Homework help and online learning community Brainly surveyed students in 2019 and 2020, and is sharing the results and how the pandemic has affected how they have learned over the past year.
The company surveyed 1,000 students in 2019 about their thoughts on the past school year and again at the end of 2020 to find out how the pandemic has impacted their educational outcomes, attitudes, and overall thoughts about the school year. The survey revealed year-over-year changes in students’ experiences and perceptions about the school year.
Here are a few highlights from the survey data:
The survey showed that student stress was a huge issue in 2020. Roughly 80 percent of students said they experienced moderate to high levels of stress during the 2020 school year, which is up significantly from 59 percent in 2019.
Many students are reconsidering college plans due to the pandemic. Nearly 46 percent of students said the pandemic and shift to online learning in 2020 has impacted their plans to go to a traditional four-year college or university after graduation.
When asked why, 33 percent said it was because of safety concerns about COVID while another 25 percent said it was high tuition costs. The other most cited reasons among those rethinking college were concerns about the risk of graduating and still not being able to find a job and lack of real-world career or industry experience in their chosen field.
Many students say they have struggled to focus while learning from home. When asked what the biggest challenge or academic hurdle they felt they were facing in 2020, 35 percent said it was trying to overcome distractions and trying to stay focused while learning from home. Another 27 percent said their biggest challenge was not fully understanding the material due to lack of in-classroom instruction time.
Students seem to be struggling on one particular category over another: Math. Mathematics was noted as the top subject students struggled with during 2020, with 45 percent of students saying it was the subject they performed worst in.
While some students struggle in certain subjects, online learning resources seem to be rising in popularity. Approximately 26 percent of students said they sought homework help from online resources and tools every day last year, while 44 percent said they used online learning resources at least several times a week over the past year. During the 2019 school year, only 42 percent of students reported using online learning resources to assist with their schoolwork.
At a special meeting of the Williston Public School District No. 1 board, school leaders shared some of their success in the past year. Williston Middle School Principal Duane Noeske shared that after the second quarter of the 2020-21 year, only 24.7 percent of students have an F, as opposed to 42 percent at the same time last school year.
Williston High School Principal Jason Germundson shared that 29.6 percent of students had a failing grade, down from 33.1 percent for the last school year. Germundson stated that he felt the school’s “Intervention Days” on Friday had made significant impact in heling students succeed. In terms of online enrollment, the high school reported 176 virtual students at the end of quarter 2, and showed a 63 percent success rate among its students.
