Education Outlines Plans to Reverse Pandemic Learning Losses

The V.I. Education Department said it is working to address pandemic learning losses with a variety of programs and interventions following a sharp decline in standardized test scores for the 2021-22 school year.

The percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in literacy in spring 2022 was 17.5 percent — a decline of 7.3 percentage points from the spring 2019 administration of the tests, said State Assessment Director Alexandria Baltimore-Hookfin. In mathematics, the percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency was 6.1 percent, for a decline of 3.9 percentage points, she said.

The news came during a meeting of education officials and the media Tuesday, held via Zoom, to discuss the Smarter Balanced test scores and the Education Department’s plans to address the losses.

The territory is hardly alone in its declines in proficiency, said Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington, who was nominated to the post in August by Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and approved unanimously by the Senate at its session on Dec. 20.