Reasoning Behind the Referendum: Must-Watch Videos

Mar 53 min read

Updated: Mar 8

As the Indian River School District (ISRD) Referendum approaches, many people support the proposed property tax increase, believing it will benefit local children. However, not everyone fully understands the purpose of the referendum and how the additional funds will be allocated. Contrary to what some may assume, the referendum funds are designated for teacher salaries and extracurricular activities, rather than initiatives aimed at directly improving scholastic performance.

While Indian River School District has one of the highest spending rates per student, its academic performance in reading and math ranks among the lowest nationwide.

Delaware Schools Performance References Published by Caesar Rodney Institute

According to an educational assessment released earlier this week, Delaware public school students are still below the grade-level achievement they had before the pandemic.

That is the conclusion of the Education Recovery Scorecard, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College. The analysis provides a snapshot of academic recovery in more than 8,700 school districts across 43 states in either math or reading achievement.

The report builds on the recently released National Assessment of Education Progress (a.k.a. The Nation's Report Card) with state test results for roughly 35 million grade 3 to 8 students. This is the third year of reporting on the pace of academic recovery.

As of Spring 2024, the average U.S. student remained nearly half a grade level behind

pre-pandemic achievement in math and reading. Students are even further behind in reading than they were in 2022.

The assessment found Delaware especially lacking, ranking it 49th among states in math recovery and 47th in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024.

Not a single district in Delaware has returned to its 2019 levels in either math or reading. Students in The First State remain behind by an average of over four-fifths of a grade level in math after losing an initial 1.25 grade levels between 2019 and 2022.

In reading, Delaware students are behind by over four-fifths of a grade level after losing just over an additional tenth of a grade level between 2022 and 2024. Reading is more of a concern because math scores show some recovery while reading scores do not.

Nationally, 85 percent of students are in districts below 2019 levels in math, with only 15 percent above. Similarly, 89 percent of students are in districts below 2019 levels in reading, with only 11 percent above.

The assessment also notes most districts across the country have experienced a rise in student absenteeism, with larger increases in low-income districts. Delaware is no exception. The report details a sharp rise in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10% of the school year) from 15% percent pre-pandemic (2019) to 26% percent in 2022. That number dropped slightly to 23% in 2023.

NOTE: This article consists of edited material from news releases on the national and Delaware Education Recovery Scorecard. To read the complete releases, use these embedded links: U.S., Delaware.

Many voters may not be aware of how inadequately schools are preparing students, raising concerns about how effectively additional funding will be used.

To better understand the referendum, property assessments, and fund allocation, IRSD has produced a series of short explanatory videos. These videos aim to clarify key details and provide insight into how the referendum will impact the community.