Also, about two-thirds of public school
leaders believe state-mandated testing will not accurately measure
the ability of students with individualized education plans or who
are English learners
WASHINGTON, April 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Most public school leaders, 92
percent, indicated at least some level of concern about their
students meeting academic standards, according to new data from the
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical
center within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of
Education Sciences (IES). In addition, 80 percent of school
leaders reported some level of concern about issues related to
staffing shortages, such as increased class sizes or staff doing
work outside of their intended duties.
"We know that the job of public school leaders has become
increasingly complex and there is a constellation of challenges
that keep them up at night," said NCES Commissioner
Peggy G. Carr. "What they are
telling us through this latest School Pulse Panel survey is that
the majority of them have some level of concern related to
important issues that we asked them about, with most (92 percent)
saying they were concerned about students meeting academic
standards and 8 in 10 saying they were concerned about issues
related to staffing shortages. Also, about 4 in 10 reported they
are moderately or extremely concerned about students' mental
health, as well as the mental health of teachers and staff. It's a
Herculean task to manage all these challenges, and we hope that
understanding what school leaders are facing will identify
essential areas of support."
About 4 in 10 school leaders said they were "moderately" or
"extremely" concerned about their students' mental health (43
percent) and the mental health of their teachers or staff (41
percent). In fact, 27 percent of respondents said they were
"moderately" or "extremely" concerned about their own mental
health. Next month's School Pulse Panel data release will delve
deeper into mental health services available to students and staff
in public schools.
Additionally, the latest School Pulse Panel survey provides
insights on school leaders' perceptions of state-mandated
assessments, as well as social and emotional skills development in
schools, which in recent years has become a growing area of
attention in public education.
Eighty-five percent of public schools agreed that the culture at
their school supports the development of students' social and
emotional skills in school, with 49 percent of schools indicating
they "strongly agree" that this is the case. About two-thirds of
schools (63 percent) use a formal curriculum designed to support
the development of students' social and emotional skills, the data
show.
Among those schools with a formal curriculum, 27 percent said it
has been "very effective" or "extremely effective" at improving
student outcomes and 72 percent said time limitations were a
barrier to implementing the curriculum.
Leaders of public schools that participate in state-mandated
testing for mathematics (96 percent) or for English language arts
and literacy (96 percent) were asked about the extent to which they
agreed or disagreed with statements related to the main
state-mandated tests that their students will be given during the
2023-24 school year.
Approximately two-thirds of these public schools "somewhat" or
"strongly" agreed that they support the use of these assessments to
measure student mastery of state standards, with 66 percent for
English language arts (ELA) and 62 percent for math. About
three-quarters "somewhat" or "strongly" agreed that the assessments
will provide useful data to inform classroom instruction (75
percent for ELA and 74 percent for math).
However, about two-thirds of public schools agreed that
state-mandated testing in math and ELA will not accurately
measure the ability of students with individualized education plans
(IEPs) (68 percent for ELA and 67 percent for math) or who are
English Learner (EL/ELL/ESL) students (68 percent for ELA and 67
percent for math).
The findings released today are part of an experimental data
product from the School Pulse Panel, NCES's innovative approach to
delivering timely information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic's
impact on public K-12 schools in the U.S. The data, collected
between February 13 and 27 of 2024,
came from 1,689 participating public K-12 schools from every state
and the District of Columbia.
Additional data collected from 99 public K-12 schools in
the U.S. Outlying Areas – American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands – are also available. Results from this
collection include the finding that 96 percent of Outlying Area
public school leaders report some level of concern about students
meeting academic standards.
Experimental data products are innovative statistical tools
created using new data sources or methodologies. Experimental data
may not meet all of NCES's quality standards but are of
sufficient benefit to data users in the absence of other relevant
products to justify release. NCES clearly identifies experimental
data products upon their release.
All data released today can be found on the School Pulse Panel
dashboard at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/spp/results.asp.
The full press release is available
https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/4_16_2024.asp.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a
principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the
statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the
primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to
education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES fulfills a
congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report
complete statistics on the condition and progress of American
education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on
education activities internationally.
Follow NCES on X (formerly
Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn,
and YouTube and subscribe to
the NCES Newsflash to receive email
notifications when new data are released.
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent
and nonpartisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the
U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide scientific
evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to
share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to
educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the
public.
Contact:
Josh De La
Rosa, National Center for Education Statistics,
Aris.nces@ed.gov
Erik Robelen, Hager Sharp, erobelen@hagersharp.com
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/most-schools-report-some-concern-about-students-meeting-academic-standards-and-issues-related-to-staffing-shortages-302118513.html
SOURCE National Center for Education Statistics