compensation and pension exams are done in the private sector now. whether or not that will continue remains to be seen. it was a solution to some of the claims backlogs issues. i think those are the solutions you need to look at. it constantly needs to be re-examined. at a future date, it might be better for the veterans and the taxpayer that those services are brought back inside the v.a. it might not be. it is something the constantly needs to be reevaluated. host: we would like to thank dan caldwell, senior advisor for concerned veterans for america, for being with us this morning and talk about his group's priorities for the incoming biden administration. washington journal continues. host: we are back with julia

kaufman, co. director senior policy researcher for the rand american education panels. we will be talking about how the pandemic is affecting teaching and learning in america's elementary and secondary schools. good morning. guest: good morning. pleasure to be here. host: tell us about this study. who did you talk to and what were you trying to find out? guest: or research on how the covid pandemic is affecting teaching back in the spring when schools closed their doors. panels ofr rand school teachers and school leaders to understand what is happening on the ground and in classrooms as a result of the pandemic. we talked to leaders in may. we surveyed them again in october. we asked them what types of approaches they were using.

are they remote? in person? how things are going? what percent of students have you been able to contact? what percent of students are completing their assignments? what are your needs? we asked teachers how they are feeling? how many hours are they working? things that the caught me in the report, our findings paint an alarming 2020-2021 how the school year is unfolding. what do you mean by that? guest: we saw a lot of evidence that concerned us when we got our survey results back. evidence in the spring and fall that students are getting all the instruction and curriculum content they would have received in a particular school year. many more children are not attending school as regularly as

they normally would. another thing that concerned us was curriculum coverage, assignment completion, average daily attendance looked worse when we looked at teacher reports in schools with higher poverty and more students of color. a large percentage of teachers are teaching remotely. teachersal concern was were reporting working more hours than they typically would and really high percentages were reporting signs of burnout and a likelihood of leaving the profession. all of these things painted a grim picture for us. host: were there any differences between the elementary schools and secondary schools, or were the findings uniform? guest: findings were not uniform. there were a number of differences between elementary schools and secondary schools. elementary schools seem to be

doing better with assignment completion, with students coming to school. there areer hand, some concerns that we have about elementary schools because we know those children are smaller, if they are remote, they are probably greater teacher need and that played out in our survey results. teachers in elementary schools reported a lot of needs to support students, probably because those students are smaller and harder to connect with when doing things remotely. host: did your study deal with public and private schools, or did you look at one or the other? guest: we were focused on k-12 public schools. host: let's go through some of the key findings that you saw in your study. here are some of the key findings i want you to talk about.

entirelyols are almost or partially remote education. the students are less prepared to-- teachers were less able contact students and there was less accountability. those three things before we go further. asked schoole leaders and teachers whether their schools were remote or whether they were in person, or somewhere in between -- a hybrid model -- about 80% reported their schools were at least partially remote. one third was totally remote -- they were getting no in person instruction. study, asrom this well as other sources, indicated that schools that are higher poverty, more students of color are disproportionately remote.

that matters because teachers report much greater need when students are learning remotely. students from these high poverty areols, students of color probably not getting their assignments done as easily because they are remote, not to mention the compounding problems of being in high poverty schools and lower assignment completion to begin with. you asked me to talk about students being less prepared to participate in grade level work. we as teachers, how prepared are your students? 66% reported the majority of students were less prepared during the 2021 school year relative to this time last year. 27% indicated their students were significantly less prepared. teachers in high poverty schools were twice as likely to say their students were significantly less prepared than last year. being as teachers not

able to contact students, on average, teachers reported being able to contact roughly four out of every five students. those percentages were worse in the spring. in the fall, there are still students falling through the cracks. we also asked teachers if they were assigning letter grades. back in the spring, only about roughly 30% of teachers said they were assigning letter grades. in the fall, about 60% said they were. that is a signal that instruction might not be as rigorous -- there are a lot of reasons not to assign letter grades when students are remote, but they also provide accountability. that is why we say there is likely less accountability this year. host: let's look at more of the key findings from your report. you also found teacher morale was low, with increased burnout.

there were problems increasing digital devices and the internet. teachers providing virtual learning need more support. talk a little bit more about those findings. guest: teacher morale right now is a real concern. if teachers leave the profession in greater numbers toward the end of the school year, school districts will have a lot on their plate, not only addressing learning loss, but bringing teachers back to their school. when we asked teachers in the spring weather burnout was a concern, 25% said it was a major concern. we asked again in the fall, and 57% said it was a major concern. teacher's feelings of stress are higher, enthusiasm for the profession is lower. the most concerning thing is when we asked teachers, are you likely to leave the profession? about 7% said they were likely

to leave the profession before covid. that is on par with the typical attrition rate. 17% of teachers said i was not likely to leave the profession before covid-19, but i am likely to now. that is a large number of teachers that could be leaving schools by the end of this year. you also asked about continued problems accessing digital devices and the internet. principals in schools that are reported 86% of their students have an adequate internet connection at home. those 14% of students who are totally remote and do not have an adequate internet connection, we are not sure how they are connecting with their teachers, how they are learning at the same level of those with an internet connection at home.

host: we would like to remind our viewers they can take part in this conversation. we will open up special lines because we want to hear from special people for this conversation. our first line will be for parents. what are you seeing with your children and the teachers they are working with? parents, your line will be (202) 748-8000. those teachers -- not only teachers but administrators -- we want to know what you are going through. educators, your line will be (202) 748-8001. if you do not fall in either of those categories, your line will be (202) 748-8002. (202) 748-8000 for parents. (202) 748-8001 for educators. everyone else -- (202) 748-8002. remember, you can always text at (202) 748-8003.

we are always reading on social media, on twitter and on facebook. lines ando our phone let's talk to kyle, who is calling from buffalo, new york. kyle is an educator. good morning. are you there? i think we lost kyle. let's go to steve, who is calling from new york. good morning. school i teach middle and i teach most of my classes live. i teach one remote class. i wish we would go back to all remote because i am worried about getting the covid. we have had five teachers out and 100 students in quarantine. it is a big mess. i wish this whole vaccine would come in soon and we could get

back to normal. i also wanted to mention the teachers also depend on coaching, doing things after school to make extra money to make ends meet, and there is no money for that. that might be another reason why teachers are thinking about leaving the profession. host: go ahead and respond, julia. guest: i think what you are pointing out about teaching right now, it is a tough thing to be doing. i also worry about the fact that teachers do not have those afterschool options for getting additional money. i hope that what happens now is schools get more money through the stimulus package that they used to implement as many safety precautions as possible, to make teachers feel a little more comfortable in schools. there are covid testing programs happening now, where schools are piloting tests and able to test

students when they walk in the door. if they have a sniffle, you can give them a test and see if they have to go home or they just have a cold, and not coronavirus . i hope all those things get implemented more and more in schools so teachers feel more comfortable going to school and questionin julia we have a from a social media follower who wants to know what impact high-speed broadband in rural areas have on students? guest: could you repeat that one more time for me so i make sure i got that? host: what impact does the lack of high-speed broadband in rural areas have on students who did not have high-speed broadband? guest: there are huge proportions of students that do not have the high axis broadband. there are even packets in urban areas where students do not have

access. when you do not have access to the internet you're not going to get assignments as readily completed. aboute asked teachers assignment completion we found the results correlated, which is not surprising. if you cannot connect to the internet, not only do not have access to the information, you do not have access to your teachers. there are many reasons why broadband is important. one of the things i am glad to see in the stimulus package is that $7 billion is committed to expanding broadband access. that is great not only for schools, but for a lot of other reasons, businesses, workers try to find employment, all kinds of things. host: we talked to jordan calling from durham, north carolina. caller: good morning.

how are you guys? host: good. go ahead. caller: another pandemic is going on but i wanted to know how julia feels -- does she feel it is time for the kids to go back to school? should we wait until after the pandemic is over? guest: jordan, could you say that warmer time? you were breaking up and i am not sure i got your whole question. caller: i know this pandemic is ,oing on, but how do you feel when this is all over with, do you feel kids should go back to school? think kids should go back to school when their parents feel safe doing so, when schools feel safe doing so, and one of the issues as we have not had real clear guidance on the metrics necessary for schools to go back.

what we see across the united states is that schools and districts are addressing all kinds of metrics for addressing that. as long as you have consulted with experts that is a good thing. but in general, if we could have clear, national guidance, that would be useful. again, the safety precautions are necessary. not only just covid testing, but all layered mitigation. make sure students are wearing masks, temperature checks at the beginning of the day, all kinds of things we could be doing to make sure everyone feels safe. jordan, if you are asking when , when wemic is over have a reasonable number of people vaccinated, does it feel like going back to school will make sense? speaking as a parent, i am hoping so. i hope everyone is headed back to school because i think the in person connection is vital for

children, for families, making sure learning happens, but also to provide that social and emotional support. hoping back to school goes smoothly when we are talking about the next school year. host: as a parent, i completely agree. we have another question from our social media followers who wants to follow up on the question of when kids go back to school. luckyg in e-learning i am as our product is used more than it has ever been. that said, my question is if teachers will implement long-term changes, especially far more online learning or revert to tried-and-true methods of the past? is there anything for online learning that should go forward when students return to school? guest: that is a great question and i hope we can retain some of the good things.

there are not a lot of great things about learning remotely, but one good thing, for me as a parent and we have heard this from other people, is i think a lot of schools have put in place real clear information about grades. when i go to my kids' school i have a dashboard where i can see how my child is doing. i have a much better handle on how they were doing than i ever did before because of these remote platforms put in place for me to understand how my kids are doing. i sure hope schools that had not been doing that before can retain that. i think there is a lots of evidence through history that schools tend to revert what is comfortable, what is traditional. but more and more there are innovative platforms and games and way students are learning that are being taken in vantage of right now that i hope really continue -- advantage of right now that i hope continue.

there are a lot of innovative ways children can be learning now and past the pandemic through digital devices and games and such. host: let's go back to our phone lines and talk to larry, calling from twentynine palms, california. caller: good morning. every woman in america had a chance to vote for hillary and they want to punish her for benghazi or whatever. look who is getting punished now? what can you say? women did not want to protect their kids by putting in hillary. they wanted to take a chance on donald trump. now everybody is hungry, schools do not work, half the people in america do not know net neutrality, but they can make a semi automatic weapon. i think we are getting what we deserve. i do not know what to say about america. women failed us. you had a chance to take care of

your own and you took a chance, rolled dice. i see the lines in florida and texas and even california. people are hungry and they do not want to give you money. this is what you guys wanted. women of america next time, wake up. host: go ahead and respond if you want to. guest: i'm not sure whether that was directed to me or what. i will say there are a lot of women who vote politically for someone other than trump. bidenk the incoming administration, in all seriousness, they are talking about putting more money into schools and i am hoping that is the case. i think right now the current thinkus, $900 billion, i $56 billion is put aside for schools, maybe a little less than that. i think that is not really going to be enough to fight all of the

budget problems schools and districts are going to have. i do not think it is going to be woesh because of the state . the money in the stimulus package, that is not going directly to schools. i am hoping more money gets into schools because right now, there really going to need it. host: since we are bringing up the topic, right now there is $82 billion for schools and colleges in the relief bill being talked about in washington. do you think that is an adequate amount of money for schools and colleges? guest: as an education researcher i want to see education being supported as much as possible. i think it is our future. i think children are falling to the cracks and right now we also

need those kids to be able to connect remotely. now givingre right $7 billion for broadband access is going to get them connected right now. schools are still remote. i'm really concerned about that. i am concerned about the coming year. i think tutoring has been one thing that has been suggested. withhools could partner community support -- there is not the money in the package to do that. there are a lot of reasons why more money would be good. host: let's go back to the phone lines and talk to michael calling from evans dale, iowa. good morning. caller: good morning. this is a first time calls for me and i am excited for being on.

my question is i am an experienced reading buddy. if you are familiar with that program, it is a great program. locally, i am a retiree from the headstart program. right now, there is limited things that we can do. you know, they prefer not to have us coming in from outside. i thought i was going to be program, but because of complications, that did not work. what i am asking is how can we help? there are a lot of people with experience, like myself, and that want to help. what is the best way, or what to helpoptions, for us

out with the reading programs? i was specializing in first-graders. i understand, after a study that wast was the area suffering the most. i have real concern. i have no children of my own. i want to do this as a concerned citizen. how can i help? guest: i wish there were so many more people like you because right now children need more help than ever. i think a challenge right now is that schools are drinking through a fire hose and have not really set up the programs that are necessary to support children. i do know that right now math is an area we know there is even more learning loss than reading. that might be because parents are not as able to help their children with math. and ildren are 14 and 11

work doubt them with math, but sometimes i need a little primer to help. with the reading i am much more comfortable. i was trained to be an english teacher and a lot of people accountable reading. children need help in both areas. what would be important is to do a google search and see what community organizations might be offering tutoring. that is the first thing i do. another thing i do is connect with schools, connect and ask them, are there tutoring programs? can i help? i do think there are a lot of community organizations partnering with schools. i think there are lots of options and if you cannot find an option in your area, if you have it in you, i would say try to find a group of people you can work with and set up a tutoring program. i know that might not be within a lot of people's reach, but that is something we are seeing in a love communities.

some amazing work happening, some real grassroots work to help children. i am so glad you are willing to help. host: julia, we have a comment from a social media follower and i will read the comment a follow up a question. open allon texted, k-12 schools immediately. teachers should be no different than other essential workers. the health of our children is suffering. my question to you is, do we know where teachers fall on the vaccination schedule? a lot of people want to see the k-12 schools open at least by the fall, but i have not heard any teachers be put on the prioritization list for the vaccine. guest: there has definitely been talk about teachers getting the vaccine. at the same time as essential workers and i think in many states that as a state choice. i do think it is an important group of people. afterhealth care workers,

people in nursing homes, i think teachers are one of the groups being targeted in many states and i agree it is important to get the teachers vaccinated so that they can get back to school. also, beyond vaccination again, things like testing, covid testing, could be distributed to staff so they feel more comfortable, but also to students. why were lots of reasons can't force teachers back to school until they have a safe place to go. looking at all the things about the covid infection rates, the safety precautions the school is putting in place, and down the road looking at vaccinations, those are all things that can help teachers get back to school and students get back to school. host: let's go back to the phone callingd talk to clint from denver, colorado. clint is an educator.

good morning. caller: good morning. happy new year. i have a couple of comments and i would like responses from your guest educational researcher regarding technology and its acceleration in the classroom. the fear teachers may be having being replaced by them, or having a great reduction in the need for teachers regarding them being replaced by technology. one other comment i have is about teachers and their resistance toward taking the vaccine. i am wondering if any are hesitant on receiving the vaccine. i will take her comments off air. thank you very much. guest: great. thanks for the questions. the first about technology taking over, i actually think the pandemic has driven home the

opposite. that in person instruction is really important. our research suggests when kids are totally remote it is not enough. they need that in person connection. when kids are remote they still have a teacher, right? the teacher is disconnecting at a distance for the most part. i do think technology can support teaching in a lot of ways. we talked about some of the innovations technology can bring, but i think there is no substitute for a great teacher. question,your second which i believe was about the vaccine and maybe you could repeat that? --e to make sure i have it repeat that question one more time before i repeat it? the hesitancy to

take the vaccine. guest: i think it bolsters confidence and teachers feel more confident getting that vaccine. the more people that have that vaccine and can feel safe going back into the classroom, the better it is for everybody. host: let's go to stephanie: from new york -- calling from new york, new york and she is also an educator. caller: happy new year to your both. i am a fully remote teacher because of health accommodations. i am working fully remote teaching and live streaming in therom at least 8:00 morning until 4:00. of course there is the general preparation time for the next when this concern is began it was all of this conversation about, oh my god,

you are amazing, you are wonderful, i am sorry. evan never argue with you again. now it is mask up, do what you need to do for the economy and for the children and the problem childrene 150% to our at our own expense, out of our own pockets, at the expense of our families because we love what we do. i love the children i serve. host: go ahead and respond, julia. guest: yeah. every time i talk to teachers, and i've been talking to them more and more lately, i am blown over by their commitment to the children. i think teachers are doing all they can. that in cases where there is high infection rate in a school there is no way to feel safe going into the school unless there are a lot of safety

measures in place and you feel comfortable doing that. i would just say to this teacher and all teachers struggling with being remote that there are a lot of people like me. i am a parent and i appreciate the hard work you are doing. i think there is a lot going on right now remotely that is great for kids. my kids are getting great instruction from their teachers online. i think there is a limit to what teachers can do remotely, right? we have evidence teachers are working drivers than ever, but there are only so much they can do with hands-on activities that allow you to do projects. those are the activities kids can really learn a lot from. they are missing that piece and not necessarily as motivated right now. when those teachers are teaching remote, i think there is a lot

you can do to support kids. but hoping we can go back to school soon. host: would talk to roy calling from park rapids, minnesota and roy is also an educator. good morning. caller: good morning. i have taught in three states. i taught with a bachelors for a while. went back, got my masters, and could not even get a job. you run into a lot of local politics in which there is a fear of influence. dvday, my point is that learning systems have been so good and i have watched school systems in three states throw away dvd learning. what they have done is thrown away their libraries and put in microwave emitters in classrooms. i do not have a lot of sympathy for schools. i am seeing an administrative foolishness about this when there is good ways to do things. just my observations.

i would like to hear from julie on this. thank you for hearing me out. guest: yeah. i am not sure what dvd learning means, but i do think there are a lot of choices that are relegated to schools that schools have to make another round. some states are doing more to support schools than other states. i think they need to support schools now because there is only so much schools can be doing to support kids. there is only so far they can go. right now, we know a little schools are not showing up for school and when we are in the middle of a pandemic it is hard to search all those children down and bring them back to school. there are a lot of other support schools need right now. states,that, in some

there is a lot of direction and support provided to schools and a lot of the direction is being relegated to the districts, who are in a really tough place right now trying to make decisions for their children without much funding to do so. i think that is going to change with the stimulus coming through. hoping that changes, so that schools can do more, can figure out better how to support kids remotely, can figure out better the safety precautions to put in place to support kids. host: julia, before we run out of time, did you come up with any recommendations for the school systems for the rest of the school year and for the beginning of the new school year? guest: yeah. we really focused on -- and this was before the stimulus came out -- we were focused on schools needing an infusion of funding to address multiple needs. but particularly to target remote instruction. we know the kids engaged in

remote instruction are often in high poverty schools, often students of color, so putting more money into schools to support remote instruction, getting them digital devices, getting them broadband, is really important. also, getting safety precautions in place including covid testing to make sure students and teachers feel safe. the other piece we recommend is just trying to get more data so we really know what is going on, especially on those academic interventions that curb learning loss, that might support students right now. we have some evidence about things that have worked in the past, but right now think that could work remotely, like to drink, we have evidence that could support -- like to drink, we have more evidence that could support them. we need to see helping students catch up. we also need to know more about teachers' needs.

they have a lot of critical needs and we need to. support them can districts collect data on what they need and what they're feeling is an adequate? research, we found teachers were reporting they were not getting adequate support to support students with disabilities, students who are homeless. all those pieces need to be put into place for them to feel comfortable teaching. ask your teachers what they need, what they are lacking. i think that could be an important step for districts. host: let's see if we can get a couple of more calls. john is calling from dade city, florida and john is apparent. caller: hello? host: you are on, john. good morning. caller: good morning. happy new year. i feel a lot of these teacher's unions are using the covid virus to hold the government hostage for more money?

why can so many other people work, bus drivers, people who work in restaurants, , and in young kids the covid virus has proven not to be as dangerous. i do not understand why they cannot go back to work and if they are going to work remotely, why do they want more money? guest: you know, john, i agree that for parents in particular of young children, this is incredibly hard. my kids are older. i do not have to support them as much. i do not know sometimes how parents with young children are doing it. i think some school districts have put in place measures that i think are really important right now to bring elementary school students back and spread out across spaces so that those

elementary students are getting what they need and in a safe place. i think safety is huge right now. a way to serve younger children and, make everyone feel safe i think that is the best combination of factors that can support everyone right now. i agree that elementary kids in particular really need to be back in person. anything the school systems can do to do that would help everybody. host: let's talk to martin calling from dayton, ohio. martin is an educator as well. good morning. caller: i am a reading teacher for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. i also teach social studies, but it has been a very difficult year. we all know that. for teachers, most would tell you it is like being your first year teacher. it is that level of stress and anxiety.

mostly it is because we do not have them with us all the time. remotely and it is hard to engage kids that way. the motivated students are going to be fine, but the ones you can engage when you have them with you in the classroom, you do not know how much they are getting from it. i am reading a lot of books, great books from great authors because that is what engages them. it is better when you are they classroom. you can really have activities around the books and get them interested, even if they are not readers. i work in a low district and that makes it even tougher. the learning starts at home and sometimes the only learning plays they have is the school. host: go ahead and respond, julia. guest: yeah, i think you are

right there is only so much you can do remotely. it is wonderful you are reading to them. window reading is one into other places and other worlds and helps students and families think beyond the pandemic. even engage with their parents a little bit. i think for elementary kids toents are trying to engage help their children. i think that continues beyond the pandemic. hoping that teachers continue to connect with parents and inform them about how students are doing so that families can work with students, especially during periods of learning loss like after teachers

can get the kids back up speed. calling talked to diane from arkansas. good morning. caller: good morning to you. i am a substitute. i have been substituting the last six years in the local school districts. i believe i am kind of a professional substitute. i am 73 years old so there is no way i am going to substitute in the middle of a pandemic. my question is, and i have worked in schools in texas as 2020 and wes now have a pandemic going across the country. why are schools, which i have , we are not and

agricultural, farming community anymore. the hesitancy to stick to the old calendar just does not make any sense to me. bad whye pandemic is so not delay school opening until march? go into the summer and parents tters in the si summer. i would like to know her opinion why we cannot shift the school months. to the warmer host: summer school. guest: that is a great question. that is a great question and i think some school systems are considering that right now. considering changing their calendars. i think it is really hard to change calendars because of all the logistics and all the pieces that need to be put in place,

and parent expectations about when they need to support their kids. i think right now -- for example, where i live in pittsburgh, during the summer there are all kinds of things in place to get childcare during the summer because that is how the system works, right? i do agree we could take advantage of the summer months. schools close, earlier, are open earlier, their different calendars at different places and thinking about moving into the summer with the school, i think it is a good idea. could be some obstacles i am not thinking of that make that complicated, but i agree we could take advantage of those months and using some of these months to gear up for something like that. host: we go to brad calling from pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. as a parent and educator i think

the one thing this has exposed clearly is the online education does not work. the one parent who called in and teachers not in the school -- why are teachers not in the school the kids? i do nothing we should be a protected class. these kids are safe. the science behind it says so. if, by chance, there was a student who do not feel safe, they could stay home and go i difference cyber route. but i think this has exposed clearly that online learning does not work. teachers should be in the classroom with their kids and as far as the last caller talked about pushing the calendar and performing the calendar and have school,me be a time for maybe i am just a traditionalist, but we are a 10 month employee.

a lot of time the teachers use the summer months for their second job and to carry out some endshose ways of making a meet. host: go ahead and respond, julia. guest: we have sort of build up expectations that jobs and everything around the nine month school year. teachers are expected to work in the summer and there are jobs in the summer. maybe, bit by bit, if the calendar was shifted, it would be easier for teachers to have that 10 month calendar. the kindsat those are of things that make it difficult to shift the school calendar. it is nice to hear from somebody from latrobe. latrobep very close to and i think there are a lot of

schools where school districts feel safe in the covid rates have been lower, but are getting higher. you are right that right now schools are remote and it is not working. that has been driven home by our research in particular. host: would like to thank julia kaufman, senior policy researcher for rand corporation, for coming on this morning in talking about the study on how the pandemic is impacting teaching and learning at america's schools. thank you for washington journl continues. host: we are back and once again we want to hear from you on whether you will get a covid-19 vaccine this year. if you plan to get a covid-19 vaccine, we want to hear from you at (202)-748-8000. if your answer is no,