Oh what a tangled web we weave professional#
Oh what a tangled web we weave series#

In other words, this score difference is the equivalent of a few missed questions. A RIT score is determined by adaptive learning software, equating to when a student is marking 50% of their answers correctly. Therefore, using NWEAвЂ™s own data, we can make a prediction of how much learning was вЂњlost.вЂќ If we assume that somewhere between 52% and 100% вЂњlearning occurredвЂќ, then test scores dropped somewhere between 0 and 5 points, or 2% on the RIT scale. (Which did not happen in the United States.)

No growth or loss occurs through remote instruction.

52% learning growth occurs through remote instruction.

Students learn as normal through in-class instruction.

This graph shows the amount of predicted вЂњlearning lossвЂќ in different scenarios entering the 2020-2021 school year. The report primarily references testing data through NWEA MAP results: This report, and others by McKinsey, are widely circulated to prove the need to address вЂњlearning loss.вЂќ

Similar results are found in вЂњ COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime,вЂќ published by McKinsey & Company вЂ“ the worldwide, massive consulting firm often involved in government services and foreign relations. This data is translated to a call to make up multiple months of вЂњlost time.вЂќ The translation of percentile points to months of learning is entirely based on Illuminate EducationвЂ™s opinion of вЂњnegligibleвЂќ and вЂњmoderateвЂќ loss.

In analyzing MAP data, they find a drop in the national percentile between вЂњ0 to 3 percentile pointsвЂќ, which they explain away as an analytics error by NWEA. In fact, all data presented by Fastbridge shows less than a 3 point drop.ДЇurther, Illuminate Education highlights MAP and STAR data. A similar student on third grade aReading, which uses a wider scale (scores average at 510), saw a ~1-2 point drop year-to-year. Importantly, this is the largest gap in the entirety of FastbridgeвЂ™s data. For example, a student with entirely free-reduced lunch in an urban school environment received a predicted score of ~197, whereas in the prior year they received a 200, a 3 point difference. The Y-axis is the predicted aMath score, the X-axis is the studentвЂ™s free/reduced lunch amount, and the lines represented the 2018-2019 or 2019-2020 school year.

Oh what a tangled web we weave series#

In this series of graphs, we see 1st grade aMath (Fastbridge) scores. Further, they own the testing company Fastbridge.ДЄll reports hone in on mathematics and reading scores. WeвЂ™ll begin with the Illuminate Education/Fastbridge report: вЂњ No Longer a Prediction: What New Data Tell Us About the Effects of 2020 Learning Disruptions.вЂќ Illuminate Education offers a host of measurement scopes and sequences, and partners with many other testing companies to publish and work with their data. When we examine the limited reports that this entire facade is based on, we begin to see the illusion for profit. Seeing the Connection Here's the Secret: The Data Isn't Conclusive In other words, the problem is being invented to sell the solution. The above diagram demonstrates nefarious connections between the testing industry, worrying reports about learning loss, and products sold to counteract the problem. Upon close examination, we begin to understand that perhaps вЂњlearning lossвЂќ is built on a lie. This language has taken hold, with numerous organizations rallying to demand solutions to the вЂњunresolved learningвЂќ of the 2020-2021 school year.

Oh what a tangled web we weave professional#

In the wake of pandemic schooling, the testing industry has seen an opportunity to establish additional professional development, coursework, and assessment measures to line their pocket-books.

The advent of learning loss is connected to the вЂњneedвЂќ for more assessment. Despite objections from educators and students and the nauseating number of assessments that occur each year, the financial interests of Pearson, Curriculum Associates, and the like, continue to press a need for additional profits to please their shareholders or board members. For decades, the multi-billion dollar testing industry has centered itself in schools.