Understanding and Combating the COVID-19 Slide

Hey. Connie here.

It’s currently nearing the end of summer vacation. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time indoors, binging Youtube/Netflix, and being unproductive. However, this isn’t any normal year. Summer opportunities, vacations, and testing dates have also been cancelled. School seems like a far possibility, especially in states where cases are still rising. Many schools in such states have been forced to shut down for an indeterminate amount of time because of COVID-19, leaving many students without an effective education.

Students may initially celebrate more time away from school, but there are some long-term circumstances that need to be highlighted. Known as the COVID-19 slide, this decline in knowledge following normal school months will cause students to fall behind in their studies. There is a prominent study done by NWEA using the usual summer slide and slowdown to predict the COVID-19 slide and slowdown. Significant trends include a decline in student achievement, especially in math and for upper grades. Based on known facts in seasonal learning (summer slide/slowdown), NWEA conducted preliminary projections on the COVID-19 slide and slowdown that forecast a 30% loss of knowledge in English and an even more worrying 50% drop in knowledge for Mathematics. Yikes.

These projections do have limitations. They do not account for the suffering caused directly by COVID-19. Each student’s impact depends on his or her circumstances (financial, location, family, etc); some may be more able to pay for learning opportunities than others, and some may be less impacted by COVID-19. Either way, these projections demonstrate the need for alternative schooling during the COVID-19 crisis. Schools and educators will need to overcome and adapt to new situations in order to continue distributing valuable knowledge to its students and helping them pave their way to a bright future.

Free Virtual Tutoring aims to fill that need. We place a strong emphasis on math and computer science, proven to be some of the more heavily impacted subjects. And, like the title suggests, we’re doing this for free. What can students do? If your circumstances allow you to, don’t let COVID-19 hold you back and instead reach out on your own for new learning possibilities. We’re happy to help, so don’t be shy to take advantage of the remaining opportunities around you!