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Researchers: Report

Cards Unclear about


Students Knowledge,
Learning

A recent opinion study says a big majority of parents in the United


States believe their child is performing at grade level in school.
However, standardized tests show far fewer students are on track.

Polling company Gallup and the nonprofit group Learning Heroes


released the public opinion poll this month.

Report cards show students’ school performance. Parents depend on


them to understand their child’s progress. But report cards do not
show all of a student’s performance, researchers say. Without more
knowledge about their child’s learning, parents might not seek extra
support for their children if it is needed.
Bibb Hubbard is the founder and president of Learning Heroes,
based in Arlington, Virginia. Report cards are “the number
one indicator that parents turn to to understand that their child is
on grade level, yet a grade does not equal grade-level mastery. But
nobody’s told parents that.”

In the Gallup poll, 88 percent of parents believed their child was on


grade level in reading, and 89 percent of parents believed their child
was on grade level in math. However, a federal survey of school
officials said half of all U.S. students started the last school year
behind grade level in at least one subject.

One report examined grade point averages and test scores in the
state of Washington over the past 10 years. Researchers found grades
increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many school systems had
eased their grading policies because of the difficulties students were
experiencing.

Some of those policies could still be in place, masking the lack of


learning that is showing up in standardized tests, but not in grades,
said Dan Goldhaber. He is a co-author of the report and the director
of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education
Research, in Arlington, Virginia.

School systems across the U.S. have spent federal aid money from the
COVID-19 crisis on programs to get students back on track. For
example, school systems have introduced more tutoring and
summer academic programs. But Goldhaber said fewer students
attended these programs than the system had planned.

For programs like summer school or online tutoring, the family


chooses whether to participate. “What we see is that it’s only
a fraction of the students that are invited or eligible that are
actually participating,” he said.

The Gallup poll findings suggest that parents might not know they
could be taking action to help their child's school performance.

The poll involved more than 2,000 parents of students from


kindergarten to twelfth grade. Half the respondents said they have
discussed their child's academic progress with a teacher. Among
parents who know their child is behind grade level in math, the
percentage greatly increases: 74 percent have spoken with a teacher.

Report cards do not give enough information, said Sarah Carpenter.


She is director of The Memphis Lift, an education activist group in
Tennessee.

“A report card is really tricky in our opinion, because you're just


looking at A's and B's and C's,” Carpenter said. She said a report card
does show whether a child’s reading or math level is where it should
be and added that parents do not understand this.

Trenace Dorsey-Hollins is a parent and founder of another activist


group Parent Shield Fort Worth in Texas. She said if educators spoke
to parents about issues like reading and grading, families would be
better able to support their children.

She said, “Parents don’t know what they don’t know. So, we don’t
want them to blame themselves. But now that you have the
information, use the information to demand better and ensure that
your child and all children get exactly what they need.”

I’m Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on
reporting by The Associated Press.

Words in This Story

on track –phrase happening in a way that is expected or planned

poll — n. a study in which researchers as people their opinions about


a subject to learn what people think about it

indicator –n. a sign that shows the condition or the existence of


something

mastery — n. being able to do something expertly


grade point average –n. a number that shows the average grade
that a student has in school

mask — v. to hide something

tutor –v. to teach either one or a small group of students outside of


normal class time

participate — v. to take part in something

fraction –n. a part of a whole

eligible — adj. able to join something or receive something

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