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Parents' and Students' Thoughts on Support Needed This Fall
Â鶹´«Ã½AV Blog

Parents' and Students' Thoughts on Support Needed This Fall

by and Tonika Cheek Clayton

As the 2020-2021 school year begins, are going back to school virtually, including those in the vast majority of the nation's largest school districts. While the pandemic means decisions are changing rapidly, are currently planning to return to fully in-person learning this fall.

As education leaders develop and revise plans for the 2020-2021 school year, parents, advocates and educators around the country are rightly concerned with ensuring equity as we navigate an education crisis we've never seen before. In response to these equity concerns, findings from a recent provide insights into teachers', parents' and students' perspectives on how teaching and learning occurred in the spring of 2020, their thoughts about the upcoming school year, and the perceived value and effectiveness of digital learning tools to support teaching and learning.

Clarity, Access, Communication Are Keys to Success

The abrupt nature of school closures in the spring of 2020 did not allow for proper planning to transition students and teachers to a fully functional online school environment. Building on the lessons learned from that difficult experience, the study asked respondents to identify the types of educational support they would find most valuable in the upcoming school year.

Of eight potential needs included in the survey, clear expectations for daily or weekly schoolwork is the only one for which broad majorities of teachers (73%), parents (79%) and students (70%) alike agree they need most in the upcoming school year. Having clear expectations for daily or weekly schoolwork is a top need expressed by parents and students among all race/ethnicity groups, grade levels and income levels studied.

Teachers (50%), parents (44%) and students (46%) also say regular access to teachers is necessary for success. Students attending school in a large city (46%) are more likely than those who attend school in a suburb (34%), small town (39%) or rural area (27%) to say they need consistent communication from teachers and school/district leaders.

Most Important Needs to Succeed in the Upcoming School Year
What supports do [you/your students and their families] MOST need from school to help them be successful in the upcoming school year? Select up to three responses.
Teachers (grades PK-12) Parents of students (grades PK-12) Students (grades 3-12)
% % %
Clear expectations for daily/weekly schoolwork 73 79 70
Personal computer or tablet device 54 11 13
Regular access to teachers 50 44 46
Consistent communication from teachers and school/district leaders 34 45 37
Online instructions/resources to help [you/your child] use digital learning tools 29 22 23
Video lessons or video instruction 19 30 27
Digital versions of class materials 17 14 24
Hard-copy materials (like books or worksheets) 15 27 23
NEWSCHOOLS VENTURE FUND/GALLUP, 2020

Students Need Help Catching Up

About half of all students (46%) say they will need help catching up after remote learning in the spring. Black and Hispanic/Latino students, those from lower-income households with less than $50,000 annually, and high school students are the most likely to say they will need help catching up in the upcoming school year.

U.S. Students' Perceptions They Will Need Help to Catch Up This School Year
In the upcoming school year, do you think you will need help to catch up because of time you spent learning from home instead of at school in the spring of last school year?
Yes, will need help to catch up
%
All students (grades 3-12) 46
Elementary school (grades 3-5) 47
Middle school (grades 6-8) 40
High school (grades 9-12) 49
Black students 53
Hispanic/Latino students 48
White students 41
Less than $50,000 55
$50,000 to $74,999 52
$75,000 to $100,000 43
More than $100,000 41
NEWSCHOOLS VENTURE FUND/GALLUP, 2020

Teachers Value Digital Tools

Most teachers agree (27%) or strongly agree (59%) that there is great value in using digital learning tools. For this study, digital learning tools are broadly described as websites, apps, online tutorials, online games and videos, or programs used to teach and support student learning and schoolwork. These latest results are similar to those in 2019, when 81% of teachers, 88% of principals and 92% of district administrators said the same.

U.S. Teachers' Perceptions of the Value of Digital Learning Tools
I see great value in using digital learning tools in the classroom now.
2019 2020
% %
Strongly agree 51 59
4 30 27
3 15 12
2 3 2
Strongly disagree 1 *
* Less than 0.5%
NewSchools Venture Fund/Â鶹´«Ã½AV

While teachers see great value in digital tools, they are less likely now than they were in 2019 to indicate digital tools are at least as effective as nondigital tools. For example, while 63% of teachers in 2019 said digital learning tools are more effective than nondigital tools for connecting learning to students' future jobs and careers, 48% now say the same.

Still, the current findings show that majorities of teachers say digital learning tools are either equally or more effective than nondigital tools for nine different areas surveyed, including personalizing instruction (87%), giving students ownership of their learning (85%), and engaging students with school and learning (76%).

Enthusiasm for Digital Tools Has Waned

Students are less likely now than they were in 2019 to say digital tools are fun and make school more interesting. Nearly all younger students said in 2019 that digital learning tools are fun (96%), while 78% say the same in 2020. Older students' perspectives have also shifted. Less than half of students in grades six through 12 now agree that digital learning tools are fun (36%), make school more interesting (43%), help them learn things faster (39%) and help them remember what they learn (41%).

U.S. Students' Perceptions of Digital Learning Tools
Younger students were asked to say yes or no and older students were asked how much they agree or disagree with the following statements about digital learning tools.
Younger students (grades 3-5) Older students (grades 6-12)
% Yes % Yes % Strongly agree/Agree % Strongly agree/Agree
2019 2020 2019 2020
They are fun. 96 78 61 36
They make school more interesting. 86 60 67 43
They help me learn things faster. 77 54 55 39
They help me remember what I learn in class. 82 75 57 41
NewSchoolS Venture Fund/Â鶹´«Ã½AV

Implications

Many K-12 districts are entering the school year fully online, or in person with an expectation that remote learning will become required at some point during the 2020-2021 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For all of these schools, digital learning tools are core to how they will reach and teach students during this incredibly difficult school year, and results from this study indicate that students' experience in the spring of 2020 may have negatively impacted their attitudes toward digital learning tools.

Despite some difficulties in the spring of 2020, though, teachers still see the potential value in these tools. Ensuring teachers have sufficient support will be critical to success in this upcoming year -- from digital learning tool providers and their school districts -- to maximize these tools and help students who fear they have fallen behind catch up and get ahead during a tumultuous academic year ahead.

In addition to the effective use of digital learning tools, it is important to note the main things all parties say they need to be successful this coming school year: clear expectations, access to teachers and consistent communication. The present reality -- one in which teachers, parents and students -- indicates that these things are in short supply.

As we navigate this fall, schools will need to work to understand where parents and teachers are coming from, and address expectation gaps and confusion swiftly and intentionally. Perhaps more than ever, having teachers, parents and students well-connected and aligned is going to be crucial as families navigate distance learning and many use digital learning tools in new or different ways. There is an urgent opportunity for this improved coordination and collaboration if we are to provide more equitable learning outcomes for our students. While digital learning tools are well-positioned to support this effort, it will be the expectations and practices we put in place that determine our success.

Author(s)

Stephanie Marken is Executive Director of Education Research at Â鶹´«Ã½AV.

Tonika Cheek Clayton is Managing Partner for the NewSchools Venture Fund.


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