A major lesson for Puerto Rico, arising from the closure of public schools without properly preparing students, parents, and teachers, is the academic lag and social issue to which relocated students are exposed.

In this regard, the decrease in the academic achievement of thousands of students, linked to the closure of 438 public school facilities between 2017 and 2018, requires measures seeking to avoid impact on the comprehensive development of this population. The individual well-being of students and that of the island are at stake.

The drop in academic performance, documented in a study conducted by the University of Puerto Rico, is associated with problems in adapting to the new schools among 19,301 students out of a total of 77,204 who took the Measurement and Evaluation for Academic Transformation (META-PR) tests between 2017 and 2019. The research was carried out by the Public Education Observatory under the direction of economist José Caraballo Cueto, a professor at UPR Cayey campus.

The Department of Education has to implement mechanisms to strengthen the learning process of students who do not master basic skills, which limits their potential for competitiveness and, in certain cases, may make them more prone to drop out, according to experts.

Given the experience with school closures, the Education Department has the responsibility to ensure that the needs and profiles of communities are considered in any academic transformation process. The closure of rural schools represented the relocation of students to urban facilities with very different environments from those in which these children lived, which in some cases made it difficult for them to adapt.

It must be a priority for the island to reverse the deficiencies these students suffer, 80 percent of whom live in poverty.

It is also necessary to assist relocated students with specific learning problems and to provide special follow-up processes for those who have experienced consecutive relocations. There are 2,616 students in this group, which represents 25 percent of all those enrolled in new schools due to the closure of the buildings where they used to study.

Consecutive relocations can have an emotional impact associated with feelings of loss. The students most affected are those in upper years because of their connections with school spaces where they learned and grew up. Seeking professional support and counseling for these groups is urgent. Tutoring and other mechanisms to strengthen skills are also crucial.

Meanwhile, it is convenient to inquire into the impact of school closures on special education students and others who did not take the tests that served as the statistical grounds for the research.

In order to expand distance learning alternatives, among other changes contemplated in this pandemic scenario, it will be crucial to create modules and adapted content to address the academic lag of those students that took the META tests. The high proportion of students relocated due to school closures needs particular attention.

These initiatives become more relevant after the earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic caused the disruption of the academic year, which led to the promotion of thousands of students without properly completing the subjects for each level and without necessarily taking final exams at the end of the school semester.

The high number of students experiencing academic lag demands urgent actions to guarantee the full development of all these students who will shape the future of Puerto Rico.

This goal has to be at the core of the Department of Education’s plans for the school year that is about to begin, with no room for recent organizational deficiencies.