District prepares for significant learning loss

Dallas ISD is seeing the impact of COVID-19 in student performance and is working on plans to mitigate the learning loss, possibly with more  TIME to LEARN.

Students were assessed at the beginning of the school year through MAP, a universal screener providing national, norm-referenced and STAAR-aligned information. MAP monitors growth over time; aligns with the TEKS; provides instructional and intervention guidance and resources; complements exams like common assessment, ACP, and STAAR; includes STAAR projections, and allows teachers to set individual student growth targets.

The results of MAP showed the impact  the pandemic has had on Dallas ISD students. There was some learning loss at the elementary school level while students in the secondary levels fared slightly better. In all, 30 percent of students showed a loss in learning in reading.

In math, the impact is more pronounced—50 percent of students have a loss in learning—when compared to pre-pandemic results across grade levels.

The district is seeing continued, and large, equity gaps by race.

The district’s mitigation plan involves improving attendance, individualized supports for students who need it, and other strategies, which may included an extended school year, starting in 2021-2022.

Focus groups will continued to meet through November and December to review strategies and inform a plan that will be presented to the Board of Trustees in January. Town hall meetings and parent focus groups to gather input will be conducted during December.

Teacher input is key to the planning process. Teachers are being asked to participate by providing their opinions about the options under consideration by completing the survey. The survey closes at midnight, Thursday, Nov. 12.

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