Massachusetts high school students knock distance learning in new survey

Massachusetts high school students engaged in remote or hybrid learning are falling behind, not learning much and need more help, according to a new Barr Foundation and Gallup survey.

Among 1,000 high school students surveyed, 36% learning remotely and 31% of those in hybrid learning models say they’re falling behind this year.

That figure drops to 8% for those learning completely in person.

A group of Boston Latin Academy seniors, who have not set foot in a classroom since the pandemic began, described remote learning as draining and filled with hours of daily work. They did not participate in the survey.

“I’ve gotten grades I’ve never gotten before,” Lynn Donastein told the Herald, saying she is falling behind in math.

Farzana Jaman said, “There were many times where I felt as if I didn’t have the motivation to complete the schoolwork.”

Khymani James, another BLA senior and student representative on the Boston School Committee, said he’s routinely up until the wee hours of the morning finishing homework assignments.

“It’s this sort of cycle of work, little to no sleep, not really eating and then having to do it all over again,” James said.

Survey findings also showed that 46% of juniors and seniors learning remotely said they need more help preparing for life after high school, compared to a mere 7% of in-person learners.

BLA Senior Aria Dias agreed, saying, “It was kind of much harder to reach out to guidance counselors or try to get that assistance to help with writing essays and figuring out financial aid.”

Eighteen percent of hybrid students and 16% of remote students strongly agreed that they learned a lot every day, compared to 46% in full-time in-person learners, according to the poll.

The issues all boil down to the educational system as a whole, James said.

“That system is what conditioned students to believe that without a high letter or number grade, you’re going to become a failure,” James said.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/36ALR5F