Teachers Are Using TikTok to Share How Far Students Are Falling Behind: 'These Babies Cannot Read'

“I could probably count on one hand how many kids are actually performing on their grade level," one teacher said in a now-viral TikTok video

Teachers have been using TikTok to increase awareness about the realities of the modern classroom for the last few years. Now, the spotlight is on how fast students are falling behind.

In one viral video, posted Sept. 19, an Atlanta area teacher suggested that many of his seventh grade students are performing at a fourth grade level — and some are performing at level even lower than that.

“The fourth grade is being nice,” the creator, who goes by “QBskiiii” on TikTok, said in the clip, which has been viewed nearly 4 million times as of publication.

“I still have kids performing on the K, one, two and third grade levels,” the educator added. “I could probably count on one hand how many kids are actually performing on their grade level.”

Since then, dozens of other educators from across the country have stitched the video to share their similar experiences, as noted by USA Today. One creator by the name of “MycahAngelou,” who works in the north Houston area, said their seventh grader English students cannot read, write or comprehend text as they should at their grade level.

“These babies cannot read, they cannot write, and they cannot comprehend," said the creator, who claimed to work at “one of the more affluent schools” in the area.

"I’m not being funny, I’m being dead serious," the teacher added, sharing that kids are "constantly" asking how to spell words like "window," "important" and "though."

In the caption, the educator wrote, "It's hell out here."

Another creator, who goes by “N.” and also works in the Atlanta area, claimed their 10th and 11th grade literature students were performing at a 6th or 7th grade level “when it came to reading, analyzing, critical thinking” and more.

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In June, the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed that 13-year-olds’ math and reading performances had hit the lowest level in decades, according to The New York Times. Additionally, 31% of students surveyed during the test said they “never or hardly ever” read for fun, up 9% from 2012.

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Multiple teachers raised concerns about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on students since it began in March 2020. It’s a gap that teachers claim existed before the pandemic began, but has grown exponentially in wake of the pandemic.

"The education system as a whole, we have not really done anything to really fill that gap effectively,” said a TikTok creator named K.D. in response to QBskiiii’s post.

Instead of filling the gaps and helping students master material, teachers suggest that the students are being passed along from grade to grade in order to get them through the system.

Now, teachers say they are struggling to balance the gap between what the kids don’t know and what they need to know while at their current grade level.

“It’s as if we are teaching skyscraper classes to students who have only built one story houses,” K.D. explained in a video. “They don’t even know how to add on another story and we talking about building skyscrapers. It’s not going to make sense because there has been no proper transition.”

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One issue students face, according to the TikTok teachers, is a lack of confidence in the classroom. Many teachers have modified their assignments to help students achieve small successes first in hopes of allowing them to do more in the classroom moving forward.

Motivation among students is another big concern. One teacher said they regularly struggle to get kids motivated enough to work on or complete assignments.

“It’s not that the kids don’t have the knowledge, they don’t care to have the knowledge,” the educator explained in a second video. “It would be different if kids were struggling, or had gaps and wanted to know more and wanted to try and wanted to get better. … That’s not the case here.

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However, these teachers do not blame the students for the position they are in. “I don’t think it’s their fault,” MycahAngelou said in one video.

Some teachers have noted that the learning gap was widening before the pandemic ever began. One Massachusetts teacher — identified by USA Today as Laverne Mickens, who has taught for more than two decades — claimed that the “No Child Left Behind” policy enacted under George W. Bush’s administration “left every child behind.”

Rather than helping students succeed in the classroom however, it ushered in a new era of standardized testing. "COVID just pulled back the curtain and lifted the veil, so everybody else now sees what we've been seeing for years," Mickens told USA Today.

As a result of the learning gap, many teachers are now being put in a difficult position. Do they teach their students the important things they missed at a previous grade level? Or do they teach what is expected of their students’ current grade level?

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Many teachers on TikTok say they do not feel recognized for the balancing act they do in order to give the kids they teach the best possible education. Educators across the country are facing increased violence and outbursts in their classrooms, while their pay has not significantly improved.

“It’s tough and it’s so draining,” K.D. said in one video. “And you’ll want to say, ‘Oh, but at the end it’s rewarding!’ But I mean, I feel like that effort is not recognized, to be honest. Imma still do it, though, because that’s just what I care about. That’s what I want to do. I actually want my babies to know stuff.”

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