BEAUMONT, Texas — Texas students will have serious catching up to do this fall after State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test scores dropped dramatically in districts where the majority of students were learning virtually.
Their math scores fell 32 points, and the number of students who met reading expectations dropped by 9 percentage points compared to 2019.
Those numbers show why the state wants everyone back in class this fall.
But not everyone supports the idea. Local parents said their children flourished with online learning and don't think it's fair to force everyone to come back to class.
Parents like Susan Gonzalez And Talsha Davis are making it clear.
“If he had a virtual teacher like we did last year, definitely, definitely,” Gonzalez said.
Their children actually benefitted from online learning, they said.
“Remote worked well for us, and we will definitely do it again if we had that option,” Davis said.
For districts across Southeast Texas, a full return to in-person learning is the only option.
“It's not going to be simple, and my son is actually stressing it. He thought that he would actually have the opportunity to learn remote, as well, going into his senior year,” Davis said.
Davis said she noticed a complete 180 with her son's academics when he moved to virtual instruction.
“I mean his grades went from failing last school year to this school year, his grades went up and the teachers recognized that as well,” Davis said.
On the other hand, Gonzalez recognized the harm COVID-19 could bring to her family.
“It was about, necessarily, the unknown,” Gonzalez said. “Not knowing what COVID would bring as far as the school year brought our kids.”
According to the Texas Tribune, 56 percent of Texas students returned to on-campus instruction in January. Here’s a list of the different demographics that returned.
- 75% of White students
- 53% of Black students
- 49% of Hispanic students
- and 31% of Asian students
Experts said students of color faced different situations than their White counterparts while learning from home. Some took care of mom and dad, and others took jobs to supplement family income.
Still, the Texas Education Agency said they should all come back to class this fall.
"While remote learning proved to be an effective option for a small subset of Texas public school students, in-person learning is much more effective at minimizing the educational impacts associated with major disruptions to learning such as COVID-19," The TEA said.
For some parents, the return to in-person learning will be an adjustment.
“I just know, I just know that it's gonna be an uncomfortable situation for everyone,” Davis said.