Researchers: Report Cards Unclear about Students Knowledge, Learning

2023-11-22 17:30:12来源：网络

Researchers: Report Cards Unclear about Students Knowledge, Learning

研究人员：报告卡对学生的知识和学习情况表述不清

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　　By Dan Novak

　　21 November 2023

　　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.

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　　由Dan Novak撰写

　　2023年11月21日

　　最近的一项观点研究显示，美国大多数父母认为他们的孩子在学校的表现达到了年级水平。然而，标准化测试显示，远远没有那么多的学生在正轨上。

　　民意调查公司盖洛普和非营利组织学习英雄本月发布了这项公众意见调查。

　　报告卡显示学生的学校表现。父母依赖它们来了解孩子的进步。但是，研究人员说，报告卡并没有显示出学生的所有表现。如果没有更多关于孩子学习的知识，父母可能不会寻求他们的孩子需要的额外支持。

　　在盖洛普的民意调查中，88%的父母认为他们的孩子在阅读方面达到了年级水平，89%的父母认为他们的孩子在数学方面达到了年级水平。然而，一项针对学校官员的联邦调查显示，所有美国学生中有一半在上一学年开始时至少有一门科目低于年级水平。

　　一份报告研究了过去10年华盛顿州的平均成绩和测试成绩。研究人员发现，在COVID-19大流行期间，成绩有所提高。许多学校系统因为学生遇到的困难而放宽了他们的评分政策。

　　这些政策中的一些可能仍然存在，掩盖了标准化测试中显示出的学习不足，但在成绩中却没有显示出来，Dan Goldhaber说。他是这份报告的合著者，也是弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的教育研究纵向数据分析中心的主任。

　　美国各地的学校系统已经将来自COVID-19危机的联邦援助资金用于让学生回到正轨的项目上。例如，学校系统引入了更多的辅导和暑期学术项目。但Goldhaber说，参加这些项目的学生比系统计划的要少。