Sofia™ Online Homework System Primed to Help Combat COVID Learning Slide

TAMPA, Fla. - EntSun -- Link-Systems International (LSI) announces that their Sofia (www.sofiasuccess.com) online homework and testing system now includes test banks of algorithmically-generated questions for middle school math, adding to the existing test banks for high school algebra and geometry, college algebra, precalculus, calculus, and statistics. With this expanded content and one-click access to ask for help from a live NetTutor^® (www.nettutor.com) tutor, Sofia is a unique offering that supports students from middle school through college as they continue to struggle to learn during the pandemic.

And the struggle—COVID learning slide—is real. Evidence suggests that students in grades 1-8ⁱ and high schoolⁱⁱ showed signs of lower academic achievement with the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The results of reading and math tests seem to indicate greater deficits in performance than in previous years. Students from lower-income families and those of color seem disproportionately impactedⁱⁱⁱ  by the COVID-19 crisis, exhibiting even more concerning decreases in performance^iv on national tests.

In Washington state, there was a 42% increase in the proportion of high school students who received grades that did not earn them credit^v for the 2020-2021 school year, compared to the prior year. A higher proportion of students received grades of "F", "No Credit", and "Incomplete" in March 2021. Likewise, in Los Angeles Unified School District^vi high school students experienced an increase of 8.7% percentage points in "D" and "F" grades, with greater increases for students who were Black (23.2%) or Hispanic (24.9%). It may come as no surprise that fewer high school students^vii in Washington state completed FAFSA applications, suggesting decreases in college enrollment.

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With a decline of 13.8% in enrollments^viii during COVID-19, colleges have been preparing for what seems to be unprecedented enrollment challenges. Community colleges^ix seem to be hit the hardest with decreases of 30.3% in enrollments due to the pandemic. Those students who do choose to further their education may not be sufficiently prepared.

"Of course, they are not going to have the skills they were supposed to have. There will be some gaps in their learning from senior year in high school. We have to get ready for that," said Tina Jordan, Sacramento State University's assistant vice president for strategic success initiatives, in a recent EdSource article^x. In that same article, Julie Glass, mathematics department chair at CSU East Bay, said she anticipates that some students will arrive with "bigger gaps in their content mastery" as compared with previous freshmen.

To help prevent and lessen COVID-19 learning slide, LSI fast-tracked its middle school math offering originally scheduled to launch in Spring 2022 and started including all math test banks for math adoptions during the pandemic whether the school purchased a site-wide license or an instructor bought individual course access. "With full access to all math test banks from grade six through college in Sofia," explains LSI President Vincent Forese, "instructors can assign practice to help students bridge the gaps caused by COVID learning slide. Between teachers who know their students best and Sofia's learning aids that offer just-in-time help, including access to a live tutor at that moment of need, Sofia supports students as they attempt to overcome learning challenges, balance competing priorities, and pursue their educational goals."

To learn more about how Sofia can help your students, visit www.sofiasuccess.com and use the Contact link to request a demonstration or trial access.

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Notes
ⁱ https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03-30-COVID-Learning-Disruption-Report.pdf
ⁱⁱ https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-02/failing-grades-surge-poor-la-students-covid-19
ⁱⁱⁱ https://edsource.org/2021/colleges-prepare-for-incoming-freshmen-with-high-school-learning-loss/656980
^iv https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03-30-COVID-Learning-Disruption-Report.pdf
^v https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03-30-COVID-Learning-Disruption-Report.pdf
^vi https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-02/failing-grades-surge-poor-la-students-covid-19
^vii https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03...
^viii https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/12/17/...
^ix https://www.insidetrack.org/resources/12-higher...
^x https://edsource.org/2021/colleges-prepare-for-...