Are students emerging from remote learning worse?

[the_geneticist]

I recently also graded some resit exams for a class - of the four people who signed up for them, only two bothered showing up, and neither came close to passing. Given the numbers who failed the course (well into double digits), only four people signing up seems pretty low compared to the Before Times. Other resits for similar courses here seem to have comparable numbers.
On the other hand, a colleague who teaches an advanced course (so students taking it would've already been in college when the pandemic struck) that has always been largely computer-based says it was the best group he's ever had.

Students who failed once might be cutting their losses by focusing on other courses.

[Stockmann]

I agree that students not signing up for the re-sits might be cutting their losses and focusing on salvageable courses and that may be the wisest course of action. I also agree that in itself these issues tell us nothing much about the root causes. Having said that, the percentage of students ghosting in that course is about twice that of the Before Times - I think that's much too large to dismiss as an ordinary fluctuation.
With the re-sits, the number of students involved is smaller and it is indeed more ambiguous whether the changes in the proportion of no-shows and other Fs are significant. Ghosts and no-shows for the re-sits are, barring exceptional circumstances, setting themselves up for failure - here you can only take the class or re-sits for any given course a limited number of times - as in, past a certain threshold you get kicked out, not just of the major, but of the institution.

[Caracal]

I agree that students not signing up for the re-sits might be cutting their losses and focusing on salvageable courses and that may be the wisest course of action. I also agree that in itself these issues tell us nothing much about the root causes. Having said that, the percentage of students ghosting in that course is about twice that of the Before Times - I think that's much too large to dismiss as an ordinary fluctuation.
With the re-sits, the number of students involved is smaller and it is indeed more ambiguous whether the changes in the proportion of no-shows and other Fs are significant. Ghosts and no-shows for the re-sits are, barring exceptional circumstances, setting themselves up for failure - here you can only take the class or re-sits for any given course a limited number of times - as in, past a certain threshold you get kicked out, not just of the major, but of the institution.

I haven't actually tried to run the numbers, so I could be wrong, but I'm also pretty sure I've also had more ghosting than before the pandemic in my classes. I strongly suspect, however, that most of this is about pandemic disruptions, rather than something happening to student's mindsets. I teach at a big regional state university and there are always some students who are one problem away from giving up on a class. There are just more problems now-it could be child care issues, or adult care issues, supply chain problems (your car breaks down and you have to wait for a replacement part), worker shortages (your employer can't hire enough people and so they call you in at weird unpredictable hours), etc. etc. Committed and responsible students can usually navigate these problems, but some just get overwhelmed and give up, but that's always been true, there are just more roadblocks right now.

[Kron3007]

My class this semester is generally good, except for the couple that have decided they dont need to show up to lecture, or even to lab.

The one area that I do see deficiency is in their lab skills, but this is understandable since they have only seen videos of many lab activities.  They need a little extra support in this area for sure.

[MarathonRunner]

I'm a PhD candidate and TA for a master's course that has always been offered remotely, even pre-pandemic. Yet we have fewer students this year than we've had in the past five years. Haven't graded their essays yet, so don't know about quality. The program normally attracts working professionals, especially those in health care. Most health care  professionals are burned out and becoming even more so with public health abandoned, so i guess fewer numbers were to be expected. This is a required course in the program.

[Puget]

Relevant article ("gifted" from my account so it should be un-pay-walled)

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/us/covid-college-students.html?unlocked_article_code=DL0fPQcZ7odmyvqKVU2UpOoosbW5MMmz-FUePNBv68dxTFaka0vOfFcAaFTlI05ZkkMQevwgqlcNgdZYgjxUkAh7FaBQ9-qjmqApwSKARSOQ1gw7YIPt5F8g8xUxygRqTR2z3J8pTW6kGwUjpses78my90btCNr74O2JrV2i2AY2nt70VL8-2lpbpTrX0yISt_WWJ2rH3oTioTRIruwcyMyIws7R8ItefggQJvIaQ2X1OZiDpTTL_ORbfcVEwRBRFoqKntKEZSURSLqhTLLfh1gXyth4pZd5ViIyQfvI1_bjZBqOCNPs1asBD3QVY2C5fsiw7Bhjt0afUE8&smid=share-url