This article discusses data collected that shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing achievement gaps across income levels and between white students and students of black and Hispanic heritage. Also, the article discusses how the current situation is leading to more students of color dropping out and the long term effects on these student's long-term economic well-being and on the US economy as a whole.
Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., Viruleg, E. 2020. Covid-19 and Student Learning in the United States: The Hurt Could Last a Lifetime. San Francisco, California: McKinsey & Company
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-united-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime#
This is an eight part series with a broad spectrum of opinions for how to open and operate schools in the COVID-19 crisis, it explores specific strategies that some districts will adopt and explains pros, the cons, and the costs. The eight part series includes: 1. The Socially Distanced School Day 2. Scheduling the COVID-19 School Day 3. Getting Kids to School: Tackling the COVID-19 transportation 4. COVID-19 & Remote Learning: How to Make It Work 5. Teaching and Learning in the Pandemic 6. Overcoming COVID-19 Learning Loss 7, Teaching Social -Emotional Skills Amid COVID-19 8. Closing COVID-19 Equity Gaps in Schools.
Will, Madeline , Lieberman, Mark. 2020. How We Go Back to School. Education Week.
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-we-go-back-to-school
This brief describes practical steps that school psychologists and school districts can consider to assess students for a specific learning disability. It provides recommendations to adapt state policies on evaluations for specific learning disabilities in light of the pandemic, with ensuring that students get timely and thorough evaluations to develop educational programs that meet their needs. The brief discusses four challenges: 1) Interruptions to instruction, 2) Administering assessments under new circumstances, 3) Ruling out exclusionary factors 4) Addressing the backlog of evaluations under tight timelines.
National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Association of School Psychologists. 2020. Navigating Special Education Evaluations for Specific Learning Disabilities Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Association of School Psychologists https://www.ncld.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Navigating-Special-Education-Evaluations-for-Specific-Learning-Disabilities-SLD-Amid-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf