High schoolers  have seen drastic changes in our schooling system in recent years. We have been through a global pandemic, an explosion in the use of technology and mental health challenges, to name a few. Despite this, District 51 students have also seen patterns of growth throughout the recent years, especially at  high schools. 

Assistant Principal Maria Deuel shared that Fruita’s “AP testing pass rate is 72.1 percent which is the highest in the history of Fruita Monument High School.” 

However, despite the increase in the AP pass rate, Fruita’s average PSAT and SAT scores have remained stagnant. Although Fruita has seen testing success during the chaos of recent years, this is not true of schools in the nation as a whole. Through the increased exposure to technology and the halt on our lives due to the pandemic, children in middle and elementary schools seem to have been on a decline in foundational skills such as reading and math. By missing this key to academic success, many young students  cannot be expected to flourish academically in the future.

It is apparent that after the COVID-19 pandemic, student success has dropped. The participation in class, the enthusiasm, and the motivation of students has plummeted. An article by CNN found that, in students of many ages, academic performance and scores have drastically decreased since the pandemic hit. The article states that “The average scores in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in math compared to 2020 — the largest decline in reading since 1990 and the first ever decline in math….” This really demonstrates the decay in student academic abilities. Not only did this occur at one school, district, state, etc. but the nation as a whole. Though some students have not declined, but rather grown, in recent years as a whole, others have plummeted significantly. Younger students in the elementary school levels who do not possess basic academic abilities are more likely to have struggled through the academic adversities in recent years. Though many of these younger students are in decline, there is hope this can be healed with a few years of attentive teachers feeding them knowledge. 

Through the challenges of this time period, Fruita Monument High School has seemed to have persevered and been improving slowly and steadily. This demonstrates that making the most of your education ensures you get the best outcome from it. 

               So despite the adversities that us students have faced in the past few years, some age groups and schools have entered serious struggles. But, on the other hand, Fruita Monument High School students have endured difficult times and came out with higher testing scores.