news
Corona
"The Corona has given a punch": the unprecedented gaps in reading and writing skills in schools
Two years in the shadow of the plague left a mark on the students, with a sharp rise in reading comprehension difficulties in elementary school, noticeable gaps in English in the division and dealing with emotional issues.
Next month, when the system has just returned to a learning sequence, the Ministry of Education will conduct a proficiency test - a necessary decision made with much resistance.
"Delusional Timing"
Tags
Corona virus
Ministry of Education
Elementary School
Pupils
reading
Sonia Gorodisky
Saturday, 27 November 2021, 07:30 Updated: Sunday, 28 November 2021, 07:30
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
In the video: Operation begins: Thousands of children come to get vaccinated against Corona (Shai Makhlouf and Roni Knafo)
Almost two years after the corona entered our lives, it is now clear to everyone - the prolonged closures suffered by the education system under the previous government have left a mark on Israeli students.
From the educational gaps that will be difficult to overcome, to the sharp rise in cases of violence, sexual assault and many other "gifts" that are defined in professional parlance as "risky behaviors."
Although requested, the Ministry of Education does not have up-to-date data mapping the learning gaps accumulated by students in the corona year, and the latest data are only true until the end of April (end of the third closure).
The ministry plans to conduct language mapping tests in fourth and eighth grades in about a month, despite the many objections already voiced by educators due to the problematic timing - a few weeks after the education system finally returned to a learning sequence without closures and little (relatively) isolation.
More on Walla!
The amount has doubled, but achievements are faltering compared to the OECD: this is how the education budget is divided
To the full article
"We see very significant gaps, especially in second and fourth grades" (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Many educational institutions did not wait for the administration in Jerusalem, and already at the beginning of the school year they conducted internal tests to check the level of knowledge of the students, in order to prepare learning programs according to their needs. The local authorities are not ready to reveal the results, so we turned to Walla! To the school principals themselves in order to understand how the corona year affected student achievement.
"We see very significant gaps, especially in two age groups: the second grade and the fourth grade. The
process of acquiring literacy skills is impaired in the second grade. We see that they have a one-year gap," describes an elementary school principal from the center of the country. She said, "In second grade, students are already expected to know how to read and write. Strong students usually have no problem, but the students who have a little harder time learning - really went backwards because they did not get the help they needed."
She adds that "the number of students who bother us in terms of reading skills is significantly higher compared to normal years. If out of all second graders, which is about a hundred children, there were eight children who had difficulty reading and were defined as 'reading risk', then today 22 ".
"If we are talking about reducing the gaps in Israel, the corona has given us a punch in the stomach."
Ministry of Education, Jerusalem (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel, Flash 90)
Reading skills are of particular importance in the second grade, as this future learning process is based on this ability.
Thus, a child who has difficulty reading in second grade may find himself in a learning gap with his classmates that will deepen over the years.
In this case, it is an elementary school located in the authority from a high socio-economic cluster, and it can be expected that the educational gaps in the weak authorities are much higher.
"If we are talking about reducing the gaps in Israeli society, then the corona has given us a piece of punch in the stomach," says the principal.
As the principal noted, another layer in which elementary school staffs report special difficulty is the fourth grade layer.
Among the students in these classes, significant gaps were discovered in reading literacy - the ability to extract information from texts.
The gaps are similar to those of second graders, with a 3-2-fold increase in the number of students who have difficulty reading comprehension compared to previous years.
Gaps in English - but not in math
In the older grades of grades 6-7, the gaps in English are noticeable.
In these age groups students are expected to read, understand written text and speak, but in the shadow of the corona a greater number of students have difficulty doing so compared to routine years.
In contrast, there are almost no gaps in mathematics.
This may be due to the fact that many students use this subject in private lessons, and also because it is a subject that is considered more comfortable to practice online, and less for language and reading comprehension, which require more mediation.
Ministry of Education tests: Necessary, but with problematic timing
As mentioned, the Ministry of Education's tests in fourth and eighth grades (Asif tests), which are scheduled to take place this year in about a month to map the reading comprehension abilities, are already provoking strong opposition from school principals and teaching staff. The educators who support the standardization of the tests also explain that their concern stems from the pressure that may arise among the students, who only two months ago (excluding the holidays) returned to study continuously. This, after many changes that took place during the nearly two years in which they studied intermittently from a distance, up close, in capsules and not in capsules, stayed in isolations, closures and more.
Unlike the internal tests conducted by the educational institutions at the beginning of the year, the results of the Asif tests will be published, which increases the pressure among the teaching staff, who these days are dealing not only with the academic gaps, but also the emotional ones.
To illustrate the common notion among educators of "emotional gaps," let's take a sixth-grade student as an example.
After getting used to studying in capsules two days a week at school and four days at home in the past year - about two months ago he returned to a continuous learning framework in a full class of more than 30 students.
The same student did not know his educator before, and while he is focused on competing for his social place in the classroom - his references to learning at this point are lower.
He probably feels overwhelmed and has to deal with basic things that have become at least trivial for about two years - a significant period for a ten-year-old - like playing with friends, expressing frustration, dealing with loss.
"Unnecessary pressure on the system. This test should have been done at the end of the year" (Photo: Reuven Castro)
"The timing of the Asif tests is delusional. Children have a lot of struggles - they are more exposed to violence this year, there are more symptoms of frustration, of outbursts, children are more nervous, and they are just on the edge," says a school principal from the center of the country.
"The Corona is also raising its head again - there is no certainty. You study closely, you study from a distance. So now put more pressure from external tests into the system - why do you need it now? We know what the gaps are. It is unnecessary pressure for the system. This test was "We have to do it at the end of the year. Unnecessary. Even every time we have to transfer data to them, it's a movie, it just creates a load."
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
