CV NEWS FEED // New data show what many people have known all along: in-person learning proves more effective and better for students than e-learning.
Catholic schools re-opened their doors much earlier and more eagerly than public schools did after the outbreak of COVID-19. The results of the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress’ (NAEP) report on U.S. History and Civics scores clearly shows the difference. The report, known as the Nation’s Report Card, was released in May 2023.
The Nation’s Report Card shows findings from a test that is “administered every two years to a representative sample of students in grades 4, 8, and 12, [which] highlights areas of growth and decline across subjects such as reading, mathematics, history and civics, and science.”
“On average, public-school students lost historic ground in math (10 points) and reading (6 points)” since before 2020, Fox News reported.
Catholic schools, on the other hand, had no decline in scores on either subject.
What is the reason for the difference in scores?
“There’s no secret sauce to the Catholic school advantage in mitigating learning loss,” Fox’s report continued. “The typical parochial school starts its learning day earlier, focuses on the basics, and most of all were much more likely to encourage and provide in-person learning throughout the pandemic.”
It remains clear that students need time in the classroom with face-to-face instruction to learn best; and Catholic schools are providing just that.
In the 2021-2022 school year, Catholic school enrollment was up by 4% while public schools lost over a million students. Disgruntled parents are continuing to make a stand for what they believe in by transferring their children to public schools that do not succumb to pressure from public officials to resort to online learning.
These statistics continue to spur the growing popularity of school choice, which funds students rather than systems.
To learn more about this topic, listen to CatholicVote’s exclusive interview with Corey DeAngelis, a national leader in school choice advocacy, on LOOPcast.
