RAB SOURCE ENERTY #2 – Joshua Ferdinand

PART 1 CITATION- Wallace-wells, David. “How Big Were Pandemic Learning Losses, Really?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Sept. 2022.

Main Idea – Some of the educational learning losses caused by school disruptions have been made up by students. 

Supporting detail 1	Supporting detail 2	Supporting detail 3
Losses in academic learning due to school disruption appear real but sub-catastrophic, varying by geography, socioeconomic background, and other less quantitative factors.	Given how divisive and partisan the debates over closing schools have been, the following should be read completely transparently.	According to the data, reading and math performance in schools during the pandemic wasn’t comparable.

PART 2 SUMMARY – In “How Big Where Pandemic Learning Losses, Really?” David Wallace-Wells explains the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the long-term trend data from the Covid-19 School Data Hub. Although the epidemic had an effect on test results, it was not the only factor. High-achieving students had fewer setbacks, while low-achieving students had more. Poverty and race both played important roles. According to the 2022 exams, students recovered roughly 30% of their pandemic losses, but there is a range: Students in Colorado recovered nearly half of their losses, whereas students in Indiana recovered only about 10% of their losses. Wallace-Wells’ writing expresses his firm belief that school closures have resulted in students missing out on learning opportunities. Furthermore, he claims that the students were relatively low risk in comparison to other students. Wallace-Wells’ writing also expresses his firm belief that school closures have resulted in students losing learning opportunities. Furthermore, he claims that the students were relatively low risk in comparison to other students. Many students performed poorly on standardized tests. While school closures had a clear and negative impact on students’ learning outcomes, they did not only affect test scores. The majority of schools experienced a 5-10% decrease in enrollment, with half of their students leaving. 

PART 3 (A) REFLECTION – Because the pandemic isn’t completely over, I agree with David Wallace-Wells, but retrospective assessments seem less irresponsible now than they did even six months ago. Despite the fact that two large data sets, the National Assessment of Educational Progress long-term trend data and the Covid-19 School Data Hub, have provided real insight into the magnitude of learning loss caused by school closures. “the last to close, the first to open.” The school closures were unfortunate, but not unreasonable in the context of widespread anxiety, precautions, and disruption. Though the age skew was already obvious, the country was much less concerned with individual risk assessments and much more concerned with reducing transmission at the time. Why does David Wallace-Wells claim that the COVID 19 has a high death rate for the elderly but a low death rate for students? What does this have to do with the loss of student learning? If I could say anything to this author, it would be “Thank You.” To understand what students went through. When it seemed like no adult was aware that students had such a chaotropic learning loss, it really helped me. Knowing that David Wallace-Wells is writing a public piece about why he believes the learning loss was so significant for students. This helps me understand that learning loss 

PART 3 (B) GENRE – David Wallace-Wells’ writing style was more informative. David Wallace-Wells is writing for parents, students, teachers, and anyone else who has or cares about students. David Wallace-Wells’ opinion writing piece would be classified as expository/informative. Because opinion statements in the middle of an opinion piece are supported by additional context and provide reasons for their stance on topics such as current events, politics, or social issues, they are more likely to be accepted. The New York Times is a highly cited source. According to a survey conducted in 2022, 24% of Americans regard The New York Times (NYT) as a very credible source of news and information through its print and digital publications. Only 14% seriously questioned the credibility of The New York Times, while 10% had reservations about the publication and thought it was somewhat untrustworthy. 

PART 4 QUOTABLES – 

“Losses in academic learning due to school disruption appear real but sub-catastrophic, varying by geography, socioeconomic background, and other less quantitative factors.” (Davide Wallace-Wells) 

“Given how divisive and partisan the debates over closing schools have been, the following should be read completely transparently.” (David Wallace-Wells) 

“According to the data, reading and math performance in schools during the pandemic wasn’t comparable.” (David Wallace-Wells) 

“Last to close, first to open.” (David Wallace-Wells) 

But before I dig in further, I want to lay a few cards on the table, given how bitter and ideological the fights over school closures have been, so that what follows can be read in full transparency. (David Wallace-Wells)