93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Online learning has been a struggle for several Columbia Public Schools middle schoolers and high schoolers.
David Wilson with CPS told the school board during its Monday night meeting interim progress reports show the number of “F” grades is up 35% in core classes. The biggest problem spot is in middle school non-core classes like PE, where there is a 600% bump in failing grades.
“The problem that we see at middle school…is the kids just do not seem to be engaging in those non-core classes,” Dr. Wilson said.
Wilson says the report is not an official grade, and can serve as a wake-up call for students.
“The kids are gonna start paying attention at that point, because they realize that these are grades that will eventually go on their transcript, at least their middle school transcript.”
Within the 35% jump in “F” grades in core classes, Wilson says there was a 53% increase at the high school level, and 6.5% at the middle school level. In non-core classes, like art and PE, “F” grades are up 224% at the secondary level.
Wilson says 69% of the grades issued on the latest IPR are “C” or better. Last year at this time it was 86%.
The CPS board voted this week to keep middle-and-high-school students online-only because of coronavirus concerns. Elementary students will return four days a week starting Monday.
