High-dosage, in-person tutoring gets , recent research suggests. But as federal funding for remediation dries up and schools struggle to raise students鈥� post-COVID skills, educators have been hoping for a lifeline in the form of live, online tutoring.

While virtual tutors still work directly with students in real time, they can work from anywhere, expanding the potential talent pool and lowering costs.

Until recently, virtual tutoring had that it works very well, with few rigorous studies of its effectiveness. But new findings, including two recent studies from Johns Hopkins University鈥檚 , are beginning to offer a different narrative: Done well and with the same safeguards as traditional in-person tutoring, the virtual version can be nearly as good.

鈥淚 was always one of those people who was so skeptical 鈥� 鈥榠t’s never going to work,鈥欌�� said Amanda Neitzel, an assistant professor at Hopkins and the research center鈥檚 deputy director. 鈥淎nd then I did these studies, and I was shocked, because it did work.鈥�

In a quasi-experimental study , Neitzel and her colleagues found that first-graders in Massachusetts who used , a one-to-one virtual tutoring program, made substantial progress in reading, with the percentage of students reading on grade level rising from just 16% in the fall to about 50% by spring.

The share of 鈥渟truggling鈥� readers also dropped, from 64% in the fall to 28% by the spring.

The study tracked about 1,900 students in 13 high-poverty Massachusetts school districts in the 2023-24 school year. The data suggest that tutored students showed nearly five-and-a-half months鈥� more progress on a key reading test than the typical student. And they improved across the board, with English learners, students with disabilities and low-income students all gaining ground.

Ignite tutors work with students for 15 minutes every day, typically during 鈥渓iteracy blocks鈥� in class or in separate, staff-monitored rooms.

In a separate, more rigorous study , Neitzel and her colleagues found that students who got online tutoring outperformed their peers by about two points on NWEA reading assessments, a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� change that would raise the average student slightly to the 55th percentile in the class, or just above average.

While researchers saw no difference in impacts for English language learners or those with special needs, they found that first-graders got more out of the tutoring, meaning that the hypothetical 50th-percentile student who got tutoring would rise to the 58th percentile.

Six elementary schools in a district in Texas took part in the randomized controlled trial evaluating Air Reading for 418 first-through-sixth-grade students during the 2023-24 school year. The small-group tutoring ran for just a few months in the spring, from late January through April.

Neitzel said the effect sizes in the two new studies aren鈥檛 necessarily as large as those of the most effective in-person models, but the new evidence provides some of the most compelling evidence yet for schools wondering whether they should offer virtual tutoring. 

鈥淚t’s really exciting that every month or two there’s another out,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd there are more in the field right now too. So I think in the next couple years, we’ll be able to answer that question better.鈥�

Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University, agreed, saying several to amount to 鈥� on the efficacy of virtual tutoring programs,鈥� suggesting they hold promise.

He noted that randomized control trials generally find that virtual tutoring has positive effects, but often of smaller magnitude than those found in meta-analyses of in-person tutoring programs. 鈥淗owever, the devil is in the specific program design details,鈥� he said. For instance, several studies find that one-on-one virtual tutoring is more effective than programs that use small groups.

Jennifer Krajewski, director of outreach and engagement for , a clearinghouse for research-proven tutoring models housed at Johns Hopkins鈥� Center for Research and Reform in Education, noted that both Air Reading and Ignite Reading employ well-trained live tutors and a 鈥渉ighly structured鈥� program, with ongoing coaching for tutors and a clear instructional process that addresses students鈥� individual needs. These characteristics, she said, are often part of in-person tutoring programs that have been found effective.

Both programs work hard at getting students to actually attend, she and Neitzel said. 

Reviewing the Ignite study, Neitzel said the percentage of students actually receiving tutoring when they were supposed to was 鈥渟hockingly high,鈥� topping 85% for the vast majority of students. That suggests implementation is key in a field where attendance isn鈥檛 always tracked very well. 

鈥淵ou could have the best model in the world, but if the kids aren’t actually there, it’s not going to move the needle,鈥� she said.

Attendance remains one of virtual tutoring鈥檚 biggest challenges, she said. 鈥淲hen it’s a physical person in the building, they can pull you out of class. It’s harder to avoid. Whereas if it’s on a computer, you just don’t log in 鈥� or you log off, or [you say], 鈥極h, it’s not working.鈥� 鈥�

Krajewski said that for the study, Ignite worked with a local funder in Massachusetts to hire on-the-ground workers who ensured that students were showing up. It also held regular virtual meetings with educators 鈥渢o make sure everyone understood the milestones and the goals,鈥� ensuring that the program would be launched consistently across several districts. 鈥淓veryone was really on the same page because of these meetings,鈥� she said.

Ignite and the local funder also appointed paid school and district 鈥渃hampions鈥� to supervise implementation. Each school champion worked about three hours weekly to troubleshoot problems that arose. And they required that schools review student achievement data weekly, moving students out of tutoring when they succeeded and filling those seats with struggling students. 

Neitzel said one of the keys to Ignite鈥檚 success, at least in the study, was that it paired students with tutors who spoke the same language, offering 鈥渁 little connection鈥� between them, even if tutoring took place primarily in English.

If schools can鈥檛 find enough bilingual teachers locally, she said, 鈥渕aybe virtual tutoring is the best option you have.鈥� In-person tutoring programs might be slightly more effective, she said, but virtual programs offer flexibility on hiring and other challenging aspects of implementation. 

In the Air Reading study, Neitzel said, company representatives met with schools every other week, focusing closely on attendance and which students weren鈥檛 attending sessions.

On occasion, she said, Air Reading teams flew out to schools 鈥渢o make sure stuff was happening and getting set up or trying to troubleshoot what’s going on. I was impressed with just how well they knew the schools they were working with.鈥�

In one case, she recalled an Air Reading worker who was so attuned to the school he oversaw that he knew an attendance monitor鈥檚 father had died. 鈥淭hat’s how involved they are with this,鈥� Neitzel said. 鈥淲hen it works well, there are these tremendous relationships with people in the district to make it work.鈥�

Krajewski, who was not an author on either study, said researchers haven鈥檛 yet seen evidence of effectiveness for tutoring using AI agents working directly with students. 鈥淲e’ve seen that the most effective models use human tutors,鈥� she said. 

Hopkins researchers are working on an evaluation of an AI-assisted tutoring model developed by Carnegie Mellon University and predicted there鈥檇 be noteworthy data by the end of 2025. 鈥淏ut even then, it’s not that the tutoring is replaced by AI,鈥� she said. The AI, she said, is helping human tutors be more effective.

鈥�These studies show how important that human tutor continues to be,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re learning that that human tutor, virtual or in person, is driving the instructional process.鈥� 

Correction: An earlier version of this story included graphics that mischaracterized the amount of benefit students gained from the two virtual tutoring programs.

The new year brought changes to requirements for New Jersey teachers, including a new law eliminating a basic skills test that lawmakers overwhelmingly advanced in both houses.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the  eliminating the Praxis basic skills test for people seeking teaching certifications in June, and it went into effect Jan. 1. Lawmakers said the legislation aimed to address a l and remove duplicative, costly tests that create barriers to pursuing a career in education.

At the time, it faced little controversy. Just three Republicans voted against it.

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But recent comments from tech mogul Elon Musk have shined a spotlight on the new law. Musk, who owns social media platform X, this week  of an article about the change and questioned if teachers in New Jersey need to 鈥渒now how to read.鈥� The post has been viewed nearly 20 million times.

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R-Sussex), who supported the bill, said the change to teacher certification requirements has been taken entirely out of context and does not lower the bar for would-be teachers.

鈥淢y largest concern was it was an extra expense for teachers just starting out, and for taking a test, actually, that is much easier than the current tests you already have to take,鈥� said Fantasia, who obtained her teaching certificate in 2008 and now works as an administrator at a charter school.

She explained that for teachers to receive certification in New Jersey, they must first graduate from an accredited teacher preparation program with at least a 3.0 grade point average, complete months of student teaching, and pass several exams, depending on the grade level and subject matter being taught.

Those tests can easily amount to hundreds of dollars, and by the time a potential teacher takes the Praxis exam, they鈥檝e already proved their capabilities, she said.

States across the country have removed similar exams in an effort to ease shortages plaguing schools, according to the . Oklahoma enacted a law in 2022 removing the requirement for a general education exam, and Arizona implemented a law allowing educators to begin teaching before graduating from college.

Fantasia did not fault Musk for his confusion about the law and placed some blame on the media 鈥� fringe and mainstream 鈥� for irresponsible headlines and missing context. The knee-jerk reaction from the public is to be 鈥渃ompletely expected,鈥� she said.

And while she noted she鈥檚 the loudest Republican voice supporting the legislation, she slammed Democrats for remaining 鈥渞adio silent鈥� on a bill they supported. The bill sponsors did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

鈥淭he teachers of New Jersey are made to look across this country like the village idiots because the Democrat Party who sponsored this bill and the governor who signed it don鈥檛 feel it necessary to defend them when the headlines are extraordinarily misleading,鈥� Fantasia said.

Murphy鈥檚 office defended the law in a statement to the New Jersey Monitor.

鈥淭he Praxis Core requirement was redundant to New Jersey鈥檚 other requirements for teacher certification that remain in place, and its removal was a recommendation of our public school staff shortage task force, a group of experts who know more about New Jersey鈥檚 education needs than Elon Musk,鈥� said Natalie Hamilton, a Murphy spokeswoman. 鈥淭he bipartisan legislation that the Governor signed passed by overwhelming margins and we are disappointed by out-of-state agitators that want more red tape.鈥�

Steven Baker, spokesman for teachers union the New Jersey Education Association, said 鈥渞ight-wing blog sites trying to push this story don鈥檛 understand the law and definitely do not understand New Jersey鈥檚 very rigorous teacher certification standards.鈥�

He stressed that the additional requirement to pass the Praxis following years of other coursework did nothing to elevate the standards and 鈥渁mounted to a corporate money grab鈥� from college students.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris), who voted against the bill, said he thinks it has indeed lowered standards.

鈥淚 think these are the days of dumbing down, and somebody鈥檚 got to put their foot down and say, 鈥楢bsolutely not,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淲e should expect more from these kids, not less, and we certainly should expect no less from the teachers that are teaching them.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.

Oh, and they鈥檙e fun.

That sophistication 鈥� and a bit of that fun 鈥� may soon be coming to school assessments.

Educators and developers are increasingly looking to the digital world of games and simulations to make tests more stealthy, playful and, they hope, useful. In the process, the new assessments may also push schools to become more creative.

鈥淭he idea is: Can assessment be more embedded?鈥� said Y.J. Kim, an at the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison. 鈥淐an assessment be more exciting? Can assessment be more flexible?鈥�

In November, NWEA, which publishes the widely used , unveiled a 3D digital assessment on the popular that tests how well middle-schoolers have learned Newton鈥檚 .

The game, called Distance Dash, requires two students to work together to launch vehicles of different sizes and payloads. The goal: Get both to the finish line in perfect sync.

Students pick a skateboard, a bike, a grocery cart or an automobile, load each with different items, then collaboratively fine-tune the forces placed on them. The whole time, the game covertly measures several objectives, including whether students understand the principles of acceleration and how to apply optimal force.

Tyler Matta, NWEA鈥檚 vice president of learning sciences engineering, said the assessment grew out of the , which require students to analyze and interpret data and understand patterns.

He said helping design it was a stretch for NWEA test makers, who hadn鈥檛 previously worked with game designers. 鈥淲e got to see what goes into building educational games, which was all very novel for us. We learned a ton.鈥�

The organization is working with developer , which has produced . 

鈥淎s an assessment, it’s important that you actually have the ability to fail,鈥� explained Filament鈥檚 Kenny Green, the project鈥檚 producer. The data it generates 鈥� for instance, how many times students tried and what modifications they made 鈥� are all important for teachers to see. 

The new exam appears as Roblox, the popular gaming platform, moves further into schools. Last October, it said it鈥檒l to expand educational experiences on its platform, two years after an initial $10 million outlay. 

Rebecca Kantar, Roblox鈥檚 head of education, said physics lends itself well to such collaborative simulations. Distance Dash, she said, is 鈥渞epresentative of the kind of team-based problem solving real scientists do when they’re working through a physics problem in real life.鈥� 

Another recent development: In 2022, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development assessed creative thinking for 15-year-old students in more than 60 countries via the assessment, which boasts interactive items that allow students to submit drawings with a . 

The test also includes open-ended tasks with 鈥渘o single solution but multiple correct responses,鈥� organizers said. The first results are expected this year.

Advocates hope to someday make tests more personalized and, in many ways, indistinguishable from games, said Bo Stjerne Thomsen of the . 鈥淲hat we hope is that playfulness becomes a serious part of assessment,鈥� he said.

Better still, more playful tests, he said, could open the door for schools to offer more creative, inquiry-based learning. 

He and others who are support the new tests don鈥檛 mince words: They envision a world where the kind of high-stakes, multiple-choice tests we all grew up with give way to assessments that for the first time allow teachers to capture a broader array of 鈥渘on-cognitive qualities鈥� such as teamwork and creativity, while keeping students focused on learning.

鈥淓very time you try to pause an experience or stop a learning experience, it actually stops the engagement,鈥� said Thomsen. It鈥檚 the same with play: 鈥淎s soon as you start measuring play, the play stops.鈥�

鈥業t’s about you engaging with someone else鈥�

Tests can also be demotivating, even though they鈥檙e designed to help students show what they鈥檝e learned, said Yigal Rosen, who led the creation of the PISA test.

He recalled interviewing fourth-graders who had taken NAEP science exams: At least one-third of the questions, according to students, were 鈥渟uper boring鈥� and not engaging.

鈥淭hey will skip them,鈥� Rosen said. 鈥淭hey will just select 鈥榃hatever.鈥欌��

Now the chief academic officer at , the learning software company, Rosen recalled that when his team tweaked the NAEP test with a 鈥減layful version鈥� that invited students to work together, he said, scores rose by 50%. 鈥淚t’s no longer about you just responding to this dry prompt,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s about you engaging with someone else.鈥�

When they think of playful assessments, most teachers probably think of digital tools like the popular learning platform , which allows teachers to create game show-like quizzes and polls that engage students on mobile phones and other devices. Louisa Rosenheck, Kahoot鈥檚 director of pedagogy, admitted that testing, for all its progress, is 鈥渟till an underdeveloped, untapped area.鈥� 

Digital tools like Kahoot that help teachers do informal assessments as they teach are helpful because they 鈥渇eel more low-stakes鈥� than traditional tests. 鈥淚t’s very quick, it’s informative. You can get feedback very, very easily,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut the question types, the formats, often are still kind of discrete items.鈥�

In that sense, she said, they don鈥檛 take advantage of what good games can do: Collect extensive data on students鈥� thinking and decision making 鈥� much more important indicators than whether they got the correct result. But that鈥檚 expensive, so many educational games simply assess how far a player gets and how many tasks or levels she completes.

鈥楽tealth assessment鈥�

Researchers have been toying with the idea of more playful assessments for decades. Nearly 20 years ago, researcher began looking at ways to seamlessly weave tests directly into the fabric of instruction.

Shute devised the idea of 鈥渟tealth assessment,鈥� a system that discreetly tests students鈥� learning in interactive and immersive environments such as digital games. 

Aside from offering a less obtrusive way to measure learning, stealth assessment aimed to help with 鈥渇low,鈥� the mental state in which a person is so engaged and exhilarated by a task that they forget they鈥檙e working. 

For most students, any exhilaration melts when test time nears.

鈥淎ssessment is inherently about power,鈥� said the University of Wisconsin鈥檚 Kim. 鈥淎ssessment is inherently about evidence and rules.鈥�

By contrast, the new kinds of assessments empower students to challenge and question rules. In one proposed scenario, students in the PISA creativity test are asked to build a paper airplane, then come up with ideas to improve it.

In another, students design a 鈥渂icycle of the future,鈥� suggesting three original improvements over standard bikes. Then they鈥檙e asked to tweak the design of a proposed anti-theft camera mounted on the bike. Finally, since the future bicycle is automatically powered, they must suggest 鈥渁n original way to reuse or repurpose鈥� the pedals.

鈥淭he idea should be original,鈥� the test says, 鈥渋n the sense that not many students would think of it.鈥�

Kim has spent the past few years developing playful assessments for the classroom, originally with teachers, teacher trainees and game designers at MIT. Where Shute, her mentor at Florida State University, called it 鈥渟tealth assessment,鈥� Kim prefers the term 鈥減layful assessment.鈥�

鈥業t鈥檚 a mind shift鈥�

Kim has lately been testing something she calls the , a free, printable card game for teachers that Kim describes as 鈥淐harades meets Telephone鈥� to teach the process of drawing conclusions from a chain of evidence.

In the game, players take on one of three roles: Performer, Observer or Interpreter. They can only see one of the other two players, and gameplay proceeds as the performer silently acts out, in three movements or less, what鈥檚 on a card. The observer takes notes on what she sees and determines how to tell the interpreter what she saw. 

Like many in the field, Kim said a big roadblock to more playful tests is that so many school systems use assessments for teacher evaluations. 鈥淎t the end of the day, we are obsessed with the idea that 鈥楢ssessment is score: score about performance and proficiency.鈥欌��

Meanwhile, for most educators, play 鈥渋s not something that is productive,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o for teachers to kind of switch their mindset in terms of, ‘Assessment can be fun, and this is an assessment,’ it’s a mind shift.鈥�

, which relies largely on recent findings from outside research groups and the federal government, warns that on just about every indicator that matters 鈥� basic skills, college going, mental health and more 鈥� the pandemic has set older students back.

鈥淭ime is running out for these kids,鈥� said Robin Lake, director of , a research organization at Arizona State University. 鈥淢any have already exited the K-12 system, either by graduating or essentially disappearing on us. Too many kids still are missing 鈥� we don’t know if they’ve dropped out or where they’ve gone.鈥�

Outside researchers who study these students said the fears are justified. In response, Lake and others are proposing a raft of reforms, including extending 鈥済ap years鈥� to any high school graduates who need time to catch up 鈥� as well as a new commitment to reforming high school so it works for more students. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged the slow pace of academic turnaround, calling it “appalling and unacceptable.”

“It’s like as a country we’ve normalized those gaps,” he said in separate remarks to reporters Tuesday,

Cardona spoke just before the department unveiled new efforts to spur pandemic recovery, including $50 million in competitive grants for literacy and higher expectations on districts to track and reverse chronic absenteeism. The department also released new data showing that roughly 187,000 tutors and mentors have signed up through its National Partnership for Student Success 鈥� bringing it closer to its goal of recruiting 250,000 adults to help students get back on track by 2025.

鈥業nsidious and hidden鈥�

As of this fall, researchers said, about 13.5 million students in four high school graduating classes have been affected by the pandemic.

CRPE first issued its 鈥淪tate of the American Student鈥� report in September 2022, saying pandemic school closures in 2020 and 2021 led to 鈥渦nprecedented academic setbacks鈥� for American students that made pre-existing inequalities and the nation鈥檚 youth mental health crisis worse.

A year later, CRPE says, students are still struggling in many areas. They point to record-low math and reading scores on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress for fourth- and eighth-grade students 鈥� in both grades, one in three can鈥檛 read at even the 鈥渂asic鈥� achievement level.

And missed more than 10% of school days during the 2021-22 school year, twice as many as in previous years. More than reported 鈥渟tunted behavioral and social-emotional development鈥� in students because of the pandemic, researchers note.

But they say schools should pay extra attention to older students, many of whom lost critical instruction time during the pandemic. 

The pandemic, Lake said, 鈥渋s continuing to derail learning throughout K-12. But what we came away with was that the derailment is looking a little bit more insidious and hidden, in some ways. That is true especially for older students.鈥�

The , for instance, needs 7.4 months of schooling to catch up to pre-pandemic levels in reading, and 9.1 months of schooling in math, according to recent assessments.

Last year鈥檚 NAEP scores showed that 30% of eighth graders performed 鈥溾�� in reading; 38% were in math. At the same time, just 2% of students received at school, which Lake called 鈥渁 massive missed opportunity.鈥� 

In a few places, researchers noted, the pandemic knocked older students off track, as in Washington state, where 14 percent of public high school students received at least during the 2020-2021 school year.

Even college-bound high school students are underperforming: The on the ACT college admission test last year was 19.8, they noted, the lowest since 1991.

Researchers also noted that, overall, college going is down: Between 2019 and 2023, the U.S. higher education system lost an estimated .

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in advance of the report鈥檚 release, Lake said recent data on college are 鈥渆xtremely concerning.鈥�

She called for the development of what she calls a 鈥淣ew American High School鈥� that abandons academic tracking and standardized diplomas for a system that helps each student 鈥渦nderstand their own conception of a good life鈥� through knowledge and skills. It would also help them more easily change course if needed.

In the report, Lake noted several promising new models, including Colorado鈥檚 , designed to help rural districts create career-relevant learning experiences aligned to the needs and aspirations of local economies.

She also highlighted Seckinger High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, a planned artificial intelligence-themed high school that will offer a college prep curriculum 鈥渢aught through the lens of artificial intelligence.鈥� Students will also be able to pursue an education in developing AI, she said. 

A gap year for struggling students

Lake proposed that high schools and community colleges consider a new kind of post-high school 鈥済ap year鈥� designed to help struggling high school graduates get back on track academically and prepare for college and careers. 

鈥�Gap years are oftentimes known for serving as a time for exploration for more advantaged kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淟et’s change that.鈥�

The idea is still in development, she said, but could be developed quickly.

鈥淲e don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but we need to get going,鈥� she said.

While high school graduation rates are rising, the researchers said, so is grade inflation 鈥� 90% of parents believe their child is actually above grade level in reading and math, according to a March 2023 , making it likely that many students are exiting the K-12 system unprepared for college and careers.

Outside experts who study education systems and secondary education said CRPE鈥檚 alarm over the data is justified.

鈥淭here’s going to be a long tail of the pandemic,鈥� said Robert Balfanz, a scholar who studies high school as co-director of the at Johns Hopkins University.

He said a key problem from the pandemic is that many students were forced into virtual learning at key points in their education: while making the leap to more challenging reading, for instance, or diving into Algebra or calculus. 鈥淜ids that miss core transitional learning, I think, are almost hit twice,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey have that same amount of learning loss. But you could argue in some ways it was even more strategic of a loss because those are such key building blocks.鈥�

He noted that the best predictor of whether a student will earn a college degree is if they earned 鈥渄ecent grades in challenging courses.鈥� But if they don鈥檛 get access to these or don鈥檛 learn foundational material, 鈥渢hat’s a problem.鈥�

Unequal access to such coursework, Balfanz said, can push students out of advanced classes.聽

He is concerned that during the pandemic, many students who 鈥渙fficially took calculus鈥� or other advanced courses virtually may not have gotten all of the material required. 鈥淎nd those kids are probably already in college.鈥�

In the paper, researchers lamented that our K-12 system 鈥渓eaves to chance鈥� nearly every aspect of the transition from high school to college and careers, from students discovering their interests and talents to selecting a career pathway aligned to them. 

And few students ever get guidance on how to change careers and find new training or postsecondary opportunities when their interests and priorities shift.

Balfanz said the decline in 鈥減ostsecondary momentum鈥� could be the result of many factors, including the high cost of college, students who don鈥檛 feel well-prepared and a labor market that holds many opportunities for high wages without a college degree.

鈥淚 think a combination of those factors is going to push some kids to delay post-secondary,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the more you delay it, the odds of success are less.鈥�

Trying to go back to school at that point, he said, is 鈥渁lways challenging.鈥� 

A new kind of report card

Dan Goldhaber, director of the Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research () at the American Institutes for Research, said COVID recovery 鈥渉as not fully happened鈥� in many schools.聽

鈥淚’m not feeling super optimistic about pandemic recovery writ large right now,鈥� he said. 

The new CRPE report, he said, demonstrates the 鈥渞eal conundrum鈥� that schools face in communicating with parents: 鈥淚 think that schools need to convey in more plain English where kids are at,鈥� he said. 

But he said results from large-scale standardized exams 鈥渄on’t resonate the way that information about their own students would resonate. What we need is for school systems to just be really clear with individual families about when their students are struggling. And I don’t think that school systems typically do that.鈥�

Educators, he said, are typically optimistic about students鈥� chances of bouncing back 鈥� and fearful of being blamed for kids鈥� academic problems. 

鈥淪chools don’t have a ton of incentive to communicate in ways that might negatively bounce back to them,鈥� he said.

Lake, the CRPE director, said one good way to fix this problem is simply to rethink report cards.

鈥淧arents look to report cards first,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd report cards need to be able to say how the kids are actually doing 鈥� not just that they’re getting a particular grade. Are they mastering the skills that they need to graduate? Are they on track? And so that’s where I’d focus my efforts.鈥�

Linda Jacobson contributed to this report.