidence-based materials to accelerate academic recovery.
Sign this petition to make sure that New York education leaders put their COVID-19 relief aid back into NY schools!
