On Learning Loss

Back in August, many people, particularly white women, got angry when I tweeted that “learning loss” is based on arbitrary standards that could be changed and adapted to better suit our current reality of trying to survive a multiyear pandemic. Some people tried to mock me, others claimed I wanted schools closed forever, while others claimed my point of view came from “privilege.” I was actually amused that white women, who based on their Twitter bios and feeds, I suspect were economically of middle or upper class with children in well-funded school districts and private schools, were attempting to chide and scold me about “privilege.” Meanwhile, I am a biracial “Latina” (a Black mother from the U.S. and a white father from Colombia) with a child in a Philadelphia public school, a school district infamous for issues such as asbestos in buildings, lead in drinking fountains, lack of air condition, and lack of funding, to name just a few. That said, I don’t deny a level of privilege that my job as a professor affords me, including being able to work off campus and some flexibility in my schedule. Those Twitter people assumed that because of the above, I preferred remote schooling and made the de facto assumption that it was good for my child as well. As I said in my Twitter thread, I will not disclose all my child’s business publicly just to “win” online debates. What I will say is that remote schooling was less than ideal for my child, not because of his teachers, who were fantastic and went above and beyond to teach as well as they could under the circumstance, but because it’s not best suited to his needs. He, in fact, thrives in an in person setting. But more important to me and my husband was our child’s health and life, as well as the health and wellbeing of others. In line with what most Black and many other people of color wanted, my husband and I simply wanted a SAFE return to in person learning, not one that regularly risks health and lives. However, others, like the aforementioned people on Twitter as well as media pundits, and op-ed writers often affiliated with “elite” universities, pushed not only for in person learning but also for in person learning without protections like masking and improved ventilation that would make for a safer return. They did this under the pretense of “learning loss.” Before I go into to detail about “learning loss,” it should not go unmentioned that many of these pundits and other learning loss supporters often work remotely themselves or in well ventilated buildings and have children in well off school districts or private schools. They do not subject themselves nor their children to the unsafe conditions they loudly call for others to endure. Their children aren’t in schools that must close if it’s above 90 degrees due to lack of air conditioning, for example, but my child is.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Returning to “learning loss,” the concept has been used as a scare tactic to promote the return to in person learning, safely or not, in the name of “normalcy.” Kids are falling behind! They aren’t at grade level! They won’t be successful in the future exclaims the “learning loss” crowd! And who else is deeply invested in the learning loss narrative? Educational testing companies. On the podcast episode, “Deciphering ‘Learning Loss’ with Akil Bello,” by the Human Restoration Project, Bello discusses in depth how educational testing companies likely coined the term “learning loss” and have played a large role in perpetuating this narrative. But I argue that students are “falling behind” because those in power are allowing them to. Falling behind is the result of not adjusting expectations and standards during a traumatizing, multi-year, ongoing global pandemic; expectations and standards that were already arbitrary, often not in line with child development, and often rooted in racist and ableist practices, among other issues.

First, during this pandemic many of us, including children, have learned a great deal. We've learned about pandemics and illness. Children had to learn to adapt to school being different, many did work online for the first time, they learned new technology, they learned how to use a variety of apps, as well as new ways of doing schoolwork. More importantly, children learned about our society's priorities. I would argue a lot of learning has been happening. It's just not the type of learning that is valued by many educational leaders and others in positions of power. But beyond the lessons learned from the pandemic and the consequent responses, these standards that people are exclaiming are so great and necessary, as well as many pedagogical approaches are way out of step with the actual needs of children and how they develop. I'll start with approaches. Broadly speaking, the US education system generally expects young children in kindergarten and elementary school to sit still and quietly for the majority of the day, something that most adults don't do and couldn't do. Furthermore, it goes against basic child development. Shona Hendley notes that “not only is it developmentally near impossible for primary school and pre-school aged children to sit still, it can actually have a negative impact on their learning.” Furthermore, there are studies indicating that movement and physical activity improve academic performance. Finland’s educational system prioritizes play in pre-school and kindergarten and not literacy yet is considered one of the world’s most “literate” societies.

In addition to going against basic child development, the standardized tests, which have become central tools for “measuring” student knowledge and skills are deeply rooted in racism and ableism. Eugenicist Carl Brigham lead the development of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Here’s a taste of his motivation behind the test:

In his 1923 book, A Study of American Intelligence, psychologist and eugenicist Carl Brigham wrote that African-Americans were on the low end of the racial, ethnic, and/or cultural spectrum. Testing, he believed, showed the superiority of “the Nordic race group” and warned of the “promiscuous intermingling” of new immigrants in the American gene pool.

Still don’t think standards are arbitrary, or worse, biased, racist, and ableist? Just look at Florida’s complete overhaul of their educational system to promote white Christian Nationalism and fascism as well as other states looking to do the same.

Narratives of “learning loss” are generally disingenuous, they are pushed by people who feel safe during the pandemic and want a return to “normal,” as well as testing companies who profit from standardized testing. They and the media give more importance to test scores than to children being orphaned by the pandemic, children falling ill and hospitalized due to covid, and the psychological trauma of the lived experience of the pandemic. They call for return to schools and “rigor” but not for school psychologists and counselors. They call for in person schooling but not masking and ventilation improvements in schools that need them. They talk about learning loss and claim that students are falling behind academically due to covid safety measures, yet these voices are silent when the Philadelphia school district has to close over a hundred schools due to heat because they lack sufficient air conditioning, when Jackson Mississippi schools close due to lack of clean water, when student learning is disrupted by mass shootings in schools, when schools don’t have enough teachers, as teachers leave the field due to poor pay, lack of resources, and concerns about their health and safety due to the pandemic and mass shootings. Where is the covid learning loss crowd when schools don’t have basic resources and teachers, so in turn, teachers must create wish lists they hope generous strangers will fulfill to make sure their students have basics like pencils and paper? They are nowhere to be found because none of this is about “learning loss.” Learning loss is simply a talking point used in self-interest, regardless of the harm it causes others. It is a narrative device used to distract people from the biggest losses during this pandemic: loss of health, and loss of lives.