What someone today learns via social media, or online classes, or self-study, education and skill development is a matter of information availability, personal ambition and ability. When addressing the topic of education reform, much of the discussion today is relegated to complaints of political- or culturally-biased ideology. These do not address skill- or knowledge- attainment. Funding increases to education do not address it.
Traditional education is based on facts and figures and passing tests – not on a comprehension of the material and its application to your life.
Will Smith, actor
Education has changed, and not necessarily for the better in the “age of COVID”. Video learning is not going to replace live training, lab-activities and personal-interaction. However, this is what everyone today has to work with, so reading comprehension for many is going to take additional resources and time. The highly-motivated, once given the tools in reading, writing, and logical thinking, will be enabled to pass the state exams. Gaining employment has always been for the best qualified or most -teachable candidate. While actor Will Smith is correct, in what you do with your training being important, the first step in a healthcare career comes with passing the certification tests.
In my experience as a state examiner, all immigrant candidates where English is not their native language, should have been offered a test and subsequently as needed, a program tailored to reading comprehension in their intended profession. My experience, in healthcare licensure, California examinations are required to be performed in English. These are state and federal mandates. While most of the licensure candidates do pass the skills demonstration examinations, many fail the written exam and sometimes, they fail subsequent retests.
In the field of healthcare with which I am familiar, there are two avenues for education, one through public institutions and the other, through private, for-profit businesses. Public institutions have rigorous training over a few months to a semester in length. Some are specifically tailored to communities with low-income or immigrant constituents. However, as public institutions incur long wait-listed candidates, private schools offer shorter format courses but often are a significant tuition. While not an indictment of the for-profit system in general, some schools graduate candidates for whom English is a second language, and do not possess sufficient English spoken – or reading comprehension to pass the examinations. For those considering a healthcare occupation, and have access to the Internet, there are numerous courses to practice reading comprehension. One suggestion is linked above, but there are many such available through YouTube.
Truths, Half-truths, and Sea Stories 