National Analysis of 2020-21 Reopening Plans

Research Rundown Issue: November '20
Publisher: Center on Reinventing Public Education
Date Published: October '20

Description

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) analyzed the 2020-21 reopening plans for 106 districts around the country. When compared to plans from the spring, there were large gains in the percentage of districts that indicated they were going to take attendance (87% v. 32%), grade student work (80% v. 51%), and provide live instruction (92% v. 21%). With that said, they also found many areas for improvement, including student engagement, high-quality online programming, and meeting the needs of students with disabilities.

Why This Matters in Minnesota

Many of the celebrations and areas for improvement identified by CRPE aligned with our analysis of fall learning plans in Minnesota. A strong point of the plans was that many more districts (75% v. 23%) indicated that students would have access to live instruction and required daily interaction between students and teachers (67% v. 35%). However, only 40% of the plans explained how they would meet the needs of students with disabilities and only one-fourth described how they would support English Learners. Finally, only two districts plans mentioned doing some type of diagnostic assessment to measure where students are, and only four mentioned addressing learning loss. As the vast majority of Minnesota schools move into distance learning, it’s imperative that they continue to evolve and adapt their learning models by implementing what’s worked elsewhere and moving away from what hasn’t.