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Decades of educational gains were lost during the COVID-19 classroom lockdowns, leaving vulnerable students with learning gaps that will last a lifetime, according to new data out this week. 

The National Assessment of Education Progress report, released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education, shows test scores for nine-year-old students declined five points in reading and seven points in math compared to 2020. According to NAEP, that is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990 and the first-ever score decline in mathematics.

In an odd twist, Democrats who pushed to keep classrooms closed are now blaming Republicans for school shutdowns.

Dr. Aaron Pallas, a professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, told The Wall Street Journal it could take decades for these students to close the learning gaps, if ever. “I don’t think we can expect these 9-year-olds to catch up by the time they leave high school. This is not something that is going to disappear quickly.”

New Hampshire’s Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said the results are not surprising given the long school shutdowns and remote learning challenges from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

“COVID negatively affected student performance across the board and exacerbated systemic problems in achievement that preceded COVID, notably high performing students–top quartile–holding steady or making modest gains/losses while bottom quartile students–those already the most vulnerable–are falling farther behind,” Edelblut said. “In math, the top 10 percent of students nationwide declined 3 points while the bottom 10 percent declined 12 points. English Language Arts tells a similar story for national trends. Among these declines, black students fared the worst.”

The NAEP scores for New Hampshire students will be released in October.

 Jason Bedrick, the Heritage Foundation research fellow at the Center for Education Policy, says the scores show the depths of the shutdown’s calamity.

“The dismal NAEP scores confirm what we already knew: the unnecessary school closures that the unions demanded were disastrous for children, especially the most disadvantaged. Black and Hispanic students saw two-to-three times the decline of White students. For Black nine-year-olds, for example, nearly three decades of progress in math was wiped out. Proficiency rates were already low. This is a calamity,” Bedrick said.

A calamity the Biden White House is trying to pin on the GOP.

On Thursday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said it was the Biden administration who re-opened classrooms, and she said it “was the work of Democrats in spite of Republicans.”

In fact, Democrats overwhelmingly supported teachers unions’ efforts to keep classrooms closed long after most European countries had students back in school. In July 2020, the Democratic National Committee even ran TV ads accusing President Trump of trying to re-open classrooms too quickly.

Edelblut said he is looking forward and is focused on solutions. He said all options need to be on the table to guarantee that students going forward can get the education they need.

“Recovery back to where we were before COVID should not be our goal. No one was satisfied with that performance. We now have an opportunity to lead and transform the disrupted education system to serve all students, top performers and those who are not finding success in the current system,” Edelblut said.

New Hampshire’s largest teachers union blasted the State Board of Education for voting to tightly limit the use of remote learning by Granite State public schools.

Under the rule changes finalized by the board Thursday, schools can only use remote learning for weather events such as snowstorms, and when parents request the online-learning option. Since the beginning of the pandemic, local school districts have locked down classrooms for months at a time, despite evidence showing that has a drastically negative impact on children. In some communities, parents organized protests in response.

On Thursday, the Board of Education made it clear whose side it is on.

“Parents have to have some say in the matter,” said board chairman Drew Cline.

Cline said the rule changes still leave school districts with the flexibility to adopt remote learning as needed in specific instances, but the state won’t be returning to months of at-home education for entire school districts. Cline said remote learning during the 2020-2021 school year was disastrous for public schools.

“We had more than 8,000 students leave the public school system in New Hampshire in 2020, and most of them didn’t come back,” Cline said. “One of the main reasons is [families] didn’t want remote instruction imposed upon them, they didn’t like that they had no options and no say.”

Megan Tuttle, president of the NEA-New Hampshire, the state’s largest teachers union, was quick to blast the decision. Tuttle accused the board and Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut of disregarding the health and safety of students and teachers.

“While educators, parents, and healthcare professionals are focused on keeping our children and families healthy and safe, Commissioner Edelblut and the State Board of Education are focused on penalizing school districts for making the difficult decision to temporarily switch to remote instruction during a communitywide outbreak,” Tuttle said in a statement.

Cline noted schools are free to close classrooms if they feel the need. But instead of simply moving classes to “Zoom school,” as some parents call it, schools will have to make up the days in classroom instruction later in the year.

Educators agree New Hampshire students lost ground across the board due to the effects of online learning.

In Manchester, Superintendent Jonathan Goldhardt told the city’s board of education this week that thousands of his students are now getting failing grades.

“The number of students getting at least one F grade went up dramatically during the mostly remote and hybrid 2020-2021 school year,” Goldhardt told board members, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Test results tell the same story.

Proficiency for ELA at the third-grade level was 44 percent in 2021, compared to 55 percent in 2018 and 52 percent in 2019. Math proficiency at the third-grade level was 45 percent in 2021, compared to 55 percent in both 2017 and 2018, and 57 percent in 2019. 

Eighth-grade proficiency for ELA was 49 percent in 2021, compared to 62 percent in 2016, 58 percent in both 2017 and 2018, and 53 percent in 2019. Proficiency for math at the eighth-grade level was 33 percent in 2021, compared to 47 percent in 2016, 46 percent in 2017, 47 percent in 2018, and 45 percent in 2019. 

Cline said the board listened to unions and others opposed to the rule changes, but those in opposition never presented an alternative plan. Ultimately, the changes were about listening to parents and keeping students in schools, he said.

“We’re moving forward with this rule to give parents real-time buy-in and opt-in,” Cline said. “We want to make sure public schools are listening to the parents because we don’t want a repeat of 2020 where we lose another 8,000 kids.”

Enrollment in New Hampshire’s Catholic schools continues to climb as parents seek alternatives to public education.

Dana Kelliher wanted more for her boys, Aiden, 10, and Connor, 8. After almost two years of dealing with her sons’ educations being held back in public schools due to pandemic-related restrictions, Kelliher believed her sons could be doing more.

“We were really just looking for a more rigorous curriculum,” she said. “We wanted them to do more old-fashioned learning. I didn’t want them on a chrome book everyday.”

The Kelliher’s settled on Saint Joseph Regional Catholic School in Salem. There, her sons are in grounded programs that push them to excel, she said, especially in reading and working.

“I feel like they’re coming home with actual grades, and there’s a lot more communication with the teachers,” she said.

The Kelliher’s are far from alone in switching to parochial schools. According to the Diocese of Manchester, 214 new students enrolled in its 18 diocesan schools at the start of this current school year, for a total of 3,692 enrolled students statewide. That increase represents a 6.2 percent increase over the 3,427 students in parochial schools last year.

“This is a resurgence in an interest in Catholic education across the state,” said Alison Mueller, director of marketing, enrollment, and development for Catholic schools. “We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children, and we serve to partner with them in that education and formation. This type of message resonates with parents.”

Mueller said parents want better academics, and also better values in schools. In a recent survey distributed by the Catholic Schools Office, parents indicated they want God in the classroom, traditional academics, and family values.

“Parents want to know that when they send their child to school each day, they are in a safe and joyful place. The pandemic disrupted the educational system in 2020 and since then, I think parents have become more invested in ensuring the best outcomes and educational options for their children. More families are realizing they do, in fact, have options,” said Superintendent of Catholic Schools David Thibault

The Catholic school enrollments started going up in the summer of 2020, with a first wave of about 500 new students. The diocese responded to the pandemic by launching a Transfer Incentive Program to help families afford the tuition. They also announced a commitment to in-person learning during the coming school year.  

After parents experienced months of pandemic-related shutdowns, the parochial alternative looked good to many. The parents who tried it apparently liked it. According to Mueller, 80 percent of those students who made the switch to Catholic schools are still enrolled.

Kelliher said the small community built around the school is providing a positive and safe social setting for her children. She also feels more connected to the staff and teachers in the school than she did before.

“I feel more in the loop, knowing what they’re doing everyday,” she said.

Parochial schools aren’t the only alternate education being explored by New Hampshire parents. More than 4,100 students are homeschooling this year, according to the Department of Education. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 3,000 students homeschooled in New Hampshire, though that figure jumped in the 2020/2021 school year to more than 6,000.

Across the country, public school districts are openly discussing a return to remote learning, despite overwhelming data showing it is detrimental to educational outcomes. Prince Georges County, Md. has already announced it is ending classroom instruction until at least January 18, 2022. More schools are expected to follow.

New Hampshire offers Education Freedom Accounts for parents looking for assistance to pay for private school, or even homeschool materials and equipment. More than 1,600 students have taken advantage of the program so far. The state is also home to 30 public charter schools that provide uniquely tailored programs for students throughout the state. 

As COVID concerns closed down classrooms and sent students to Zoom screens last year, New Hampshire students lost ground across the board, according to assessment test data released this week. The numbers show Granite State student performance plunging in math, and falling in reading and science, after more than a year of COVID-19 schooling.

“It is clear and understandable that trauma from the pandemic continues to impact schools, students, and teachers,” said Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.

New Hampshire’s numbers align with national trends showing school children are suffering a learning gap due to COVID, school shutdowns, and remote learning programs. Minority students and students from low-income families have suffered the worst losses, national data show.

Scott Marion, executive director of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, a Dover-based technical consulting firm, said some of the New Hampshire losses are minimal but still noticeable. The losses are almost entirely due to remote learning, he said.

“In general, we know that the students who learned remotely fared worse than those who learned in-person. While everyone’s scores suffered nationwide, the test scores for those students who had in-person learning suffered less. This was generally the case in New Hampshire as well, especially in mathematics,” Marion said.

Statewide, 52 percent of students scored proficient or above proficient in reading for 2021, compared to 56 percent in 2019. Science scores averaged 37 percent proficient/above proficient in 2021 compared to 39 percent in 2019.

The real damage was done on math scores, which fell from 48 percent at or above proficient to 38 percent two years later — a dramatic drop of 21 percent.

Proficiency for English Language Arts (ELA) at the third-grade level was 44 percent in 2021, compared to 56 percent in 2016, 54 percent in 2017, 55 percent in 2018, and 52 percent in 2019. Proficiency for math at the third-grade level was 45 percent in 2021, compared to 57 percent in 2016, 55 percent in both 2017 and 2018, and 57 percent in 2019. 

Eighth-grade proficiency for ELA was 49 percent in 2021, compared to 62 percent in 2016, 58 percent in both 2017 and 2018, and 53 percent in 2019. Proficiency for math at the eighth-grade level was 33 percent in 2021, compared to 47 percent in 2016, 46 percent in 2017, 47 percent in 2018, and 45 percent in 2019.  

There are also fewer tests being completed. In 2019, the year before COVID forced schools to shut for months at a time, there were 91,050 student assessments for Math. In the spring of 2021, 73,406 were done.

In reading, there were 90,785 assessments done in 2019 compared to 72,880 in 2021. Science participation saw 37,720 assessments complete in 2019, and 28,495 in 2021. 

The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, based on Concord, has also reported on the connection between less class time and lower test scores.

“School districts that offered less in-person instruction last year saw fewer students pass end-of-year standardized tests, a new academic study of student performance in 12 states has found,’ the Bartlett Center reported, citing the work of researchers from Brown University, M.I.T., and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 

According to a report from the consulting firm McKinsey, the learning gap experienced by school students now, especially minority students, could hold those students back economically in the years to come.

“Our analysis shows that the impact of the pandemic on K–12 student learning was significant, leaving students on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading by the end of the school year,” the report states.

The pandemic made the education gaps that already exist for minority students and students from low-income families even worse than before.

“In math, students in majority Black schools ended the year with six months of unfinished learning, students in low-income schools with seven. High schoolers have become more likely to drop out of school, and high school seniors, especially those from low-income families, are less likely to go on to postsecondary education,” the report states. “The fallout from the pandemic threatens to depress this generation’s prospects and constrict their opportunities far into adulthood.”

The pandemic saw schools shut down in March 2020. Most public schools reopened in New Hampshire in the fall of 2020, but went to remote learning for long stretches over the winter months. As cases of COVID spike this winter, a few schools are entering into some form of remote learning,

Critics of the “closed-classroom” response to COVID-19 have repeatedly noted the virus has posed very little risk to school-age children. There hasn’t been a single COVID death of a Granite Stater under the age of 20, and fewer than 50 people in that age group have been hospitalized during the entire pandemic.

Gov. Chris Sununu has said he doesn’t see a return to a state-wide remote learning program. “Kids really need to be in school, they want to be in school and that’s the best place for their education,” Sununu recently told NH Journal.

New Hampshire teachers are doing a tremendous job during the pandemic, Edelblut said, and the DOE will work hard to make sure students and families will be able to catch up.

“New Hampshire will continue to address learning loss through customized, unique, and engaging learning platforms that focus on individual student achievement and success,” he said. “Parents continue to have valid concerns about their children’s academic progress. Measurable improvement is a goal that we can all stay focused on and work toward.”

As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise amid the cold-weather surge, Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday there are no plans to close schools due to the worsening pandemic.

“Kids really need to be in school. They want to be in school, and that’s the best place for their education,” Sununu said during his weekly COVID-19 press conference.

Many schools in the Granite State went to remote learning models around Thanksgiving because of the pandemic last year. The state announced Tuesday an average of 900 to 1,000 new cases of COVID-19, a 43 percent increase, and 21 deaths reported in the last week, stretching back to the Thanksgiving holiday. Sununu noted cases are also up in Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts as well.

“Like the rest of New England, we’re seeing the winter surge that we had always predicted, and it’s very severe,” Sununu said.

New Hampshire schools will also have the funds available for masks and cleaning supplies to keep students safe, Sununu said. In extreme cases, schools might need to opt for remote learning, but that will not be the rule as New Hampshire heads into the holidays and beyond, he said. 

Remote learning hurts kids when it comes to mental health and educational outcomes, data show. According to the CDC, nearly 25 percent of parents whose children received virtual instruction or combined instruction reported worsened mental or emotional health in their children, compared to 16 percent of parents whose children received in-person instruction. 

“Going remote can be so detrimental,” Sununu said. “We really want kids to be in schools.”

So far, no Granite Stater under the age of 19 has died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Sununu touted the recent court-ordered halt to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. New Hampshire was already experiencing a healthcare employee shortage before the pandemic, and he said many facilities in the Granite State faced forced closures if the mandate went into effect.

New Hampshire is involved in multiple lawsuits opposing Biden-backed mandates, and the current order is temporary pending more court action. Sununu has pledged to fight the mandates, though he continues promoting vaccination as a choice.

“We want everyone to get vaccinated. But if the vaccine mandate risks closing our nursing homes, it is a bad idea,” he said.

When asked about nursing home residents being cared for by unvaccinated nurses and staff, Sununu said he’d rather have an unvaccinated nurse than no nurse at all. Opponents of the mandate note medical professionals cared for COVID-19 patients for a year before the vaccines were available.

And a recent survey of 1,200 senior care providers by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) reported 99 percent of nursing homes and 96 percent of assisted living facilities said they didn’t have enough workers.

Sununu stressed the need for people to get vaccinated if they are able and for people eligible for a booster to get one. He plans to get his booster shot at the state’s Dec. 11 Booster Blitz, where vaccination sites will be operating at locations throughout the state.