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Home / Students / Education / Higher education / Lack of education: Causes and effects

Lack of education: Causes and effects

Few things have such a diverse and far-reaching consequence on the overall quality of a person’s life and that of a community, as lack of education. Although it is categorized as one of the fundamental human rights, education is nowadays denied to many children around the world.  According to the Borgen Project research 72 million children do not attend primary school, and a staggering number of 759 million adults are illiterate.  

The causes that prevent one from getting a quality education are just as severe as the effects that the lack of education generates. This is why societies with poor economies and insufficiently developed education systems are unable to leave the vicious circle without outside intervention or help. Simply put, building a good education system requires a strong economy, and a strong economy in turn requires quality education. Therefore, one of the most important global issues is how to provide every individual in the world with access to education. 

What causes lack of education?

Developed countries have long recognized the importance of education , therefore,  in many of these countries access to education is a given. On the other hand, for many underdeveloped countries and economically struggling parts of the world, education is a luxury that is often unaffordable to most. The reasons why many individuals around the world have been denied access to a quality education and why the knowledge they possess is not enough to successfully tackle the challenges of the 21st century can be economic, geographical, and social in nature.

• Lack of schools . School is much more than a building where teaching takes place. School also includes teachers, teaching materials, and all those other things that make an education system. However, all this requires money. The economic position of some countries is such that even with all the help they receive, they do not have enough funds to build schools to provide the necessary education to their children. 
• Not understanding the importance of education. The economic situation and a low level of education in some countries are the main reasons why children are forced to struggle for survival from an early age, leaving no time for education.
• Lack of money . Another economically-based reason is the fact that many families do not have enough money even for the basic needs, which is why children in such families have to work from an early age. According to research, about 300 million children between the ages of five and seventeen work,  so child labor is one of the major causes for lack of education.  
• Unfavorable geographical position. Some countries lack the needed infrastructure or are located in the parts of the world with severe climate which makes commuting to school significantly more difficult.
• Prejudice . Members of ethnic and other minorities, as well as children with disabilities are often the target of prejudice in some countries, which makes it more difficult for them to get an education in comparison to other groups. 
• Inadequate conditions . According to UNICEF, the lack of qualified teachers, inadequate teaching materials, and poor sanitation are some of the reasons why many children do not receive a quality education. Even when they do go to school, children in such conditions fail to acquire applicable and quality knowledge, sometimes even basic knowledge. UNICEF states that 617 million children and adolescents around the world fail to acquire even the minimum literacy and math knowledge, although two thirds of them attend school. 

It should also be noted that the lack of education does not only arise from not having access to education and non-attendance, but it is also a direct consequence of poor quality of teaching. Thus, UNICEF underlines that “Schooling does not always lead to learning. Worldwide, there are more non-learners in school than out of school”.

In other words, in addition to the general approach to education, it is also necessary to raise the quality of instruction so as to overcome the global issue that the lack of education represents. 

What are the negative effects of lack of education? 

Negative consequences of the lack of education or inadequate instruction are numerous and varied, and can impact both the life of an individual, and society as a whole. They range from health-related reasons, social, and economic reasons, each of them generating serious consequence. The longer a person or a community is cut off from education, the more severe, long-term and irreversible the effects become. 

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10 consequences of not having access to education 

1. Poor health

Some of the basic lessons we learn in primary school are related to taking care of one’s own psychophysical health. The importance of hand washing, sexual health, necessity of regular physical activity – all this knowledge is something that stays with a person all their life, and is acquired at school. 

There is a strong link between lack of education and poor health and hygiene. The Borgen Project research conducted in Uganda yielded staggering results: educated people in the country have 75% less chance to contract HIV/AIDS, while young people with good primary education have 50% less chance to contract the same virus. 

2. Shorter life expectancy

The IMS Fiscal Monitor research showed that education can even affect a person’s life expectancy. Specifically, in developed economies, the gap between men with higher education and those with secondary, or primary education ranges between four and fourteen years, and is even larger in some countries. 

3. Poverty 

Due to adverse life circumstances, many people lack the tools and means that would enable them to leave poverty behind. Education is precisely what provides a person with these tools and means, but in poor communities and countries, it either does not exist at all, or if it does, it is inadequate, and this is how people find themselves in the vicious circle of poverty from which they cannot free themselves. The fact is that the more educated a person is, the better their chances of a decent salary. 

4. Unemployment

Unemployment is tightly linked to poverty. People who lack education, or who only finished primary school often work poorly paid jobs, or struggle to find any job whatsoever. Simply put, good jobs are reserved for qualified employees, and qualifications are primarily acquired through education. 

In today’s age of all-present digitalization where knowledge quickly becomes outdated, and traditional jobs are slowly disappearing, education becomes even more important, representing the key factor that decides whether a person will be able to adapt to changes and find a suitable job, or will become unemployed. 

According to a survey conducted by OECD , 69% people with lower secondary education are employed, whereas that percentage among people with higher education is 88%. 

5. Lower salary

People who lack qualifications, even when they find a job, will always have a significantly lower salary than their more educated counterparts. Less paid and less valued jobs are reserved for unqualified workers, and often such positions are in danger of being automated, which creates additional uncertainty regarding salaries and jobs for people with a lower level of education.

6. Gender inequality

Women who receive poorer education than their male counterparts are often in an adverse position. Quality education gives women independence , higher salaries and the opportunity to express their views on various social issues. Education means independence and the ability to make informed decisions on one’s life, for both men and women.

7. Social isolation

Uneducated people struggle to fit in social situations, and often remain marginalized. The lack of resources generated by education prevents them from participating in numerous social activities in a productive and comprehensive way, in contrast to educated people who engage in the same activities without difficulty.  

8. Illegal activities 

People with lower education, the unemployed, or those who work poorly paid jobs are often forced to work hard to provide a bare existence. Hence, it is no wonder that lack of education can often lead to a life of crime, which such people often see as the shortcut or the only way out of their disadvantaged position.  

9. Poor economy

Countries with educated people have stronger, better developed, and more sustainable economies. Estimates say that this trend will continue and become even more stronger in the 21st century, when due to digitalization and the changes it brings, a countries’ ability to successfully adapt to the changed circumstances will directly depend on their educated population. 

In other words, countries with an educated population will have more productive workers, innovative scientists and will be able to come up with more creative solutions than countries with poorly developed economic and education systems. As a consequence, workers in such countries will receive higher salaries, and these countries will be more desirable places to live. 

10. Impossibility of (adequate) participation in political and social life 

Without a comprehensive education in both sciences and humanities, a person will lack the knowledge and tools that enable them to make intelligent and meaningful political decisions. Who to vote for in the elections, which initiatives to support, who and what to trust, all these are things one must decide about with care and commitment. It is education that enables open dialogue, constructive exchange of opinions, and joint search for the best solution for society as a whole. Therefore, it helps the individual not to fall prey to political marketing, but to base their decisions on their own thoughts and views.  

Education is an opportunity for all 

Open access to education is not just an individual right, but a great opportunity for society as a whole as well. The more people have access to the knowledge and skills provided by authentic education, the greater the chances of overall progress. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure access to education for everyone. In order to do that, the link between the causes of the lack of education and its negative effects must be broken. Efforts concentrated on overcoming the causes will simultaneously nullify the effects, and the solution is quality education accessible to all.  

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The global education crisis – even more severe than previously estimated

Ellinore carroll, joão pedro azevedo, jessica bergmann, matt brossard, gwang- chol chang, borhene chakroun, marie-helene cloutier, suguru mizunoya, nicolas reuge, halsey rogers.

In our recent   The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery report (produced jointly by UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank), we sounded the alarm: this generation of students now risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14 percent of today’s global GDP, because of COVID-19-related school closures and economic shocks. This new projection far exceeds the $10 trillion estimate released in 2020 and reveals that the impact of the pandemic is more severe than previously thought . 

The pandemic and school closures not only jeopardized children’s health and safety with domestic violence and child labor increasing, but also impacted student learning substantially. The report indicates that in low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in  Learning Poverty  – already above 50 percent before the pandemic – could reach 70 percent largely as a result of the long school closures and the relative ineffectiveness of remote learning.

Unless action is taken, learning losses may continue to accumulate once children are back in school, endangering future learning.

Figure 1. Countries must accelerate learning recovery

Severe learning losses and worsening inequalities in education

Results from global simulations of the effect of school closures on learning are now being corroborated by country estimates of actual learning losses. Evidence from Brazil , rural Pakistan , rural India , South Africa , and Mexico , among others, shows substantial losses in math and reading. In some low- and middle-income countries, on average, learning losses are roughly proportional to the length of the closures—meaning that each month of school closures led to a full month of learning losses (Figure 1, selected LMICs and HICs presents an average effect of 100% and 43%, respectively), despite the best efforts of decision makers, educators, and families to maintain continuity of learning.

However, the extent of learning loss varies substantially across countries and within countries by subject, students’ socioeconomic status, gender, and age or grade level (Figure 1 illustrates this point, note the large standard deviation, a measure which shows data are spread out far from the mean). For example, results from two states in Mexico show significant learning losses in reading and in math for students aged 10-15. The estimated learning losses were greater in math than reading, and they disproportionately affected younger learners, students from low-income backgrounds, and girls.

Figure 2. The average learning loss standardized by the length of the school closure was close to 100% in Low- and Middle-Income countries, and 43% in High-Income countries, with a standard deviation of 74% and 30%, respectively.

While most countries have yet to measure learning losses, data from several countries, combined with more extensive evidence on unequal access to remote learning and at-home support, shows the crisis has exacerbated inequalities in education globally.

• Children from low-income households, children with disabilities, and girls were less likely to access remote learning due to limited availability of electricity, connectivity, devices, accessible technologies as well as discrimination and social and gender norms.
• Younger students had less access to age-appropriate remote learning and were more affected by learning loss than older students. Pre-school-age children, who are at a pivotal stage for learning and development, faced a double disadvantage as they were often left out of remote learning and school reopening plans.
• Learning losses were greater for students of lower socioeconomic status in various countries, including Ghana , Mexico , and Pakistan .
• While the gendered impact of school closures on learning is still emerging, initial evidence points to larger learning losses among girls, including in South Africa and Mexico .

As a result, these children risk missing out on much of the boost that schools and learning can provide to their well-being and life chances. The learning recovery response must therefore target support to those that need it most, to prevent growing inequalities in education.

Beyond learning, growing evidence shows the negative effects school closures have had on students’ mental health and well-being, health and nutrition, and protection, reinforcing the vital role schools play in providing comprehensive support and services to students.

Critical and Urgent Need to Focus on Learning Recovery

How should decision makers and the international community respond to the growing global education crisis?

Reopening schools and keeping them open must be the top priority, globally. While nearly every country in the world offered remote learning opportunities for students, the quality and reach of such initiatives varied, and in most cases, they offered a poor substitute for in-person instruction. Stemming and reversing learning losses, especially for the most vulnerable students, requires in-person schooling. Decision makers need to reassure parents and caregivers that with adequate safety measures, such as social distancing, masking, and improved ventilation, global evidence shows that children can resume in-person schooling safely.

But just reopening schools with a business-as-usual approach won’t reverse learning losses. Countries need to create Learning Recovery Programs . Three lines of action will be crucial:

• Consolidating the curriculum – to help teachers prioritize essential material that students have missed while out of school, even if the content is usually covered in earlier grades, to ensure the curriculum is aligned to students’ learning levels. As an example, Tanzania consolidated its curriculum for grade 1 and 2 in 2015, reducing the number of subjects taught and increasing time on ensuring the acquisition of foundational numeracy and literacy.
• Extending instructional time – by extending the school day, modifying the academic calendar to make the school year longer, or by offering summer school for all students or those in need. In Mexico , the Ministry of Public Education announced planned extensions to the academic calendar to help recovery. In Madagascar , the government scaled up an existing two-month summer “catch-up” program for students who reintegrate into school after having left the system.
• Improving the efficiency of learning – by supporting teachers to apply structured pedagogy and targeted instruction. A structured pedagogy intervention in Kenya using teachers guides with lesson plans has proven to be highly effective. Targeted instruction, or aligning instruction to students’ learning level, has been successfully implemented at scale in Cote D’Ivoire .

Finally, the report emphasizes the need for adequate funding. As of June 2021, the education and training sector had been allocated less than 3 percent of global stimulus packages. Much more funding will be needed for immediate learning recovery if countries are to avert the long-term damage to productivity and inclusion that they now face.

Learning Recovery as a Springboard to an Accelerated Learning Trajectory

Accelerating learning recovery has benefits that go well beyond short-term gains:  it can give children the necessary foundations for a lifetime of learning, and it can help countries increase the efficiency, equity, and resilience of schooling. This can be achieved if countries build on investments made and lessons learned during the crisis—most notably, with a focus on six areas:

• Assessing student learning so instruction can be targeted to students’ learning levels and specific needs.
• Investing in digital learning opportunities for all students, ensuring that technology is fit for purpose and focused on enhancing human interactions.
• Reinforcing support that leverages the role of parents, families, and communities in children’s learning.
• Ensuring that teachers are supported and have access to practical, high-quality professional development opportunities, teaching guides and learning materials. 
• Increasing the share of education in the national budget allocation of stimulus packages and tying it to investments mentioned above that can accelerate learning.
• Investing in evidence building - in particular, implementation research, to understand what works and how to scale what works to the system level.

It is time to shift from crisis response to learning recovery. We must make sure that investments and actions for learning recovery lay the foundations for more efficient, equitable, and resilient education systems—systems that truly deliver learning and well-being for all children and youth. Only then can we ensure learning continuity in the face of future disruption.

The report was produced as part of the  Mission: Recovering Education 2021 , through which the  World Bank ,  UNESCO , and  UNICEF  are focused on three priorities: bringing all children back to schools, recovering learning losses, and preparing and supporting teachers.

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The Education Crisis: Being in School Is Not the Same as Learning

First grade students in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province are learning the alphabet through child-friendly flash cards. Their learning materials help educators teach through interactive and engaging activities and are provided free of charge through a student’s first learning backpack. © World Bank 

THE NAME OF THE DOG IS PUPPY. This seems like a simple sentence. But did you know that in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, three out of four third grade students do not understand it? The world is facing a learning crisis . Worldwide, hundreds of millions of children reach young adulthood without even the most basic skills like calculating the correct change from a transaction, reading a doctor’s instructions, or understanding a bus schedule—let alone building a fulfilling career or educating their children. Education is at the center of building human capital. The latest World Bank research shows that the productivity of 56 percent of the world’s children will be less than half of what it could be if they enjoyed complete education and full health. For individuals, education raises self-esteem and furthers opportunities for employment and earnings. And for a country, it helps strengthen institutions within societies, drives long-term economic growth, reduces poverty, and spurs innovation.

One of the most interesting, large scale educational technology efforts is being led by EkStep , a philanthropic effort in India. EkStep created an open digital infrastructure which provides access to learning opportunities for 200 million children, as well as professional development opportunities for 12 million teachers and 4.5 million school leaders. Both teachers and children are accessing content which ranges from teaching materials, explanatory videos, interactive content, stories, practice worksheets, and formative assessments. By monitoring which content is used most frequently—and most beneficially—informed decisions can be made around future content.

In the Dominican Republic, a World Bank supported pilot study shows how adaptive technologies can generate great interest among 21st century students and present a path to supporting the learning and teaching of future generations. Yudeisy, a sixth grader participating in the study, says that what she likes doing the most during the day is watching videos and tutorials on her computer and cell phone. Taking childhood curiosity as a starting point, the study aimed to channel it towards math learning in a way that interests Yudeisy and her classmates.

Yudeisy, along with her classmates in a public elementary school in Santo Domingo, is part of a four-month pilot to reinforce mathematics using software that adapts to the math level of each student. © World Bank

Adaptive technology was used to evaluate students’ initial learning level to then walk them through math exercises in a dynamic, personalized way, based on artificial intelligence and what the student is ready to learn. After three months, students with the lowest initial performance achieved substantial improvements. This shows the potential of technology to increase learning outcomes, especially among students lagging behind their peers. In a field that is developing at dizzying speeds, innovative solutions to educational challenges are springing up everywhere. Our challenge is to make technology a driver of equity and inclusion and not a source of greater inequality of opportunity. We are working with partners worldwide to support the effective and appropriate use of educational technologies to strengthen learning.

When schools and educations systems are managed well, learning happens

Successful education reforms require good policy design, strong political commitment, and effective implementation capacity . Of course, this is extremely challenging. Many countries struggle to make efficient use of resources and very often increased education spending does not translate into more learning and improved human capital. Overcoming such challenges involves working at all levels of the system.

At the central level, ministries of education need to attract the best experts to design and implement evidence-based and country-specific programs. District or regional offices need the capacity and the tools to monitor learning and support schools. At the school level, principals need to be trained and prepared to manage and lead schools, from planning the use of resources to supervising and nurturing their teachers. However difficult, change is possible. Supported by the World Bank, public schools across Punjab in Pakistan have been part of major reforms over the past few years to address these challenges. Through improved school-level accountability by monitoring and limiting teacher and student absenteeism, and the introduction of a merit-based teacher recruitment system, where only the most talented and motivated teachers were selected, they were able to increase enrollment and retention of students and significantly improve the quality of education. "The government schools have become very good now, even better than private ones," said Mr. Ahmed, a local villager.

The World Bank, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UK’s Department for International Development, is developing the Global Education Policy Dashboard . This new initiative will provide governments with a system for monitoring how their education systems are functioning, from learning data to policy plans, so they are better able to make timely and evidence-based decisions.

Education reform: The long game is worth it

In fact, it will take a generation to realize the full benefits of high-quality teachers, the effective use of technology, improved management of education systems, and engaged and prepared learners. However, global experience shows us that countries that have rapidly accelerated development and prosperity all share the common characteristic of taking education seriously and investing appropriately. As we mark the first-ever International Day of Education on January 24, we must do all we can to equip our youth with the skills to keep learning, adapt to changing realities, and thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy and a rapidly changing world of work.

The schools of the future are being built today. These are schools where all teachers have the right competencies and motivation, where technology empowers them to deliver quality learning, and where all students learn fundamental skills, including socio-emotional, and digital skills. These schools are safe and affordable to everyone and are places where children and young people learn with joy, rigor, and purpose. Governments, teachers, parents, and the international community must do their homework to realize the promise of education for all students, in every village, in every city, and in every country. 

The Bigger Picture: In-depth stories on ending poverty

Right to Education : Situation around the world

Situation of children’s right to education worldwide.

Today, education remains an inaccessible right for millions of children around the world. More than 72 million children of primary education age are not in school and 759 million adults are illiterate and do not have the awareness necessary to improve both their living conditions and those of their children.

Causes of lack of education

Marginalisation and poverty.

For many children who still do not have access to education, it is notable because of persisting inequality and marginalization.

In developing and developed countries alike, children do not have access to basic education because of inequalities that originate in sex, health and cultural identity (ethnic origin, language, religion). These children find themselves on the margins of the education system and do not benefit from learning that is vital to their intellectual and social development.

Undeniably, many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are forced to abandon their education due to health problems related to malnutrition or in order to work and provide support for the family.

Financial deficit of developing countries

Universal primary education is a major issue and a sizeable problem for many states.

Equally, a lack of financial resources has an effect on the quality of teaching. Teachers do not benefit from basic teacher training and schools, of which there are not enough, have oversized classes.

This overflow leads to classes where many different educational levels are forced together which does not allow each individual child to benefit from an education adapted to their needs and abilities. As a result, the drop-out rate and education failure remain high.

Overview of the right to education worldwide

Most affected regions..

As a result of poverty and marginalization, more than 72 million children around the world remain unschooled.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected area with over 32 million children of primary school age remaining uneducated. Central and Eastern Asia, as well as the Pacific, are also severely affected by this problem with more than 27 million uneducated children.

Additionally, these regions must also solve continuing problems of educational poverty (a child in education for less than 4 years) and extreme educational poverty (a child in education for less than 2 years).

Essentially this concerns Sub-Saharan Africa where more than half of children receive an education for less than 4 years. In certain countries, such as Somalia and Burkina Faso, more than 50% of children receive an education for a period less than 2 years.

The lack of schooling and poor education have negative effects on the population and country.  The children leave school without having acquired the basics, which greatly impedes the social and economic development of these countries.

Inequality between girls and boys: the education of girls in jeopardy

Today, it is girls who have the least access to education. They make up more than 54% of the non-schooled population in the world.

This problem occurs most frequently in the Arab States, in central Asia and in Southern and Western Asia and is principally explained by the cultural and traditional privileged treatment given to males. Girls are destined to work in the family home, whereas boys are entitled to receive an education.

In sub-Saharan Africa, over 12 million girls are at risk of never receiving an education. In Yemen, it is more than 80% of girls who will never have the opportunity to go to school. Even more alarming, certain countries such as Afghanistan or Somalia make no effort to reduce the gap between girls and boys with regard to education.

Although many developing countries may congratulate themselves on dramatically reducing inequality between girls and boys in education, a lot of effort is still needed in order to achieve a universal primary education.

• Understanding the right to Education
• Read more about the condition of children worldwide
• OHCHR, Special Rapporteur on the right to Education
• www.right-to-education.org
• Wikipedia, Education
• Education International
• UNESCO, Education
• UNESCO, Education for all: Reaching the marginalized
• HREA, Study guides: Right to education
• Unicef, State of the World’s Children 2010
• Unicef, State of the World’s Children 2004: Girls, Education & Development

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How uneven educational outcomes begin, and persist, in the US

Long before graduation, factors including early education, household income gaps, and disciplinary actions affect students’ abilities to access resources and succeed in school. These elements impact racial and ethnic groups differently and contribute to these unequal educational outcomes.

Updated on Thu, March 23, 2023 by the USAFacts Team

Highest educational attainment by race or ethnicity

Education remains one of the best predictors of future economic success in the US. In 2019, the median weekly earnings among workers was $1,256 for those with a bachelor’s degree, compared to $746 for those with just a high school diploma and $592 for high school dropouts.

Americans with a college degree weather economic downturns more easily than those without. In June , unemployment among high school graduates without a college degree jumped to 12%, compared to 3.6% the previous year. Among those with a bachelor’s degree and higher though, unemployment increased to 7% (compared to 2.5% last year).

These benefits are not felt equally because educational attainment varies greatly across racial and ethnic lines. According to the US Census Bureau , 31% of Hispanic adults never completed high school, more than double any other racial or ethnic category. Only 26% of Black Americans 25 or older receive a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 40% of non-Hispanic, white students and 58% of Asian students do.

Achievement gaps start in elementary school and continue through high school.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), which administers standardized tests across the country in fourth, eighth, and 12th grades, found disparities in test scores across racial and ethnic categories. As soon as the fourth grade, the average Black student fails to reach basic reading levels and scored 32 points below their average white peers; Hispanic students score, on average, 27 points lower than their white peers.

4th grade NAEP reading scores in 2017

Similar gaps appear in math scores, with Black and Hispanic students scoring 25 and 19 points, respectively, lower than their white peers. Asians students consistently score the highest on both assessments.

4th grade NAEP math scores in 2017

These early differences in test scores hold relatively constant throughout primary and secondary schooling, and remain so over time. From fourth to 12th grade, white students consistently score 25 to 30 points higher than Black students, and 20 to 25 points higher than Hispanic students. These gaps have persisted from 1992 to 2017, the year of the most recent data.

White-Black reading achievement gap (in points)

White-hispanic reading achievement gap (in points), some gaps in educational outcomes between racial and ethnic groups can be connected to income.

Many of these differences in educational outcomes can be attributed to differences in household income. Students in lower-income households lack the resources used by their higher-income peers, such as internet or computer access .

Among students of all racial and ethnic groups, there is a 28 and 24-point gap between fourth-grade reading and math scores, respectively, between students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and students who are not. The sizes of these gaps are similar to the racial or ethnic gaps in test scores.

4th-grade reading scores and free-lunch eligibility

4th-grade math scores and free-lunch eligibility.

In general, Asian households have the highest median income in the country, followed by white households, Hispanic households, and Black households. Test scores follow this same pattern. However, this pattern is not completely consistent across states and regions. Washington, DC, for instance, has the largest income gap between Black and white households nationwide—a $40,000 gap in median income—but a smaller achievement gap than average.

The income gap between white households and Black or Hispanic households is similar in Virginia and Illinois, but the difference in test scores is much greater in Illinois. Notably, the achievement gap is universal – there isn’t a single state where the average scores of Black or Hispanic students are higher than their white counterparts — even in states with very small income gaps.

Disciplinary actions that take students out of school disproportionately impact male minority students.

Minority students—especially male students—also receive more disciplinary actions than other groups throughout primary and secondary school, which can deter students from graduating high school. In many cases, students who are expelled or referred to law enforcement are a result of schools enforcing zero-tolerance policies. A 2013 Congressional Research Service report states that these policies have not deterred further school violence as districts hoped.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 1% of Black and American Indian male students are referred to law enforcement compared to less than 0.5% of Hispanic or white male students. Furthermore, 17% of Black male students receive at least one out of school suspension; the next highest demographic is American Indian male students at 9%.

Percent of students receiving at least one out-of-school suspension

Out-of-school suspensions mean less classroom time, which could discourage and compound challenges for struggling students, and referrals to law enforcement can result in a juvenile record.

Racial and ethnic gaps persist among college students

Disciplinary actions and achievement gaps make it both more difficult for students to complete high school, and may make it more difficult for students to succeed in post-secondary school. While Black students graduate high school at higher rates than Hispanic students, for example, they complete college at lower rates. Only 40% of Black college enrollees graduate from college, compared to 64% of non-Hispanic white students and 74% of Asian students.

Six-year college graduation rate for 2011 cohort

However, racial or ethnic categories are also not monoliths. In 2017, among people who identify as Hispanic, 53% of 18-24 year-old Venezuelans in the US enrolled in college, while 46% of Cubans, 35% of Mexicans, and 28% of Guatemalans did. Among Asians, 76% of Chinese between 18 and 24 years old enrolled in college, while 45% of Cambodians did.

While not all members of the same racial or ethnic group share the same economic or educational characteristics, considering the differences in data among the groups can help understand what may cause educational achievement gaps to exist.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), fourth Grade Proficiency in reading is defined as the ability to integrate and interpret texts and apply understanding of the text to draw conclusions and make evaluations. A Basic fourth grade reading level is being able to locate relevant information, make simple inferences, and use their understanding of the text to identify details that support a given interpretation or conclusion. Students should be able to interpret the meaning of a word as it is used in the text.

For math, fourth-grade students performing at the NAEP Basic level should show some evidence of understanding the mathematical concepts and procedures in the NAEP content areas (number properties and operations, measurement and geometry, data analysis and probability, and algebra). Fourth-grade students performing at the NAEP Proficient level should consistently apply integrated procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding to problem solving. They should be able to use whole numbers to estimate, compute, and determine whether results are reasonable. They should have a conceptual understanding of fractions and decimals; be able to solve real-world problems in all NAEP content areas; and use four-function calculators, rulers, and geometric shapes appropriately.

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• Progress towards quality education was already slower than required before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has had devastating impacts on education, causing learning losses in four out of five of the 104 countries studied.

Without additional measures, an estimated 84 million children and young people will stay out of school by 2030 and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life.

In addition to free primary and secondary schooling for all boys and girls by 2030, the aim is to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, eliminate gender and wealth disparities, and achieve universal access to quality higher education.

Education is the key that will allow many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved. When people are able to get quality education they can break from the cycle of poverty.

Education helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality. It also empowers people everywhere to live more healthy and sustainable lives. Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.

• To deliver on Goal 4, education financing must become a national investment priority. Furthermore, measures such as making education free and compulsory, increasing the number of teachers, improving basic school infrastructure and embracing digital transformation are essential.

What progress have we made so far?

While progress has been made towards the 2030 education targets set by the United Nations, continued efforts are required to address persistent challenges and ensure that quality education is accessible to all, leaving no one behind.

Between 2015 and 2021, there was an increase in worldwide primary school completion, lower secondary completion, and upper secondary completion. Nevertheless, the progress made during this period was notably slower compared to the 15 years prior.

What challenges remain?

According to national education targets, the percentage of students attaining basic reading skills by the end of primary school is projected to rise from 51 per cent in 2015 to 67 per cent by 2030. However, an estimated 300 million children and young people will still lack basic numeracy and literacy skills by 2030.

Economic constraints, coupled with issues of learning outcomes and dropout rates, persist in marginalized areas, underscoring the need for continued global commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all. Low levels of information and communications technology (ICT) skills are also a major barrier to achieving universal and meaningful connectivity.

Where are people struggling the most to have access to education?

Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest challenges in providing schools with basic resources. The situation is extreme at the primary and lower secondary levels, where less than one-half of schools in sub-Saharan Africa have access to drinking water, electricity, computers and the Internet.

Inequalities will also worsen unless the digital divide – the gap between under-connected and highly digitalized countries – is not addressed .

Are there groups that have more difficult access to education?

Yes, women and girls are one of these groups. About 40 per cent of countries have not achieved gender parity in primary education. These disadvantages in education also translate into lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labour market for young women.

What can we do?  

Ask our governments to place education as a priority in both policy and practice. Lobby our governments to make firm commitments to provide free primary school education to all, including vulnerable or marginalized groups.

Facts and figures

Goal 4 targets.

• Without additional measures, only one in six countries will achieve the universal secondary school completion target by 2030, an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school, and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic numeracy and literacy skills necessary for success in life.
• To achieve national Goal 4 benchmarks, which are reduced in ambition compared with the original Goal 4 targets, 79 low- and lower-middle- income countries still face an average annual financing gap of $97 billion.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023

4.1  By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes

4.2  By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education

4.3  By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

4.4  By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

4.5  By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations

4.6  By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy

4.7  By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

4.A  Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all

4.B  By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries

4.C  By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states

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Out-of-school children and educational gaps cost the global economy $10,000 billion a year

• Download the full report:  The price of inaction

10,000 billion dollars a year – the global cost of school drop-out and lack of education is staggering. In addition to these financial considerations, there is a considerable social impact. The message in this UNESCO report is clear: education is a strategic investment - one of the best investments for individuals, economies and society as a whole. I call our member states to ensure that this universal right becomes a reality for every human being as soon as possible.

In 1948, education was declared a "universal human right". This right was reaffirmed in 2015, when the United Nations defined access to quality education for all as a Sustainable Development Goal. Yet, despite decades of progress in access to education, 250 million children and young people worldwide are still out of school, and 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries are today unable to understand a simple written text. 

In a new report published on Monday, entitled "The price of inaction: The global private, fiscal and social costs of children and youth not learning" [1] , UNESCO puts the cost to the global economy of school drop-out and education gaps at $10,000 billion a year by 2030, equivalent to more than the annual GDPs of France and Japan combined.

Conversely, the report estimates that reducing the proportion of early school leavers or those without basic skills by just 10% would increase annual GDP growth by 1 to 2 percentage points. Education therefore appears to be one of the best investments a country can make.

Beyond these financial considerations, the report warns of the significant social damage caused by these educational shortcomings. Gaps in the acquisition of basic skills are associated, worldwide, with a 69% increase in early pregnancies among young girls, while each year of secondary education contributes to reducing the risk of girls marrying and having a child before the age of 18. 

10 recommendations for quality education for all

During a gathering of education ministers on Monday at UNESCO headquarters in Paris (France) – in the presence of Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, who co-chairs with the Director-General the High-Level Steering Committee for Quality Education for All – Audrey Azoulay called on the Organization's 194 member states to "respect their commitment to transform education from a privilege to a prerogative for every human being throughout the world". The Director-General also recalled that "education is an essential resource for meeting the challenges of today, from poverty reduction to the fight against climate change".

To achieve the goal of quality education for all, the UNESCO report provides 10 recommendations. The first of these is that governments should guarantee free, publicly-funded schooling for every girl and boy for a minimum of twelve years. Such schooling must go hand in hand with investment in early childhood, to lay the foundations for learning as early as possible and combat inequality. “Second-chance" programs must also be set up for young people who have not been able to benefit from a quality education, or whose education has been interrupted.

The learning environment must also be both safe and inclusive. UNESCO calls for short distances between children's homes and their schools, especially in disadvantaged areas, and for all schools to have access to water and sanitation. Class sizes must be kept small, and lessons taught by qualified, motivated teachers who support all pupils in an equitable manner, paying particular attention to gender equality.

UNESCO also encourages States to sensitize local communities and families to the importance of girls and boys completing a full cycle of education, and to involve parents in school activities and management.

[1] Published in partnership with the OECD and the Commonwealth Secretariat

About UNESCO

With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions. Its Director-General is Audrey Azoulay.

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO Constitution, 1945. 

More information:  www.unesco.org

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About half of Americans say public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction

About half of U.S. adults (51%) say the country’s public K-12 education system is generally going in the wrong direction. A far smaller share (16%) say it’s going in the right direction, and about a third (32%) are not sure, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in November 2023.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand how Americans view the K-12 public education system. We surveyed 5,029 U.S. adults from Nov. 9 to Nov. 16, 2023.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos for Pew Research Center on the Ipsos KnowledgePanel Omnibus. The KnowledgePanel is a probability-based web panel recruited primarily through national, random sampling of residential addresses. The survey is weighted by gender, age, race, ethnicity, education, income and other categories.

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

A majority of those who say it’s headed in the wrong direction say a major reason is that schools are not spending enough time on core academic subjects.

These findings come amid debates about what is taught in schools , as well as concerns about school budget cuts and students falling behind academically.

Related: Race and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say the public K-12 education system is going in the wrong direction. About two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (65%) say this, compared with 40% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. In turn, 23% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans say it’s headed in the right direction.

Among Republicans, conservatives are the most likely to say public education is headed in the wrong direction: 75% say this, compared with 52% of moderate or liberal Republicans. There are no significant differences among Democrats by ideology.

Similar shares of K-12 parents and adults who don’t have a child in K-12 schools say the system is going in the wrong direction.

A separate Center survey of public K-12 teachers found that 82% think the overall state of public K-12 education has gotten worse in the past five years. And many teachers are pessimistic about the future.

Related: What’s It Like To Be A Teacher in America Today?

Why do Americans think public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction?

We asked adults who say the public education system is going in the wrong direction why that might be. About half or more say the following are major reasons:

• Schools not spending enough time on core academic subjects, like reading, math, science and social studies (69%)
• Teachers bringing their personal political and social views into the classroom (54%)
• Schools not having the funding and resources they need (52%)

About a quarter (26%) say a major reason is that parents have too much influence in decisions about what schools are teaching.

How views vary by party

Americans in each party point to different reasons why public education is headed in the wrong direction.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say major reasons are:

• A lack of focus on core academic subjects (79% vs. 55%)
• Teachers bringing their personal views into the classroom (76% vs. 23%)

In turn, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to point to:

• Insufficient school funding and resources (78% vs. 33%)
• Parents having too much say in what schools are teaching (46% vs. 13%)

Views also vary within each party by ideology.

Among Republicans, conservatives are particularly likely to cite a lack of focus on core academic subjects and teachers bringing their personal views into the classroom.

Among Democrats, liberals are especially likely to cite schools lacking resources and parents having too much say in the curriculum.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

• Partisanship & Issues
• Political Issues

Rachel Minkin is a research associate focusing on social and demographic trends research at Pew Research Center .

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The alarming state of the American student in 2022

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, robin lake and robin lake director, center on reinventing public education - arizona state university @rbnlake travis pillow travis pillow innovation fellow, center on reinventing public education - arizona state university @travispillow.

November 1, 2022

The pandemic was a wrecking ball for U.S. public education, bringing months of school closures, frantic moves to remote instruction, and trauma and isolation.

Kids may be back at school after three disrupted years, but a return to classrooms has not brought a return to normal. Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed historic declines in American students’ knowledge and skills and widening gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students.

But even these sobering results do not tell us the whole story.

After nearly three years of tracking pandemic response by U.S. school systems and synthesizing knowledge about the impacts on students, we sought to establish a baseline understanding of the contours of the crisis: What happened and why, and where do we go from here?

This first annual “ State of the American Student ” report synthesizes nearly three years of research on the academic, mental health, and other impacts of the pandemic and school closures.

It outlines the contours of the crisis American students have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and begins to chart a path to recovery and reinvention for all students—which includes building a new and better approach to public education that ensures an educational crisis of this magnitude cannot happen again.

The state of American students as we emerge from the pandemic is still coming into focus, but here’s what we’ve learned (and haven’t yet learned) about where COVID-19 left us:

1. Students lost critical opportunities to learn and thrive.

• The typical American student lost several months’ worth of learning in language arts and more in mathematics.

• Students suffered crushing increases in anxiety and depression. More than one in 360 U.S. children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19.

• Students poorly served before the pandemic were profoundly left behind during it, including many with disabilities whose parents reported they were cut off from essential school and life services.

This deeply traumatic period threatens to reverberate for decades. The academic, social, and mental-health needs are real, they are measurable, and they must be addressed quickly to avoid long-term consequences to individual students, the future workforce, and society.

2. The average effects from COVID mask dire inequities and widely varied impact.

Some students are catching up, but time is running out for others. Every student experienced the pandemic differently, and there is tremendous variation from student to student, with certain populations—namely, Black, Hispanic, and low-income students, as well as other vulnerable populations—suffering the most severe impacts.

The effects were more severe where campuses stayed closed longer. American students are experiencing a K-shaped recovery, in which gaps between the highest- and lowest-scoring students, already growing before the pandemic, are widening into chasms. In the latest NAEP results released in September , national average scores fell five times as much in reading, and four times as much in math, for the lowest-scoring 10 percent of nine-year-olds as they had for the highest-scoring 10 percent.

At the pace of recovery we are seeing today, too many students of all races and income levels will graduate in the coming years without the skills and knowledge needed for college and careers.

3. What we know at this point is incomplete. The situation could be significantly worse than the early data suggest.

The data and stories we have to date are enough to warrant immediate action, but there are serious holes in our understanding of how the pandemic has affected various groups of students, especially those who are typically most likely to fall through the cracks in the American education system.

We know little about students with complex needs, such as those with disabilities and English learners. We still know too little about the learning impacts in non-tested subjects, such as science, civics, and foreign languages. And while psychologists , educators , and the federal government are sounding alarms about a youth mental health crisis, systematic measures of student wellbeing remain hard to come by.

We must acknowledge that what we know at this point is incomplete, since the pandemic closures and following recovery have been so unprecedented in recent times. It’s possible that as we continue to dig into the evidence on the pandemic’s impacts, some student groups or subjects may have not been so adversely affected. Alternatively, the situation could be significantly worse than the early data suggest. Some students are already bouncing back quickly. But for others, the impact could grow worse over time.

In subjects like math, where learning is cumulative, pandemic-related gaps in students’ learning that emerged during the pandemic could affect their ability to grasp future material. In some states, test scores fell dramatically for high schoolers nearing graduation. Shifts in these students’ academic trajectories could affect their college plans—and the rest of their lives. And elevated rates of chronic absenteeism suggest some students who disconnected from school during the pandemic have struggled to reconnect since.

4. The harms students experienced can be traced to a rigid and inequitable system that put adults, not students, first.

• Despite often heroic efforts by caring adults, students and families were cut off from essential support, offered radically diminished learning opportunities, and left to their own devices to support learning.

• Too often, partisan politics, not student needs , drove decision-making.

• Students with complexities and differences too often faced systems immobilized by fear and a commitment to sameness rather than prioritization and problem-solving.

So, what can we do to address the situation we’re in?

Diverse needs demand diverse solutions that are informed by pandemic experiences

Freed from the routines of rigid systems, some parents, communities, and educators found new ways to tailor learning experiences around students’ needs. They discovered learning can happen any time and anywhere. They discovered enriching activities outside class and troves of untapped adult talent.

Some of these breakthroughs happened in public schools—like virtual IEP meetings that leveled power dynamics between administrators and parents advocating for their children’s special education services. Others happened in learning pods or other new environments where families and community groups devised new ways to meet students’ needs. These were exceptions to an otherwise miserable rule, and they can inform the work ahead.

We must act quickly but we must also act differently. Important next steps include:

• Districts and states should immediately use their federal dollars to address the emergent needs of the COVID-19 generation of students via proven interventions, such as well-designed tutoring, extended learning time, credit recovery, additional mental health support, college and career guidance, and mentoring. The challenges ahead are too daunting for schools to shoulder alone. Partnerships and funding for families and community-driven solutions will be critical.

• By the end of the 2022–2023 academic year, states and districts must commit to an honest accounting of rebuilding efforts by defining, adopting, and reporting on their progress toward 5- and 10-year goals for long-term student recovery. States should invest in rigorous studies that document, analyze, and improve their approaches.

• Education leaders and researchers must adopt a national research and development agenda for school reinvention over the next five years. This effort must be anchored in the reality that the needs of students are so varied, so profound, and so multifaceted that a one-size-fits-all approach to education can’t possibly meet them all. Across the country, community organizations who previously operated summer or afterschool programs stepped up to support students during the school day. As they focus on recovery, school system leaders should look to these helpers not as peripheral players in education, but as critical contributors who can provide teaching , tutoring, or joyful learning environments for students and often have trusting relationships with their families.

• Recovery and rebuilding should ensure the system is more resilient and prepared for future crises. That means more thoughtful integration of online learning and stronger partnerships with organizations that support learning outside school walls. Every school system in America should have a plan to keep students safe and learning even when they can’t physically come to school, be equipped to deliver high-quality, individualized pathways for students, and build on practices that show promise.

Our “State of the American Student” report is the first in a series of annual reports the Center on Reinventing Public Education intends to produce through fall of 2027. We hope every state and community will produce similar, annual accounts and begin to define ambitious goals for recovery. The implications of these deeply traumatic years will reverberate for decades unless we find a path not only to normalcy but also to restitution for this generation and future generations of American students.

The road to recovery can lead somewhere new. In five years, we hope to report that out of the ashes of the pandemic, American public education emerged transformed: more flexible and resilient, more individualized and equitable, and—most of all— more joyful.

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Remote learning turned spotlight on gaps in resources, funding, and tech — but also offered hints on reform

“Unequal” is a multipart series highlighting the work of Harvard faculty, staff, students, alumni, and researchers on issues of race and inequality across the U.S. This part looks at how the pandemic called attention to issues surrounding the racial achievement gap in America.

The pandemic has disrupted education nationwide, turning a spotlight on existing racial and economic disparities, and creating the potential for a lost generation. Even before the outbreak, students in vulnerable communities — particularly predominately Black, Indigenous, and other majority-minority areas — were already facing inequality in everything from resources (ranging from books to counselors) to student-teacher ratios and extracurriculars.

The additional stressors of systemic racism and the trauma induced by poverty and violence, both cited as aggravating health and wellness as at a Weatherhead Institute panel , pose serious obstacles to learning as well. “Before the pandemic, children and families who are marginalized were living under such challenging conditions that it made it difficult for them to get a high-quality education,” said Paul Reville, founder and director of the Education Redesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE).

Educators hope that the may triggers a broader conversation about reform and renewed efforts to narrow the longstanding racial achievement gap. They say that research shows virtually all of the nation’s schoolchildren have fallen behind, with students of color having lost the most ground, particularly in math. They also note that the full-time reopening of schools presents opportunities to introduce changes and that some of the lessons from remote learning, particularly in the area of technology, can be put to use to help students catch up from the pandemic as well as to begin to level the playing field.

The disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 outbreak became apparent from the first shutdowns. “The good news, of course, is that many schools were very fast in finding all kinds of ways to try to reach kids,” said Fernando M. Reimers , Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice in International Education and director of GSE’s Global Education Innovation Initiative and International Education Policy Program. He cautioned, however, that “those arrangements don’t begin to compare with what we’re able to do when kids could come to school, and they are particularly deficient at reaching the most vulnerable kids.” In addition, it turned out that many students simply lacked access.

“We’re beginning to understand that technology is a basic right. You cannot participate in society in the 21st century without access to it,” says Fernando Reimers of the Graduate School of Education.

Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard file photo

The rate of limited digital access for households was at 42 percent during last spring’s shutdowns, before drifting down to about 31 percent this fall, suggesting that school districts improved their adaptation to remote learning, according to an analysis by the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge of U.S. Census data. (Indeed, Education Week and other sources reported that school districts around the nation rushed to hand out millions of laptops, tablets, and Chromebooks in the months after going remote.)

The report also makes clear the degree of racial and economic digital inequality. Black and Hispanic households with school-aged children were 1.3 to 1.4 times as likely as white ones to face limited access to computers and the internet, and more than two in five low-income households had only limited access. It’s a problem that could have far-reaching consequences given that young students of color are much more likely to live in remote-only districts.

“We’re beginning to understand that technology is a basic right,” said Reimers. “You cannot participate in society in the 21st century without access to it.” Too many students, he said, “have no connectivity. They have no devices, or they have no home circumstances that provide them support.”

The issues extend beyond the technology. “There is something wonderful in being in contact with other humans, having a human who tells you, ‘It’s great to see you. How are things going at home?’” Reimers said. “I’ve done 35 case studies of innovative practices around the world. They all prioritize social, emotional well-being. Checking in with the kids. Making sure there is a touchpoint every day between a teacher and a student.”

The difference, said Reville, is apparent when comparing students from different economic circumstances. Students whose parents “could afford to hire a tutor … can compensate,” he said. “Those kids are going to do pretty well at keeping up. Whereas, if you’re in a single-parent family and mom is working two or three jobs to put food on the table, she can’t be home. It’s impossible for her to keep up and keep her kids connected.

“If you lose the connection, you lose the kid.”

“COVID just revealed how serious those inequities are,” said GSE Dean Bridget Long , the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. “It has disproportionately hurt low-income students, students with special needs, and school systems that are under-resourced.”

This disruption carries throughout the education process, from elementary school students (some of whom have simply stopped logging on to their online classes) through declining participation in higher education. Community colleges, for example, have “traditionally been a gateway for low-income students” into the professional classes, said Long, whose research focuses on issues of affordability and access. “COVID has just made all of those issues 10 times worse,” she said. “That’s where enrollment has fallen the most.”

In addition to highlighting such disparities, these losses underline a structural issue in public education. Many schools are under-resourced, and the major reason involves sources of school funding. A 2019 study found that predominantly white districts got $23 billion more than their non-white counterparts serving about the same number of students. The discrepancy is because property taxes are the primary source of funding for schools, and white districts tend to be wealthier than those of color.

The problem of resources extends beyond teachers, aides, equipment, and supplies, as schools have been tasked with an increasing number of responsibilities, from the basics of education to feeding and caring for the mental health of both students and their families.

“You think about schools and academics, but what COVID really made clear was that schools do so much more than that,” said Long. A child’s school, she stressed “is social, emotional support. It’s safety. It’s the food system. It is health care.”

“You think about schools and academics” … but a child’s school “is social, emotional support. It’s safety. It’s the food system. It is health care,” stressed GSE Dean Bridget Long.

Rose Lincoln/Harvard file photo

This safety net has been shredded just as more students need it. “We have 400,000 deaths and those are disproportionately affecting communities of color,” said Long. “So you can imagine the kids that are in those households. Are they able to come to school and learn when they’re dealing with this trauma?”

The damage is felt by the whole families. In an upcoming paper, focusing on parents of children ages 5 to 7, Cindy H. Liu, director of Harvard Medical School’s Developmental Risk and Cultural Disparities Laboratory , looks at the effects of COVID-related stress on parent’ mental health. This stress — from both health risks and grief — “likely has ramifications for those groups who are disadvantaged, particularly in getting support, as it exacerbates existing disparities in obtaining resources,” she said via email. “The unfortunate reality is that the pandemic is limiting the tangible supports [like childcare] that parents might actually need.”

Educators are overwhelmed as well. “Teachers are doing a phenomenal job connecting with students,” Long said about their performance online. “But they’ve lost the whole system — access to counselors, access to additional staff members and support. They’ve lost access to information. One clue is that the reporting of child abuse going down. It’s not that we think that child abuse is actually going down, but because you don’t have a set of adults watching and being with kids, it’s not being reported.”

The repercussions are chilling. “As we resume in-person education on a normal basis, we’re dealing with enormous gaps,” said Reville. “Some kids will come back with such educational deficits that unless their schools have a very well thought-out and effective program to help them catch up, they will never catch up. They may actually drop out of school. The immediate consequences of learning loss and disengagement are going to be a generation of people who will be less educated.”

There is hope, however. Just as the lockdown forced teachers to improvise, accelerating forms of online learning, so too may the recovery offer options for educational reform.

The solutions, say Reville, “are going to come from our community. This is a civic problem.” He applauded one example, the Somerville, Mass., public library program of outdoor Wi-Fi “pop ups,” which allow 24/7 access either through their own or library Chromebooks. “That’s the kind of imagination we need,” he said.

On a national level, he points to the creation of so-called “Children’s Cabinets.” Already in place in 30 states, these nonpartisan groups bring together leaders at the city, town, and state levels to address children’s needs through schools, libraries, and health centers. A July 2019 “ Children’s Cabinet Toolkit ” on the Education Redesign Lab site offers guidance for communities looking to form their own, with sample mission statements from Denver, Minneapolis, and Fairfax, Va.

Already the Education Redesign Lab is working on even more wide-reaching approaches. In Tennessee, for example, the Metro Nashville Public Schools has launched an innovative program, designed to provide each student with a personalized education plan. By pairing these students with school “navigators” — including teachers, librarians, and instructional coaches — the program aims to address each student’s particular needs.

“This is a chance to change the system,” said Reville. “By and large, our school systems are organized around a factory model, a one-size-fits-all approach. That wasn’t working very well before, and it’s working less well now.”

“Students have different needs,” agreed Long. “We just have to get a better understanding of what we need to prioritize and where students are” in all aspects of their home and school lives.

“By and large, our school systems are organized around a factory model, a one-size-fits-all approach. That wasn’t working very well before, and it’s working less well now,” says Paul Reville of the GSE.

Already, educators are discussing possible responses. Long and GSE helped create The Principals’ Network as one forum for sharing ideas, for example. With about 1,000 members, and multiple subgroups to address shared community issues, some viable answers have begun to emerge.

“We are going to need to expand learning time,” said Long. Some school systems, notably Texas’, already have begun discussing extending the school year, she said. In addition, Long, an internationally recognized economist who is a member of the  National Academy of Education and the  MDRC board, noted that educators are exploring innovative ways to utilize new tools like Zoom, even when classrooms reopen.

“This is an area where technology can help supplement what students are learning, giving them extra time — learning time, even tutoring time,” Long said.

Reimers, who serves on the UNESCO Commission on the Future of Education, has been brainstorming solutions that can be applied both here and abroad. These include urging wealthier countries to forgive loans, so that poorer countries do not have to cut back on basics such as education, and urging all countries to keep education a priority. The commission and its members are also helping to identify good practices and share them — globally.

Innovative uses of existing technology can also reach beyond traditional schooling. Reimers cites the work of a few former students who, working with Harvard Global Education Innovation Initiative,   HundrED , the  OECD Directorate for Education and Skills , and the  World Bank Group Education Global Practice, focused on podcasts to reach poor students in Colombia.

They began airing their math and Spanish lessons via the WhatsApp app, which was widely accessible. “They were so humorous that within a week, everyone was listening,” said Reimers. Soon, radio stations and other platforms began airing the 10-minute lessons, reaching not only children who were not in school, but also their adult relatives.

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Black children in Milwaukee deserve more than subpar education in MPS | Opinion

As we strive for educational equity, we must address not only classroom dynamics but also the broader societal factors contributing to these disparities..

With everything happening with Milwaukee Public Schools along with the Project 2025 proposal to abolish the federal Department of Education, I feel it's essential to share a piece I first started writing back in October. Throughout my years working within the Black community, I have seen firsthand how the education system often undervalues Black children, prioritizing funding over providing the quality education they deserve. This issue is especially pronounced for students facing additional challenges, such as coming from single-parent households, families with limited educational backgrounds or experiencing the loss of someone close due to violence.

The struggle for quality education is exacerbated by systemic factors, with children lacking essential reading skills being advanced to the next grade. I've observed a stark contrast in the education provided to the students I've worked with compared to children from private and suburban schools .

State regulations and curricula sometimes hinder our ability to offer the education these children truly need. Furthermore, there are those who misinterpret the "No Child Left Behind" Act, believing it means advancing students regardless of their understanding. I've watched students get tested in groups, not individually, to identify areas needing improvement. We must return to the basics.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequities in education

The impact of the pandemic has only intensified existing issues, disproportionately affecting students without the luxury of additional parental support. Many parents, often working multiple jobs to make ends meet, find themselves unable to assist their children with homework or provide necessary educational guidance. This is not due to a lack of willingness but results from demanding work schedules and, in some cases, limited educational backgrounds. This deepens the educational divide as their counterparts with more involved or resourceful parents continue to progress.

Democrats should use billboards to spotlight 'horrible' votes on women's rights

As we strive for educational equity, we must address not only classroom dynamics but also the broader societal factors contributing to these disparities, ensuring that every child, regardless of their family's circumstances, has the support they need to thrive academically.

The frustration, insecurity, confusion and embarrassment experienced by these students are evident, especially when comparing themselves to their peers who read fluently. It's crucial to acknowledge that these struggles are rooted in systemic deficiencies rather than any inherent shortcomings on the part of the students.

Many African American students have found themselves in classrooms where non-Black teachers, driven more by loan obligations than a genuine passion for the students, contribute to their academic struggles. This reality means many educators are not driven by a genuine passion for our children but by financial incentives. For some, teaching Black children is seen as a good deed or an act of charity. 

A return to fundamentals needed to boost student performance

In contrast to the United States, where educational disparities persist, other countries facing significant poverty prioritize education, resulting in students surpassing our eighth-grade standards. Witnessing sixth graders struggling with fundamental spelling and writing skills underscores the urgency of returning to a more traditional approach, emphasizing the basics.

They removed God from schools, and now officials in Texas and Florida are trying to remove Black history from school curriculums. At the same time, they want our kids to learn about myriad genders without providing a quality education. If you want to be outraged about something, be outraged about this.

Project 2025's proposal to remove federal oversight for Title 1 funds, which support low-income districts, and to abolish the Department of Education, will disproportionately impact our Black children. We must advocate for an education system that serves all children equitably and effectively.

Our Black children deserve more than a subpar education dictated by their community's economic standing. As educator Justin Tarte aptly notes, "Prioritizing relationships with students can foster a lasting impact, transcending a single academic year." It's time to stop denying Black children their right to a proper education and work toward a system that recognizes and addresses their unique needs.

Rubie Mizell is president of Our Youth Network and CEO of Tyla'Grace Publishing.

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California Department of Education

Lack of reliable education data hamstrings California lawmakers and the public

State agency blames understaffing and promises changes.

Diana Lambert

June 20, 2024.

Public data posted by the California Department of Education has been incomplete, often outdated and occasionally inaccurate, forcing legislators to pass laws based on old data, researchers to delay inquiries and journalists to grapple with inaccurate information.

Californians, living in a state known globally as a center of innovation and technology, have had to cope with a state education agency that has admittedly lacked the staffing and the policies to provide much-needed data, EdSource reporting has found. 

As a result, there are gaps in the knowledge needed by lawmakers, researchers, journalists and others to evaluate state programs and policies, from teacher demographics, to how many English learners become fluent in English each year, to how districts have spent a $50 million court settlement to improve early literacy.

Obtaining data from the California Department of Education (CDE) has been difficult, said Christopher Nellum, executive director of The Education Trust-West , one of the state’s most prominent social justice and advocacy organizations. There have been delays in the public release of data and a lack of consistency when it comes to the annual publication of key data sets, he said.

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“In an ideal world, we would have a legislature in a state that is making data-informed decisions about legislation, and then making data-informed decisions about assessing the efficacy or impact of investments, or the interventions, and this is difficult in the state of California right now,” Nellum said.

The CDE collects data about student achievement and demographics, enrollment, course information, discipline, graduation rates, staff assignments and other data, much of it mandated by legislation. 

Some data, publicly available on the CDE’s DataQuest website, has not been updated by the department for as long as seven years. The last time the one-year ethnic breakdown of high school graduates was made available was 2016-17, while the last data for teacher demographics, physical fitness test results, course enrollment and class size was from 2018-19. Data on homeless student enrollment from 2019 through 2021 wasn’t downloaded to the site until 2023, and college-going rates and stability reports from 2017 through 2019 weren’t posted until 2022, according to the CDE website.

“In an ideal world, we would have a legislature in a state that is making data-informed decisions about legislation, and then making data-informed decisions about assessing the efficacy or impact of investments, or the interventions, and this is difficult in the state of California right now.” Christopher Nellum

The dashboard that tracks the annual progress of K-12 students on standardized tests, chronic absenteeism, suspensions and graduation was not fully updated until December – the first time since 2019 .

Cindy Kazanis, the director of the Analysis, Measurement and Accountability Reporting Division at CDE, said many of the delays in reporting data have resulted from “not having enough boots on the ground.”  The department is in the process of recruiting and hiring 17 new staffers.

New state mandates and changes in the way data is collected also have impacted data collection, Kazanis said. The five-year delay in updating some data is because the department has a backlog of reports and data that must be reconfigured because the state changed course codes in 2018-19, she said.

Legislation based on old data

An EdSource examination of recent state education bills shows that legislative staff have sometimes had to rely on outdated CDE data to complete analysis meant to help legislators make decisions about whether to pass laws.

One example is an analysis of Assembly Bill 2097 , which used department data from 2018-19, the most recent year it was available, to show computer science offerings in California high schools, and the number and gender of students enrolled in them. The bill, if passed, will require school districts to offer computer science courses to high school students, who will be required to complete a one-year course before graduating.

An analysis of Assembly Bill 2429 also relied on data from five years ago. The legislation mandates health education courses, required by some districts to graduate, including instruction on the dangers of fentanyl use. The legislation passed on June 13.

“The committee may wish to consider that course-taking data, which is important for policy analysis and evaluation, has not been updated by the CDE since the 2018-19 school year,” stated the analysis. “The CDE reports that this data will be updated in 2024.”

Since 2018, legislators also have required that several new datasets be added to the CDE website, including absenteeism by reason, a stability rate, restraint and seclusion, special education, college-going rates, teacher assignment monitoring outcomes, five-year graduation rates and homeless students by dwelling type, according to the CDE.

Assembly Bill 1340 , signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, mandates that the department post test scores, suspensions, rates of absenteeism, and graduate and college-going rates for students with disabilities, disaggregated by federal disability category, on its website. 

The analysis of the bill for the Assembly Education Committee was terse. “When this committee is asked to evaluate the effect of a policy on a subset of students with disabilities — for example, students who are visually impaired — it requires data about this subgroup of students’ progress on academic and other measures. Under current CDE practice, a single number for all students with disabilities is shown, obscuring important information about students’ progress, which is needed for evidence-based policymaking and to provide transparent information for the public,” it read. Legislators could not be reached to comment.

Unreliable public information

EdSource journalists working on news stories have struggled in several cases to obtain accurate, up-to-date data from the California Department of Education. This year, EdSource had to twice remove data after publication because the analysis was based on incorrect data that the department had published on its website. In both cases, school district officials notified CDE that they had inadvertently submitted incorrect data to the department, but the agency did not correct the information online.

The timing of data releases has also been an issue. When CDE refused to publicly release state test scores after districts began releasing the information to parents, EdSource enlisted legal help to require CDE to comply with the California Public Records Act . 

In September 2022, just months before the election that re-elected Tony Thurmond as state superintendent of public instruction, the CDE refused an EdSource request for Smarter Balanced test scores, saying they would not be released until sometime later in the year. EdSource wrote about the delay and enlisted an attorney to write a letter outlining why the data was public information. Within a week, the department announced the scores would be released in October, before the election. The Legislature subsequently required the department to release test scores annually by Oct. 15. 

Nonprofits, schools share data

Because of the difficulty obtaining education data from the state, many nonprofits and collaboratives have started collecting their own data or creating online tools, so the public can more easily access CDE data.

The Education Trust-West, which has campaigned for clear and accessible data through its Data for the People initiative for over a decade, developed a data visualization tool that uses public data on California K-12 and higher education systems. Because much of the data comes from the CDE, information is limited to what the department has made available. 

CORE Districts , a collaborative of nine California school districts serving more than a million students, collects data directly from districts for its Insights Dashboard . CORE collects data from its member districts, as well as 124 other school districts and charter schools, so that comparisons can be made. But the effort doesn’t come near reporting on all nearly 1,000 districts.

“We regularly get requests from researchers to look at our data,” said Rick Miller, CORE Districts’ chief executive officer. “Going through the CDE process is so cumbersome.”

Lack of data stymies researchers

Education data that is not being collected or made publicly available recently became the central topic of a gathering of California researchers discussing educator diversity, said Kai Mathews, project director for the California Educator Diversity Project at UCLA.

“What we realized is that some people had some information that’s not publicly available, and it largely depended on past relationships,” Mathews said. “So some data is actually probably collected, it’s just not publicly shared with all of us.” 

Mathews and Nellum agree that a lack of updated teacher demographic data is particularly perplexing, given the teacher shortage and the number of workforce issues facing teachers . The Education Trust-West has had to delay some of its work because it hasn’t been able to obtain teacher data, Nellum said.

“That is bad for students. It’s bad for schools. And, of course, it’s bad for any sort of hope we have of advancing equity,” Nellum said.

EdSource requested updated teacher demographic information from CDE earlier this year for a series of stories on recruiting and retaining Black teachers, an issue Superintendent of Public Instruction Thurmond had called a priority. The data was last updated in 2018-19, despite being submitted to the department annually by school districts. After sending five email requests over a month, the reporter never received the data from the CDE. Instead, the reporter used data from 2020-21, the most recent year available, from the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Alix Gallagher, the director of strategic partnerships at Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) , says the lack of data on universal transitional kindergarten makes it unclear whether the state is optimizing the annual investment it is making in the grade. California will spend an estimated $3 billion a year by 2025-26, when universal transitional kindergarten (TK) will be offered to all 4-year-olds, Gallagher wrote in a commentary on the PACE website.

The state should collect data on the features of transitional kindergarten programs and on student outcomes from transitional kindergarten through second grade, to better understand the effectiveness of transitional kindergarten, she wrote.

“Right now there isn’t publicly available data for roughly the first third of a kid’s career in the public schools,” Gallagher told EdSource. “We now have universal access to TK, kindergarten, first, second and third grades. And, at the end of third grade, kids take the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment). And that’s the first time, as a system, we know anything about kids’ learning.”

In fact, this year’s test scores show 57% of third-graders reading below grade level and 55% doing mathematics below grade level. 

CDE data division staffing up

An annual $3 million investment from the state will allow CDE to add 17 new employees to improve data reporting to the public, Kazanis said. Twelve of the new employees have been hired. The Analysis, Measurement and Accountability Reporting Division currently has 66 employees.

Some of those resources are headed to CDE as part of the state’s launch of the first phase of its Cradle-to-Career Data System sometime this year. The longitudinal data system will provide tools to help students achieve their goals and deliver information on education and workforce outcomes, according to the website. It may also give researchers the data they are seeking.

“I’m hopeful though, because the Cradle-to-Career data system is working on a teacher dashboard, which I know will have a lot of the data that we have been waiting for,” said Nellum, who also is a member of the Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Advisory Board. Nellum spoke to EdSource for this story as a representative of The Education-Trust West and not as a member of the C2C board. 

Eight of the employees will make up the new Data Visualization and Insights Office. It will collect data at the request of state policymakers and the California State Board of Education and work to make publicly available data more user-friendly, Kazanis said.

The state funding includes $300,000 to move the release date of the California School Dashboard data up incrementally each year until the annual release date is Oct. 15. This is expected to happen in 2026. Last year, data which includes test scores, graduation rates and student demographics was released on Dec. 15. Two data teams work on the dashboard full-time all year, Kazanis said. 

The influx of new staff is expected to allow the department to revamp DataQuest to make it more user-friendly, Kazanis said. The new teacher reports, for example, will allow the user to make comparisons among districts, she said.

Seven new positions will focus entirely on generating teacher data, Kazanis said. 

“We’ve wanted to get out from under this backlog, but part of it was recognizing that we did need more resources, and we need dedicated resources to be focused on teacher data.”

Friday:  California launches the Cradle-to-Career data system, a long-awaited project to track student progress

April 3, 2024

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Alibaba 2 days ago 2 days ago

I agree with Dr. Conrad. As an elementary school teacher who began in the late 2000s, I’ve seen everything worsen for low SES students since the implementation of the Common Core standards. We were just beginning to show growth and then we were given something new to teach. I have been to so many trainings with so many “expert” consultants … but no one is on the same page, working towards the same … Read More

I agree with Dr. Conrad. As an elementary school teacher who began in the late 2000s, I’ve seen everything worsen for low SES students since the implementation of the Common Core standards. We were just beginning to show growth and then we were given something new to teach. I have been to so many trainings with so many “expert” consultants … but no one is on the same page, working towards the same goals. Everything is discombobulated, and teachers are resentful because we are expected to not only teach difficult concepts to students who are not ready for whatever reason, but also to be counselors, secretaries, and mental health professionals.

We also get no support even though there seems to be money that the districts use to buy furniture and things that truly are not a priority. We don’t get asked what we think or believe or see or need in the classroom. We are just told what needs to get done, with the majority of the time not receiving training or guidance or facilitation. “Just get it done” is ineffective. Teachers are tired of the way things are, resulting in burn out and like Dr. Conrad said, a “What’s in it for me?!” mentality.

Jeff Camp 4 days ago 4 days ago

This is welcome reporting and good news. California’s data availability has become excruciatingly bad. My favorite anecdote has been the absurd lack of transparency about counseling services. Four years out of date even as leaders have touted mental health as a crisis. We are making decisions using data from before COVID was a thing.

Dave 5 days ago 5 days ago

There's a lot of useful data that the CDE and local districts don't track that would be extremely useful for the public and policy makers. For example, you can look up what percentages of students scored 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the CAASPP ELA test, and what percentages scored 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the Math test, but you cannot look up what percent scored 4 on ELA and 4 on Math, or … Read More

There’s a lot of useful data that the CDE and local districts don’t track that would be extremely useful for the public and policy makers. For example, you can look up what percentages of students scored 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the CAASPP ELA test, and what percentages scored 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the Math test, but you cannot look up what percent scored 4 on ELA and 4 on Math, or what percent scored 2 on ELA and 4 on Math, etc. The paired score data is a mystery.

You cannot look up stats about which districts administer GATE tests and what their cutoffs are for GATE identification. You cannot look up how GATE students score on the CAASPP as a subgroup the same way you can do for different races and ethnicities.

You cannot look up what percentage of public school 6th graders are enrolled in K-6 elementary schools vs 6-8 middle schools. You cannot look up which group of 6th graders has higher CAASPP scores.

There’s all kinds of interesting stats that one could mine from the data, but nobody working for the the state, county, and local education agencies really seem to care.

Dr. Bill Conrad 6 days ago 6 days ago

Build it and they will not come! A field of nightmares! There is really no appetite anymore in CA for data. The days of data-informed decision making are an evanescent memory. Kudos though to EdSource for relentlessly trying to keep the data flame alive in California! Education organizations have moved on from academic achievement data to the wonderful world of socio-emotional learning! Remember when-the state was going to provide us with student academic growth data? Whatever happened to … Read More

Build it and they will not come! A field of nightmares!

There is really no appetite anymore in CA for data. The days of data-informed decision making are an evanescent memory.

Kudos though to EdSource for relentlessly trying to keep the data flame alive in California!

Education organizations have moved on from academic achievement data to the wonderful world of socio-emotional learning! Remember when-the state was going to provide us with student academic growth data? Whatever happened to that initiative?

I spent a career helping school districts visualize and interpret data in order to build their strategic plans. Of course, the theory of action was that if the school districts could see the data, they would then improve practices to accelerate student academic growth.

Boy! Was I wrong!

District teams would use the abysmal student achievement results to congratulate themselves for moving students from 31% proficient to 32% proficient! They would also use the data to blame the students, the families, the society, the ethnicity and so on! Nobody was in the mood to look in the mirror!

And Accountability? What a joke!

Nobody ever got fired if the Black kids failed! No, we would just set a graduation goal and then change the rules that defined eligibility for graduation and voila graduation rates rose and Superintendents got their big bonuses.

And all of this tomfoolery was aided and abetted by a massively weak California Department of Education who gave an occasional wink and a nod to improved data as they are doing now but would never ever hold district leaders accountable! Districts rule within an overall impotent educational zeitgeist.

With some exceptions, it is mostly self over service and loyalty over competence in California!!

Children and families? Good luck! You are on your own!

So let the annual data Kabuki theater continue!

All hat and no cattle!

SD Parent 2 days ago 2 days ago

Amen. I’ve been so disheartened watching education leaders locally and in Sacramento use positive narratives and self-congratulations at artificial boosts in graduation rates (by lowering standards and/or using grade inflation), menial increases in the percentage of students meeting state standards (that were all wiped away after schools closed to in-person learning during the pandemic, anyway), pervasive and persistent achievement gaps, and promises to improve student achievement (followed by endless excuses: the CAASPP is … Read More

Amen. I’ve been so disheartened watching education leaders locally and in Sacramento use positive narratives and self-congratulations at artificial boosts in graduation rates (by lowering standards and/or using grade inflation), menial increases in the percentage of students meeting state standards (that were all wiped away after schools closed to in-person learning during the pandemic, anyway), pervasive and persistent achievement gaps, and promises to improve student achievement (followed by endless excuses: the CAASPP is a new test to which students are unaccustomed, educators are still learning to teach Common Core, the pandemic upended education, students have social-emotional issues, etc.).

I’ve also been disheartened at the hollow promises of LCFF and the LCAP to hold LEAs accountable to student outcomes and improvement–especially for the most disadvantaged students–and the creation of a useless schools dashboard system with a complicated panel of student “metrics” and a deceptive color scheme that gives more weight to CHANGE in value than the actual VALUE and seems specifically designed to obscure how badly schools are failing to provide positive outcomes for students.

Given how much funding for TK-12 education has increased over even the past five years and how much of the state budget education funding consumes, it’s surprising that the powers-that-be in Sacramento haven’t held the CDE accountable to accurate and timely data to make informed decisions. But even if the CDE does provide that data in the future, where in Sacramento is the will to turn the lip-service of improving student outcomes into action that holds TK-12 LEAs accountable to those outcomes or lack thereof?

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The Jacobs Campus. File photo: Andrew Goff.

The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County (LWVHC) has entered the chat on the alleged lack of transparency around the Eureka City Schools (ECS) Board of Trustees action on one now-notorious property swap.

At the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting yesterday, the first since Humboldt County’s Civil Grand Jury released a report slamming the “secretive” nature of the Trustees’ decision making in the Jacobs Campus deal, LWVHC Board Member Anne Hartline read a three-minute excerpt from the League’s statement.

“We were shocked and concerned by the actions of the ECS Board of Trustees on December 14, 2023 when it approved a major real estate transaction with minimal public notification or community input,” the statement reads.

The action in question is, of course, the Board’s Dec. 14 decision to exchange the site of the former George C. Jacobs Junior High School for a small residential property and $5.35 million – entering into a partnership with the AMG Communities-Jacobs, an LLC that was formed just days before.

“The bottom line for us is transparency,” Hartline told the Outpost regarding the League’s decision to weigh in, “we believe that all members of the public should be given opportunity by elected boards to learn, voice opinion and engage in their communities.”

“And we believe this action did not have adequate transparency,” she concluded.

The statement came the same week that some Eureka residents received a mailer from the Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative , sponsored by Rob Arkley’s Security National Properties Holding Company, LLC, which outlines a vision of what the Jacobs site could be – despite the claim on AMG Communities’ frequently asked questions page that Arkley is “not an owner or investor” in the LLC.

LWVHC clearly wants the details on that, as one of their (five) suggestions to the board was to “disclose the names of all partners in AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC to establish the bona-fide identity of its members and disclose its financial integrity.”

Because the topic was not agendized for the June 25 ECS Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees could not respond to LWVHC’s statement due to Brown Act regulations. The Board did say that it will respond to the Grand Jury’s findings within 90 days of the report’s June 12 release in one of its regularly scheduled meetings.

The property transfer is on tomorrow’s 6:30 p.m. ECS Board meeting as a closed session item. The meeting agenda can be found here .

Read the full text of the League’s statement below.

To: Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees Dear Trustees; The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League is nonpartisan in that it does not support or oppose any political party or candidate; it is political in that it takes positions on selected governmental issues after member study and agreement. One such member study was conducted by the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County (LWVHC) in 2016. The study, which is part of the LWVHC Government Portfolio and is entitled “Civic Engagement”, specifically states that: All governmental bodies and organizations should: Facilitate equitable access to current information about all public meetings open or closed. This shall include all information about the meetings, agendas, and reports. This information should be made accessible to the public with reasonably sufficient time for citizen response and/or input. Ensure that equitable opportunities exist for public input from multiple platforms and provide ample opportunities for citizens to participate in the civic process, Ensure that sufficient input from citizens is allowed at public meetings and recorded in the minutes Ensure transparency for citizens about all policies, practices, evaluations, and decisions of the organization. The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County feels very strongly about the need for full and open transparency, as well as opportunities for citizen involvement related to the actions of elected governmental boards and governmental decision-making. For this reason, we were shocked and concerned by the actions of the Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees on December 14, 2023 when it approved a major real estate transaction with minimal public notification or community input. Our concerns were validated by the recent Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury Report released on June 12, 2024. The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County strongly agrees with the Grand Jury’s summary (page 1): “The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury concludes that the Eureka City Schools Trustees acted hastily and without sufficient due diligence. While apparently literally complying with the technical requirements of the California Government Code (Brown Act) with respect to a real estate transaction, the Trustees violated the law’s general intent for public participation and transparency in decision-making.” We also concur with the Deficiencies cited in the report (pages 9 and 10): “There was insufficient time for the ECS Trustees and the public to read, understand, and openly discuss and question the pending deal.” We were additionally shocked to learn that: “Although the ‘agenda packet’ distributed to ECS Trustees approximately 72 hours before the December 14, 2023, meeting included the draft resolution and agreement (17 pages single-spaced), these documents were not available to the public. The publicly announced agenda at the time did not specify the details of the pending transaction.” “Prior public notice did not inform that the pending deal involved not just a sale of surplus property but a property exchange bypassing certain provisions of the Education Code.” “ECS Trustees did not publicly verify the bona fide identity and finances of AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC.” In terms of the Grand Jury report’s statement regarding Due Diligence and Decision-making (pages 10 and 11), the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County agrees that: “The public has a right to be informed about pending decisions, to be involved, and to fully participate.” “The ECS Trustees did not exercise due diligence and did not inquire about the resolution agreement.” “…On December 14, 2023, the ECS Trustees in effect “rubber-stamped” the Resolution and Agreement.” And finally, the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County concurs with the Grand Jury report’s statement on Decision-making (page 12): “ECS Trustees, administrators, and advisers did not provide sufficient information regarding the agendized Jacobs property transaction at least 72 hours prior to ECS Trustee action, thereby preventing meaningful public participation in the enactment of the Resolution and Agreement.” The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County strongly suggests that the Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees take the following actions to address the concerns raised in the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury report and restore transparency to this important transaction between ECS and AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC: Immediately make the details of the Jacobs property negotiations and ongoing status of the transaction known to the public, Fully disclose the names of all partners in AMG Communities-Jacobs, LLC to establish the bona-fide identity of its members and disclose its financial integrity, Fully explain the need felt by ECS Board of Trustees, the Superintendent and advisers for the “secretive, last-minute, quick judgment, in an intentionally compressed time-period, without public knowledge, behind closed doors”. (Grand Jury Report Conclusion, page 12) Now, and in the future, “provide the public with an opportunity to be informed and to question the details of this decision and its potential relationship to other local public policy issues.” (Grand Jury Report Findings, page 13) Delay the close of escrow on this transaction to allow adequate time to address Items 1-4 above. Sincerely, Dr. Sharolyn Hutton, LWVHC Co-President Jessica Schlachter, LWVHC Co-President Anne J. Hartline, LWVHC Board Member

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Study exposes gaps in menstrual health education in english schools.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Press release issued: 24 June 2024

A new study reveals inadequacies in menstrual health education provision in English schools. Findings highlight a lack of practical information being offered, pupils being taught too late, and attitudes which perpetuate stigma. The research is published in Women’s Reproductive Health.

Ten per cent of young women surveyed in the study, which sought to understand what and how menstrual health education information was delivered in English schools, did not receive or remember receiving any menstrual health education. Of those pupils who did, up to one in five did not receive education until after they had started their period.

The publication of the research, led by the University of Bristol and Anglia Ruskin University, coincides with the current Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) draft guidance consultation which is proposing new age limits for several RSHE topics, including banning children from being taught about the menstrual cycle before Year 4. 

In this study, researchers surveyed 140 young women aged 18-24, who had attended either a private or state-funded primary and secondary school, on their menstrual health education. Of these, 99.3 per cent had experienced menstruation.  The average age of the survey respondents was 21.9 years. 

Participants were asked to take part in online surveys and in-depth interviews to share their experiences including what and how information was provided at school and reflect on their thoughts and feelings about their education taught under the previous Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) guidelines delivered from 2000.

From the survey results, researchers found lessons focussed on biological content with a lack of practical information needed to help students manage menstruation and menstrual health, with nearly seven in ten participants having reportedly received no practical information. None of the participants were taught about menstrual health conditions and only 3.2 per cent learnt about abnormal symptoms.

Serious long-term impacts were reported, as several participants put off seeking medical attention for debilitating symptoms because they thought their pain was normal, only to be later diagnosed with conditions such as endometriosis.

Overall, participants left school lacking basic knowledge and feeling ill-equipped with 62.4 per cent rating their education as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ in preparing them for managing menstruation. In extreme cases, some were so unprepared that when they started their periods, they thought they were ill or even dying.

While schools were seen as an important source of information, many had to rely on other sources – particularly the internet and social media – which poses its own risks, as well as barriers for those who lack access to such resources.

Poppy Taylor , PhD researcher in Population Health Sciences at the University of Bristol, and corresponding author, responding to the proposals of the RSHE draft guidance, said: “Given the evidence that girls are starting their periods at ever-younger ages, there are concerns this will be too late for an increasing number of people. Denying young people with information about their bodies risks significant long-term harm.

“Our research provides strong evidence that the education system has been failing young girls and people who menstruate.  We were shocked and disappointed, but sadly not surprised, with our findings.”

Globally, menstrual health is a key issue for gender equality. When menstrual needs are unmet, it can create barriers to education and employment, pose long-term health risks and threaten human rights. Evidence suggests that persistent stigma and lack of public understanding about menstruation is preventing such needs from being met in the UK.  It is appropriate that schools provide timely and comprehensive menstrual health education.

Poppy Taylor added: “Our findings suggest that for many young people, the menstrual health education they received failed to prepare them physically, mentally, or socially for their first period. 

“We recommend that menstrual health education is improved through the delivery of earlier, more inclusive lessons with more practical content to ensure all young people are equipped to manage their menstrual health in a supportive environment.

“To support the UK government’s target of eradicating period stigma and poverty by 2030, universally accessible and comprehensive menstrual health education must be prioritised.”

The authors acknowledge that the reported experiences in the study, particularly from older participants, may not reflect current practices.  Due to the small sample size,  further research is needed to explore the experiences of students who are currently in the schooling system and to understand whether and how practices have changed.

‘ Investigating young women’s retrospective perceptions and experiences of menstrual health education in school settings, England ’ by Poppy Taylor & Alison Greig in Women’s Reproductive Health [open access]

The EU updates its Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict

Children are disproportionately affected by armed conflict. They face violence, injury and death, recruitment or use by armed forces and armed groups, displacement and uprooting, interrupted education, lack of health care, long-lasting physical and mental trauma and much more. 

On 24 June 2024 , the EU significantly updated its Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) framework by adopting revised guidelines for work in this area. In doing so, the EU has taken a strong stance to protect children caught in the crossfire of conflict and war across the world.

High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell underlined the importance of the adoption of Revised Guidelines: " Children worldwide endure the devastating impact of conflict, often being exploited, recruited, maimed, killed or suffering long-term physical and mental trauma. Armed forces and groups persist in recruiting and using children, taking them away from their families and communities, stripping them of their dignity, and shattering their lives and futures. Our updated Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict act as a tool to help EU actors around the world to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of children affected by conflict."

The UN Secretary General’s latest report on this topic , published on 13 June, points to a 21% increase during 2023 of grave violations against children in conflict situations, with the highest numbers being recorded in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as in DRC, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria, and Sudan.

The updated guidelines will strengthen the EU’s contribution to the respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of children in armed conflict and other situations of armed violence by terrorist organisations or organised criminal groups. This update strengthens the EU's ability to protect the rights and well-being of children throughout the conflict cycle, seeking to enhance prevention and post-conflict support and empowerment, as well as strengthening perpetrator accountability for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Suica said: " From Ukraine to Gaza, from Sudan to Haiti, children in conflict zones are being deprived of essential, life-saving services. Being denied of education. Being made victims of sexual violence. Being abducted and forcefully recruited into armed groups. Children do not start wars. Children want and need peace. The European Union will continue to step up its efforts to protect and support children affected by armed conflict and is presenting the revised EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, today, to be more operational and effective."

The update was elaborated in a process of close cooperation between the EU institutions working in this field and the EU Member States, upon consultation with international partners, civil society and other stakeholders alike. The Update represents a significant step forward in further enhancing the EU’s commitment to the CAAC agenda, setting out a more robust and comprehensive framework for protecting children affected by armed conflict. The guidelines provide a shared policy and operational framework for the entire EU, including its Member States and all EU institutions working in this area.

In parallel, the EU updated and published its Checklist for the Integration of Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict into the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions and Operations . The CSDP Checklist is an operational and hands-on tool providing guidance for the planning and conduct of operational activities for more than twenty crisis management missions.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, welcomed the launch of the revised Guidelines, stressing that "nearly 470 million children live in conflict zones, around the world, with Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan only the most known examples on a long list. The need to take action to protect children in conflict has never been more urgent, with conflicts being on the rise globally. Through EU humanitarian aid, we are working to address the needs of children in a holistic way, including protection and provision of education. We advocate strongly for greater respect of International Humanitarian Law and access for humanitarian aid.”

The revised EU Guidelines and the CSDP Checklist acknowledge that the nature of warfare is evolving, and that children in conflict zones face increased threats not least from new technologies and the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. This revision brings the framework fully in line with the agenda established by the United Nations Security Council , notably the six grave violations against children during times of armed conflict : killing and maiming, recruitment, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools/hospitals, and denial of humanitarian aid. Calling for stronger global accountability mechanisms for these despicable violations of children’s rights, they also reinforce alignment with the mandate of the UN Secretary-General and promote closer cooperation with the UN Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict , at the global, regional and country level.

The Guidelines join a comprehensive toolbox for EU action to address child protection in armed conflict, including conflict prevention efforts, humanitarian aid, political engagement, long-term peacebuilding efforts, and crisis management missions and operations.

Read the Council Conclusions on the update to the guidelines here .

Read the CSDP Checklist here .

Read the 2023 UNSG report here .

A child-friendly version is currently under consultation and will be launched in coming weeks.

Children in Armed Conflict

The situation of children, particularly those affected by armed conflict, has been a longstanding priority of the European Union. In 2003, the EU adopted its first Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict , which were subsequently updated in 2008 to bring together its policy in a practical tool to guide action. 

In 2006, EU adopted the CSDP Checklist for Integrating the Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict into CSDP operations . In view of the significant evolution of the global policy and developments within the EU since then, the 2024 update to the guidelines and the checklist will support continued effective EU action in line with a more comprehensive and holistic approach.

The updates include an emphasis on implementation responsibilities, strengthening capacity and coordination among all actors in a humanitarian-development-peace nexus; sustainable funding and resources; strengthening legal and policy frameworks for accountability; acknowledging the critical role of education as well as psychosocial and mental health services; and challenging harmful norms that impede child protection. 

In countries affected by conflict, where children are particularly vulnerable, the EU is working to ensure regular, coordinated and consistent, diplomatic and practical engagement on child protection objectives, child rights and the respect of international humanitarian law. In 2023 alone, the EU allocated EUR 142 million for child protection interventions in humanitarian settings, with a significant portion dedicated to activities targeting conflict-affected children. Moreover, the EU continues its commitment to dedicate 10% of its initial humanitarian aid budget to education in emergencies.

The CAAC guidelines are only one tool at the EU’s disposal to support the plight of children in armed conflict. Other tools include political dialogues, démarches, the mandate of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, bilateral and multilateral cooperation, support to international, national and local non-governmental sectors, crisis management missions, and cooperation with partners.

The Rights of the Child

The guidelines also respond to the EU’s global commitment to promote, protect, fulfil and respect the rights of the child. The  EU Strategy on the rights of the child includes a strong external dimension with the EU stepping up its work to promote, protect, fulfil and respect the rights of the child globally, eradicating child labour, fighting child marriage, investing considerably in education around the globe, and protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse and neglect, including in a humanitarian context. The EU is also fostering child and youth participation at the global level through the Youth Action Plan in External Action. 

The  Commission Recommendation on developing and strengthening integrated child protection systems in the best interests of the child also called on Member States to adopt an integrated approach to protect children in their  external action , such as protecting children in armed conflicts, eradicating child labour and protecting children from climate change and environmental hazards.

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Covid:19 scale of education loss ‘nearly insurmountable’, warns unicef, media factsheet.

NEW YORK, 24 January 2022  – More than 616 million students* remain affected by full or partial school closures. On the International Day of Education and as the COVID-19 pandemic nears its two-year mark, UNICEF shares the latest available data on the impact of the pandemic on children’s learning.

“In March, we will mark two years of COVID-19-related disruptions to global education. Quite simply, we are looking at a nearly insurmountable scale of loss to children’s schooling,” said Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Chief of Education. “While the disruptions to learning must end, just reopening schools is not enough. Students need intensive support to recover lost education. Schools must also go beyond places of learning to rebuild children’s mental and physical health, social development and nutrition.”

Children have lost basic numeracy and literacy skills . Globally, disruption to education has meant millions of children have significantly missed out on the academic learning they would have acquired if they had been in the classroom, with younger and more marginalized children facing the greatest loss.

• In low- and middle-income countries, learning losses to school closures have left up to 70 per cent of 10-year-olds unable to read or understand a simple text, up from 53 per cent pre-pandemic.  
• In Ethiopia, primary school children are estimated to have learned between 30 to 40 per cent of the math they would have learned if it had been a normal school year.  
• In the US, learning losses have been observed in many states including Texas, California, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Maryland. In Texas, for example, two thirds of children in grade 3 tested below their grade level in math in 2021, compared to half of children in 2019.  
• In several Brazilian states, around 3 in 4 children in grade 2 are off-track in reading, up from 1 in 2 children pre-pandemic. Across Brazil, 1 in 10 students aged 10-15 reported they are not planning to return to school once their schools reopen.    
• In South Africa, schoolchildren are between 75 per cent and a full school year behind where they should be. Some 400,000 to 500,000 students reportedly dropped out of school altogether between March 2020 and July 2021.

Follow-on consequences of school closures are on the rise. In addition to learning loss, school closures have impacted children’s mental health, reduced their access to a regular source of nutrition, and increased their risk of abuse.

• A growing body of evidence shows that COVID-19 has caused high rates of anxiety and depression among children and young people, with some studies finding that girls, adolescents and those living in rural areas are most likely to experience these problems.  
• More than 370 million children globally missed out on school meals during school closures, losing what is for some children the only reliable source of food and daily nutrition.

Notes to editors:  

*this number was updated from more than 635 million to more than 616 million

https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

State of the Global Education Crisis report

National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM) Wave 5 and Department of Basic Education.

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