2022年12月07日 VOA慢速英語：為什么學生在大流行期間數(shù)學成績最差？

 

Students at American public schools struggled in math during the pandemic.
美國公立學校的學生在大流行期間數(shù)學成績不佳。
 
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a math and reading test given to fourth and eighth grade students in public schools around the country. Results from this year showed that students' scores had the largest decreases in math since 1990, when the test was first released.
全國教育進步評估 (NAEP)全國公立學校四年級和八年級學生的數(shù)學和閱讀測試。今年的結果顯示，自 1990 年首次發(fā)布該測試以來，學生的數(shù)學成績下降幅度最大。
 
All areas of the U.S. reported lower test scores in math. More than one-third of students scored below basic levels. The decreases were also more severe in math than in reading.
美國所有地區(qū)都報告了較低的數(shù)學考試成績。超過三分之一的學生成績低于基本水平。數(shù)學方面的下降也比閱讀方面更嚴重。
 
There has been a lot of evidence showing that students struggled with remote learning during the pandemic. They especially struggled with math, said Frances Anderson. She is an education researcher with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a former teacher. Her work centers on math ability.
有大量證據(jù)表明，學生在大流行期間難以進行遠程學習。弗朗西斯·安德森 (Frances Anderson) 說，他們在數(shù)學方面尤其吃力。她是內布拉斯加大學奧馬哈分校的教育研究員和前任教師。她的工作以數(shù)學能力為中心。
 
 
She said in an interview with The Conversation that students, who are not as skilled in math, need more face-to-face learning.
她在接受 The Conversation 采訪時表示，數(shù)學能力不強的學生需要更多面對面的學習。

Anderson said that during remote learning, "teachers didn't have as many ways to keep students engaged. It was difficult to do hands-on activities and project-based learning, which are better for students who struggle in math."
Anderson 說，在遠程學習期間，“老師沒有像有很多方法可以讓學生保持參與。很難進行動手活動和基于項目的學習，這對數(shù)學有困難的學生來說更好。”
 
She added that a lot teaching math is visual learning. "You need so much more than one screen," she said.
她補充說，很多數(shù)學教學都是視覺的學習。 “你需要的不僅僅是一個屏幕，”她說。
 
Heather Hill and Jon Star are professors at Harvard University's school of education. They spoke on Harvard University's education podcast about the NAEP results. Hill said "math scores have always been more sensitive [than reading and English scores] to students' opportunities to learn."
Heather Hill 和 Jon Star 是哈佛大學教育學院的教授。他們在哈佛大學的教育播客中談到了 NAEP 結果。希爾說：“數(shù)學成績一直[比閱讀和英語成績]對學生學習機會更敏感。”
 
She said a lot of reading skills are developed in the home, in addition to school. Kids can read books and the internet at home, or read text messages from friends, for example. But there are fewer ways for kids to work on math skills outside of the classroom.
她說除了學校之外，很多閱讀技能都是在家里培養(yǎng)的.例如，孩子們可以在家看書和上網(wǎng)，或者閱讀來自朋友的短信。但是，孩子們在課堂之外學習數(shù)學技能的方式較少。
 
"School is the only place that kids, for the most part, learn math," Hill said.
“在大多數(shù)情況下，學校是孩子們學習數(shù)學的唯一場所，”希爾說。
 
Star, who is also a math teacher, argued that NAEP scores were low for eighth graders because of the age at which these students started learning remotely. He said that the two years leading up to eighth grade, where scores declined the most, are extremely important for building math skills. He said those are the years when students start moving from arithmetic to algebra, and other more complex mathematics. The NAEP for eighth graders largely tests algebra skills.
Star 也是一名數(shù)學老師，他認為八年級學生的 NAEP 分數(shù)較低，因為這些學生開始遠程學習的年齡較大。他說，八年級之前的兩年分數(shù)下降最多，這對培養(yǎng)數(shù)學技能極為重要。他說那是學生們開始從算術轉向代數(shù)和其他更復雜數(shù)學的年代。八年級學生的 NAEP 主要測試代數(shù)技能。
 
"So…it's no surprise that they're really struggling. Those struggles are not going to be easy to make go away," Star said.
“所以......他們真的很掙扎也就不足為奇了。這些掙扎不會輕易消失，”Star 說。
 
He added that in online learning, teachers were forced to teach math using the "least desirable aspects of math instruction that we would want to see." Teachers had to lecture more and there was less student interaction, which is not as effective for math instruction, he said.
他補充說，在在線學習中，教師被迫使用“我們希望看到的數(shù)學教學中最不理想的方面”來教授數(shù)學。老師不得不多講課，少學習
 
"It's not necessarily the teachers' fault, it's just the way that they've been forced to teach during the pandemic," Star said.
Star 說：“這不一定是教師的錯，這只是他們在大流行期間被迫的教學方式。”
 
Hill added that there is some evidence that teachers do not perform as well when they teach math. Often, teachers do not especially enjoy math, nor think of themselves as math experts, she said. And that feeling can make it hard to teach the subject confidently.
Hill 補充說，有一些證據(jù)表明教師的表現(xiàn)不盡如人意好吧，當他們教數(shù)學的時候。她說，教師通常并不特別喜歡數(shù)學，也不認為自己是數(shù)學專家。而這種感覺會讓您很難自信地教授這門學科。
 
Both said it is going to very difficult for schools to make up for learning losses during the pandemic, especially for the students who struggled the most. Especially with math, students returned from the pandemic with uneven abilities. It can be hard for teachers to form lesson plans for entire classes when the skills are so varied among students, Star said.
兩人都表示，學校將很難彌補大流行期間的學習損失，尤其是對于那些最困難的學生。尤其是在數(shù)學方面，學生從大流行中回來的能力參差不齊。 Star 說，當學生的技能差異如此之大時，教師很難為整個班級制定課程計劃。
 
They agreed that to make up for the loss in learning, students are going to need a lot of extra help outside the classroom.
他們一致認為，為了彌補學習上的損失，學生將需要很多課外的額外幫助。
 
"Students who have fallen behind should have twice as much instruction," said Anderson, from the University of Nebraska.
內布拉斯加大學的安德森說：“落后的學生應該得到兩倍的指導。”
 
Resources should go to students and communities which struggled the most, often minorities, Hill suggested. For example, tutoring students in small groups can help kids catch up in math.
希爾建議，資源應該流向困難最大的學生和社區(qū)，通常是少數(shù)群體。例如，以小組形式輔導學生可以幫助孩子們趕上數(shù)學。
 
Hill said although difficulties lie ahead, "kids are pretty resilient. You give kids opportunities to learn and they learn stuff."
希爾說，盡管困難重重，但“孩子們非常有彈性。你給孩子們學習的機會，他們就會學到東西。”