The Reality of Post‑COVID Education: How Public School Is Evolving in Real Time
A fourth‑year teacher’s reflections on what’s changed—and why it matters.
Like most prospective teachers, the road to my first classroom was paved with good intentions and aspirations of a school experience like my own. My students would be curious, insatiably thirsty to learn, and I would be the vehicle to facilitate it all. They’d respect me because I’m the teacher. They’d like me because I’m lenient.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Upon arriving at my first school site, I quickly learned how drastically education has changed. Things that would once be considered unusual are now the norm—”a new normal” accelerated by COVID.
In this article, I explore 5 key changes to public education:
Why students don’t get held back anymore
Why literacy rates are at an all‑time low
The move away from skill‑based classes
The shift toward standards‑based grading
Why students are more tolerant and mature
“I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
—James Baldwin, The Collected Essays (1998)Like my favorite author, James Baldwin, I, too, aim to examine and criticize the public education system—not out of frustration or disdain, but out of a deep love for what it could be. Only by challenging its conventions and shortcomings can we understand why they exist in the first place—and how, if necessary, we must refine them to better fit a changing world.
1. Why Students No Longer Get Held Back in Middle School
Perhaps the most jarring new reality is that students are promoted by default—regardless of academic performance. This shift stems from decades of research showing that retention leads to lower self-esteem and higher dropout rates. A 2001 meta-analysis by Jimerson even found that retained students performed worse over time than those promoted. Moreover, equity concerns push administrators to move students forward, as retention disproportionately affects students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners.
Instead of retention, schools rely on layered support systems to help students catch up—but this assumes students are actively engaged and giving their best effort. The reality, however, is that some students recognize they’ll move forward regardless of performance and disengage entirely. In some cases, this turns into passive resistance: sitting quietly, doing little, and advancing anyway. The message becomes clear: effort is optional.
Over time, that passivity can evolve into something even more damaging and pervasive: learned helplessness.
2. The Literacy Puzzle: Why Reading Is Stalling
When I began student teaching in 2021, I quickly realized that many students struggle with basic reading skills. They couldn’t follow a short paragraph, infer simple meaning, or analyze text at grade level. According to the 2024 NAEP scores, only 67% of 8th graders read at grade level. Similarly, college faculty report a noticeable dip in academic preparation—many students arrive without the foundational literacy skills needed to handle complex material.
Of course, pandemic learning loss, increased screen time, and a general decrease in reading for pleasure are all major contributors. However, one contributing factor that is less frequently discussed is the gap between school and home expectations. Some families don’t recognize the extent of their child’s literacy challenges, or feel ill-equipped to support them at home. Others view offered support programs as unnecessary or even stigmatizing.
At the same time, many elementary schools have moved away from traditional spelling tests, assuming students will rely on autocorrect to help them write. The ripple effects of these shifts are real:
Students lack stamina for long-form texts
They struggle to make inferences or synthesize ideas
They often lack the vocabulary to express their thinking
While schools are responding with structured literacy, phonics instruction, and intervention programs, it remains a steep uphill climb—especially when the work does not extend past school hours.
3. Decline of Ability‑Based Grouping
Another change from school as I knew it is the shift toward mixed-ability classrooms, driven by equity and inclusion efforts. Many districts have phased out skill-specific courses—like Pre-Algebra or Algebra I—in favor of universal classes for all students where teachers are expected to differentiate according to each student’s academic needs.
The idea is to create inclusive environments where all students can access high-quality instruction. In practice, however, with default promotion and literacy gaps, it creates a huge skill spread with some students reading well beyond their grade level and others that can barely read at all. Teachers are expected to differentiate for everyone—to meet struggling students where they are while pushing advanced learners further.
On paper, it’s an admirable goal. In reality, it often translates into “teaching to the middle,” where educators are put in a bind and students are left bored and frustrated.
4. Standards‑Based Grading (SBG): A Model’s Evolution
Imagine a classroom where letter grades disappear and students focus not on the end result but the learning process itself. That’s the vision behind standards-based grading (SBG). Many schools are now using a 4-point scale:
1 = below standard
2 = approaching
3 = meeting
4 = exceeding
Over time, traditional grading has become more about the number than the knowledge. I was one of those students who crammed, aced, and forgot everything a week later.
I’m hoping that SBG can shift that narrative. As Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) explain, students are assessed based on how well they meet clearly defined standards, rather than on a patchwork of assignments, extra credit, and compliance points.
Terry Underwood, in a piece on AI in education, puts it plainly:
“Students aren’t cheating because AI made it easier—they’re cheating because, for generations, we’ve taught them that the grade matters more than the knowledge.”
As we shift our sight away from letter grades and more on the learning itself, we can begin building classrooms where students truly value knowledge.
5. Why Students Are More Aware
Despite the challenges of this generation, today’s students bring a level of awareness that’s genuinely encouraging. Yes, academic disparities are widening due to the reasons I’ve already discussed—but socially and emotionally, students today are more open-minded, empathetic, and informed than ever before.
They are growing up in inclusive classrooms, exposed to diverse perspectives, and have constant access to information. While this access comes with distractions, it also sparks curiosity. I’ve heard middle schoolers discuss identity, mental health, and the ethics of technology—conversations I don’t remember having until high school.
There isn’t clear data to confirm these findings, but other teachers have voiced similar observations. As one article put it, our youth are living in “a world that embraces self-expression, celebrates emotional intelligence, and questions convention.” Because of this, they are more aware, more engaged, and constantly evolving.
What’s Changed
Promotion by default rewards inaction and unintentionally breeds learned helplessness.
Literacy decline is alarming—only 67% of 8th graders read at a basic level.
Mixed‑ability classrooms aim for equity but often leave both struggling and high‑achieving students underserved.
Standards‑based grading offers a path forward, centering learning instead of chasing A’s.
Not all change is bad—students today are more socially aware, empathetic, and intellectually curious.
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As always, happy teaching.