State Superintendent of Public Instruction addresses major drop in test scores
NEWS COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON.
>> TONIGHT, JOHNSTON COUNTY
SCHOOL LEADERS ARE MEETING FOR
A SPECIAL SESSION TO TALK ABOUT
LOW PERFORMING SCHOOLS AFTER
THE NATION'S REPORT CARD SHOWED
A CONCERNING TREND. THEY CALLED
THE SPECIAL MEETING TODAY AFTER
THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS SHOWS 4TH
AND 8TH GRADE STUDENTS SCORED
WORSE ON MATH AND READING EXAMS
THIS SPRING. THEN BEFORE THE
PANDEMIC SCORES ON MOST TESTS
IN NORTH CAROLINA AND
NATIONWIDE ARE SOME OF THE
LOWEST THEY'VE BEEN IN AT LEAST
20 YEARS. THE STATE IS ALREADY
WORKING TO TAKE ACTION, ROLLING
OUT MORE PHONICS BASED READING
PROGRAMS. AND JOINING US NOW
LIVE TO TALK ABOUT THE SCORES
IN THE NEXT STEPS IS STATE
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC
INSTRUCTION. CATHERINE TRITT
KEVIN, THANK YOU KNOW, WE'VE
TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST THIS
PANDEMIC AND HOW IT'S AFFECTED
STUDENT LEARNING AND NORTH
CAROLINA, CERTAINLY NOT ALONE
IN THESE FALLING SCORE. SO THIS
IS NOT REALLY SURPRISING, BUT
HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU MAKE SURE
YOU CAN GET JUST MONTHS OR
STUDENTS DON'T FALL EVEN
FURTHER BEHIND?
>> WELL, YOU'RE RIGHT WHERE
WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT THE
SCORES, BUT THEY'RE CERTAINLY
NOT SURPRISING TO THOSE OF US
WHO WORK IN EDUCATION. I THINK
THAT OUR STATE HAS ACTED
IMMEDIATELY TO START WORKING
ON ADDRESSING LEARNING LOSS
FROM THE PANDEMIC. BACK WHEN I
TOOK OFFICE IN JANUARY OF 2021,
I CREATED THE OFFICE OF
LEARNING RECOVERY AND
ACCELERATION AND WE'VE GOT TO
WORK RIGHT AWAY. COLLECTING
DATA, NOT JUST A SAMPLING OF
STUDENTS, BUT ON EVERY STUDENT
IN THE STATE. WE THEN GAVE THAT
DATA TO LOCAL LEADERS
SUPERINTENDENTS 2 PRINCIPLES
AND THEN THEY CAN GET OUT TO
THEIR TEACHERS SO THAT THEY
CAN SEE WHERE THE CHILDREN IN
THEIR DISTRICT HAVE THE MOST
NEED. AND OF COURSE, WHAT WE
LEARNED FROM A STATEWIDE
PERSPECTIVE, WHAT THAT DATA
WAS THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH WAS
WHERE OUR STUDENTS FELL BEHIND
THE MOST. AND THAT'S WHERE WE
TARGET AND A LOT OF RESOURCES.
>> SO WHAT'S THE BIGGEST
OBSTACLE NOW TO TURN THIS TREND
AROUND? BECAUSE EVEN BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC LEARNING WAS
FALLING OFF?
>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
WHICH IS WHY, AS YOU JUST
MENTIONED, WE SPENT 40 MILLION
DOLLARS ON GIVING PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT TO 44,000
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ON A
PHONICS BASED APPROACH TO
LITERACY INSTRUCTION. I WOULD
SAY THAT QUICKEST WAY TO
ADDRESS THIS MORNING LOSS IS TO
LOOK AT THE DATA AND TO PARTNER
WITH WE ARE PARTNERING WITH OUR
DISTRICTS TO HELP THEM FIGURE
OUT HOW THEY CAN BE GOOD
STEWARDS OF THE MORE THAN 3 AND
A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OF COVID
MONEY THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE STILL
HAVE ABOUT 2 AND A HALF BILLION
DOLLARS TO SPEND AND WE ARE
SPENDING IT.
>> I WAS GOING ASK YOU ABOUT
THAT IS MANAEA FACTOR IN ALL
OF THIS OR WHAT ABOUT THE
TEACHER SHORTAGE IS WE'VE BEEN
REPORTING ON.
>> SO I THINK THAT OUR TEACHER
SHORTAGE IS REALLY MORE ABOUT
THE PIPELINE OF TEACHERS THAT
WE WANT TO SEE COME IN AND TAKE
OVER FOR ALL OF THE TEACHERS
WHO ARE RETIRING. PROFESSION
OF TEACHING IS NOT IMMUNE TO
RETIREMENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING
IN LOTS OF INDUSTRIES ARE IN
THE COUNTRY AND SO THE MONEY
THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REALLY
CANNOT BE USED TO HIRE MORE
THAT SHORT-TERM MONEY. AND SO
WE WANT TO SEE MORE INVESTMENT
IN TEACHER PAY SO THAT WE CAN
CONTINUE TO ATTRACT THE BEST
AND THE BRIGHTEST TO THE
PROFESSION. BUT DISTRICTS DO
HAVE STILL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
AND THEY CAN SPEND ON PROGRAMS
TOO. IMPACT LEARNING LOSS.
AND I'M REALLY HELP STUDENTS
PICKS. ALL RIGHT. AND ONE OF
THE BEST THINGS THAT WE CAN ALL
DO RIGHT NOW IS TO RECOGNIZE
THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME
AND PARENTS WHENEVER THEY CAN
CAN HELP COMPENSATE FOR THAT
LOSS WAS STRUCTURAL TIME
BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO
TAKE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 3 MONTHS
AND A YEAR, DEPENDING ON THE
AGE OF THE SUBJECT TO GET KIDS
BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE BEFORE.
IT'S A GROUP EFFORT TO TURN
THIS AROUND. ALL RIGHT,
CATHERINE TRUITT OUR STATE
SUPERINTENDENT, THANKS SO MUCH