Poorest Students Avoided COVID Slide on NWEA Tests, Cleveland Data Show
The scores of Cleveland students on national diagnostic tests indicate that poor and minority students across the country may have not been as negatively affected by the COVID pandemic as initially predicted. NWEA, the testing organization that released data from its fall tests of 4.4 million students, found that the learning loss under COVID is lower than anticipated. However, it’s important to note that the data primarily represents white and affluent students, while poor and minority students are underrepresented. NWEA warned that the impact of the pandemic could be much worse for these students.
Nevertheless, when analyzing the numbers from Cleveland, it appears that the impact is similar for their students. Cleveland’s school district provides insight into the experiences of students who have been overlooked in the NWEA data. Over half of the students in the Cleveland school district are Black, and all students receive free lunch, indicating high levels of student poverty. Despite this, Cleveland students largely align with the national trends based on test scores and a district analysis. However, these results have limitations similar to the national results from NWEA. There were approximately 5,000 fewer students taking the tests this fall compared to last year, and district officials had concerns about the validity of remote testing while schools are closed.
When comparing this year’s test scores with those from last year, declines were generally minimal. For example, seventh graders this year achieved an English score of 205.3, slightly lower than the 205.6 earned by seventh graders the previous year. In some cases, there were larger drops in scores, particularly in sixth-grade math where this year’s students scored 201.5 compared to 204.9 the previous year. However, each class cohort, such as the third graders from last year moving on to fourth grade this year, demonstrated slight improvements in scores compared to the previous fall and winter. The district regards these results as largely stagnant.
Notably, these scores did not regress despite the disruptions caused by the school shutdowns in the spring, the summer break, and the current fully online classes. The district’s research staff stated in a report that while the results indicate significant risks for vulnerable students and the need for intensive support, they are better than expected.
It is important to exercise caution when interpreting Cleveland’s results as representative of the entire poor and minority population. Megan Kuhfeld, a researcher at NWEA, explained that while it’s encouraging that Cleveland’s results align with the national trend, it may not be accurate to generalize this pattern to the entire population.
In addition, Cleveland officials have expressed concerns about the accuracy of the results, particularly in the first and second grades. They attribute this to "over-engaged" parents assisting their children during remote testing. As a result, Cleveland is discounting scores from these grades, similar to NWEA’s national approach, because the results were higher than last year. The district reported instances where teachers had to remind parents not to provide assistance during testing, some teachers suspended testing as per district instructions, and others felt uncomfortable suspending testing due to potential backlash from parents.
Shari Obrenski, the President of the Cleveland Teachers Union, acknowledged the concerns raised by parents. She stated that parents were trying to help their students perform well but may not fully understand that the tests serve as a measure of needed support.
The impact of a small number of test-takers is evident in the results for 9th and 10th grades in Cleveland. While students in these grades achieved higher scores in math and English Language Arts compared to last year, the number of students who actually took the tests was lower. This suggests that the results may not accurately reflect the performance of low-scoring and disengaged students.
