Most SC K-12 officials ponder split-schedules, test waivers for schools, survey says
The majority of school board members throughout South Carolina are open to split scheduling and want waivers for standardized tests next year because of the coronavirus pandemic, a study has found.
The report, conducted by the S.C. School Boards Association, is based on survey results from 310 school board members from throughout S.C., which is just over half the total school board members statewide, according to the survey. At least one school board member from each county responded.
One of the key takeaways was that two-thirds of school board members said that split scheduling, along with social distancing, is an option for students returning in the fall. Split scheduling is defined by the survey as having a group of students attend school Monday, Wednesday and Friday while a second group attends on Tuesday and Thursday. While each group is not physically in school, they would complete classes online. Every week the groups would switch, according to the survey.
“We are small, rural school districts with several antiquated buildings,” one survey respondent said. “Therefore alternating days would allow us to safely sanitize our schools and buses and allow students to practice social distancing effectively.”
Others cited the logistical difficulties of splitting scheduling, the inequities with online learning and the difficulty for parents to coordinate childcare.
“That’s a logistical nightmare for parents to coordinate with their workplaces, not to mention transportation and classes,” another respondent said.
Another key takeaway was that 83 percent of school board members said they wanted to seek waivers for standardized testing so that educators could focus on learning, according to the survey.
“I feel this testing should be done away indefinitely because our teachers have to spend more time getting our students ready for this test rather than focusing on improving our students academically,” one respondent said.
Here are some other key takeaways from the school board member survey:
- 68% said their constituents are at least somewhat satisfied with the quality of online learning.
- 70% said instruction at home was not the same quality as instruction in the classroom.
- Board members were split on whether students should return in July to have students make up for lost learning. 37% said they favor having students return in July, while 46% opposed it. The remaining respondents were neutral.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 12:08 PM.