State: In-school students score higher on tests than remote learners

Students who attended on-campus classes for all of the 2020-21 school year significantly outperformed remote learners on standardized tests, the Louisiana Department of Education said Tuesday.
The department’s press release was based on scores from the spring 2021 LEAP assessments.
For grades 3-8, the percentage of students who attained the Mastery level or better on English-language arts and math tests was 15% higher for students who went to school on campus for the whole year when compared with remote learners.
Students who took part in virtual learning the whole year had 11% more Unsatisfactory schools than on-campus learners.
“The data is clear that in-person instruction is far more beneficial than virtual learning options for the majority of students,” said State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley. “This information should guide decisions for educators and parents moving into the new school year.
“It is absolutely critical that we keep our students in the classroom for this upcoming year while mitigating the spread of COVID-19.”
The press release came days before Louisiana schools will open and in advance of the release of scores from last year’s school accountability testing. The scores are sure to be closely examined to judge the impact of COVID mitigation measures on learning.
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ emergency proclamation in March 2020 closed Louisiana schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 year. Schools reopened in fall 2020, although later than usual, with masking and social distance rules in effect, and in many cases with remote learning options for students whose parents were concerned about crowded classrooms.
The current surge of COVID cases, driven by the highly virulent Delta variant, has pushed infection and hospitalizations to the highest levels of the pandemic in the weeks before school opens.
The current policy is to allow schools to open for on-campus learning this year while requiring students and employees to wear masks and observe other mitigation measures.
Education experts and public officials have said they’re worried not only about the impact of remote learning on academic achievement, but on the loss of counseling, health care, meals and other services schools provide on their campuses.