Latino students educational future at risk after the pandemic

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They were already behind average standards before the pandemic. And during lockdown, they struggled to stay at an acceptable level of learning. Now, in post-pandemic times, a new LAUSD report places them far behind in learning Math and English, which will complicate an educational future. This is critical in a school district where the majority are Latino students and many of them do not speak or write English.

The declines are significant in a district where, before the pandemic, most students were not meeting state standards in English or math, with scores several percentage points below overall state scores and large achievement gaps between student groups.

The results showed declines across almost all grade levels and many student groups. They are especially concerning for older students and for some of the most vulnerable groups. About 81% of 11th-graders did not meet grade-level standards in math. About 83% of Black students, 78% of Latino students and 77% of economically disadvantaged students did not meet the math standards.

More than 50,000 Black and Latino middle and high school students in Los Angeles did not regularly participate in the school system’s main platform for virtual classrooms after campuses closed during the pandemic, reflecting the disparities faced by students of color amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties ahead as the LAUSD prepares for continued online learning, according to a new report.

Using that measure, the report found that on an average day only about 36% of middle and high school students participated online. About 25% logged on or viewed work only. And about 40% were absent, The Times reported.

Among Latinos, who make up three-quarters of the district’s 206,000 middle and high school students, the peak weekly participation rate was 67 percent for middle school students and 73 percent for high school students. For Black students, it was 67 percent and 71 percent. By comparison, weekly participation among the district’s 19,300 white secondary students peaked at 88 percent for middle school students and 85 percent for high school students.

Among Asians, who had the highest participation rates, it was 89 percent and 91 percent. They account for 8,241 students in the analysis.

“These are deeply disturbing, yet not surprising data,” UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard, who also directs the Black Male Institute, told the LA Times. “Unfortunately, what these data remind us is that race, socioeconomic status, disabilities and disadvantage still matters.”