Dear Academic Approach Families:
The theme of this week’s letters will be Online Testing & E-Learning. Two topics today: 1) New federal support for e-learning; and 2) our research and opinion on online testing.
Federal Support for E-Learning
U.S. Secretary of the Department of Education Betsy DeVos issued a statement that schools should be striving to offer distance learning options to students, including those with disabilities or diverse learning needs. While there certainly are questions about which tools to use and how to provide access equitably given the limitations, for example, that Chicago Public School students have on technology usage, we believe that urging schools—as our Federal DOE has—to allow and support remote learning is smart. Some schools are moving quickly, providing detailed schedules and activities for students each week, while others are still determining how to best support their students. Right now, we believe that focusing on how to reach students (even with fewer resources) is the right direction rather than canceling or delaying learning any further.
Research & Opinion on Online Testing
With the limitations put in place by necessary social distancing and stay-at-home measures, online tests may provide the best possible option in the next few months. Our Director of Education Amanda Aisen offers valuable research and opinion on online testing here.
Be well,
Matthew Pietrafetta, Ph.D., Founder & CEO
