by Andy Welch
EduLege Extra Some of the timely issues that have been addressed in recent editions of EduLege ‘As significant as anything we have ever seen…’ When the coronavirus pandemic first slammed the economy in March of 2020, more than one-million Texans lost jobs seemingly overnight, the state’s unemployment rate nearly quadrupled and thousands of households struggled with housing and food security But a less tangible impact of the pandemic — a steep decline in educational attainment by Texas students — might end up having an even greater, long-term economic consequence, according to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. “This is the largest problem facing the state of Texas — the problem of making sure that our citizenry is educated to take advantage of the opportunities” generated by the economy in the future, Commissioner Morath told a Texas Association of Business policy conference in Austin. Commissioner Morath, who made his comments during a panel discussion on the Texas workforce, said the percentage of 3rd grade students in the state who meet gradelevel proficiency in reading and math has dropped precipitously since the start of the 18
Fall 2021 | www.TSPRA.org
pandemic. “It is the largest decline in student knowledge in numeracy and literacy that has quite possibly ever occurred in the history of the state of Texas,” the Commissioner said. The drop “in student proficiency in mathematics and literacy is as significant as anything we have ever seen.” Left unchecked, he said, the drop in educational attainment stands to equate to an average six percent reduction in lifetime earnings for all 5.5 million students who are currently enrolled in Texas public schools — for a “net present value” of $2 trillion in forgone income. Harrison Keller, commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, participated in the panel discussion with Mr. Morath and said enrollment at colleges in the state declined significantly over last spring. “It is hard to overstate the impact of the pandemic on our colleges and our universities," Commissioner Keller said. Commissioner Keller said community colleges and regional universities have borne the brunt of the pandemic-related enrollment declines, with male
