by Jack Bernard, West Virginia Watch
March 28, 2025

“West Virginia is in trouble regarding its academic standing. By focusing on a comprehensive effort involving a child’s emotional as well as academic needs, this situation can turn around. Student well-being affects grades — and learning programs that teach our children perseverance and responsibility helps. They learn how to listen to their sixth sense, how to believe in themselves and, equally important, how to care for their classmates.” — Pam McNall, CEO and founder of Respectful Ways 

Several studies have come out that have blasted West Virginia’s K-12 schools, as well as our national education situation. One comprehensive report ranked West Virginia very poorly versus national standards in math, reading, writing and science. Only four states scored worse regarding grade level 4 academic achievements in 2024. Twenty-eight percent of West Virginia students did not even achieve basic proficiency levels.

Going back to pre-pandemic times, overall scores were much the same with only three states scoring lower than West Virginia.

However, as a direct result of the COVID pandemic, West Virginia’s fourth grade reading score fell by 8% between 2019 and 2024. That put it in the worst one-third of states, those experiencing the biggest drops in reading scores.

A dozen other states fared even worse, with Maine dropping nearly 12% in just five years. In fact, only two states had improved reading scores-Alabama (2%) and Louisiana (6%) between 2019 and 2024.

We must not simply blame our teachers. Many of my relatives are underpaid public school teachers, some in low performing schools. These highly motivated educators work long hours, making much less than they could make in the private sector. They are in this occupation because they are dedicated to improving the lives of the children that they teach. They are motivated to help school children succeed academically and build a better life. 

However, the situation with West Virginia’s K-12 schools is highly troublesome, regardless of one’s politics. The bad news is that this is a long-term issue which cannot be turned around overnight. In this age of cellphones and the internet, our school kids are having difficult behavioral problems which lead to poor academic achievement. 

The good news is that there are proven methods for turning the situation around and improving the state’s K-12 schools. We must focus on improving the social and emotional side of the problem by making our children feel better about themselves and their academic environment.

In this electronic age, students have difficulty knowing what is real and what is imaginary. They hear and see so much that they are in sensory overload. As a first step, our schools must teach students how to empathize with others — the key to humanity. 

If a fellow student is having problems, proactively help him or her rather than laughing derisively, pointing fingers and then recording the debasing incident on your cellphone to immediately post to TikTok. Our children must understand right from wrong, and want to do what is right, both for them and others.

Respectful Ways, a digital, trauma-informed, social emotional learning (SEL) program, recommends beginning with four strategies for students:

Monotask — Focusing on one task at a time.Design your environment — Eliminating distractions wherever possible.Clarify tasks — Breaking them into specific steps.Recover quickly — Accepting slips, resetting, and moving forward.

Yes, our nation is going through trying times. Many of our basic institutions are under attack. All the more reason for us to establish programs within our K-12 school systems which will teach emotional and social education techniques. 

We must help our students to succeed and gain control of their lives through providing them with the tools to swim against the strong tides that will otherwise overwhelm them. By doing so, we will provide them with the tools to tackle the academic side of the picture.

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.

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