A small number of students did not hit the grade-level expectation on a recent assessment. I was disappointed because I want all students to make the grade-level expectation. Yet, it was only a small number. What can I do to better this statistic?
First, I recognized all the efforts that went into such great progress for so many. This analysis demonstrated that multiple factors led to the success of students, factors that included incredible parent/teacher support, coaching, and mentoring. People invested in the children in countless ways and the children made good progress.
For the few that did not make good progress, what stood in their way?
Reading Proficiency
There was a correlation between reading fluency and comprehension and doing well on the math assessment. Over the past ten years or more, reading specialists, educators, and administrators have revamped the reading program in very successful ways. Now almost every fifth grader reads at grade level and beyond. This is amazing and testament to the incredible investments that led to this success. For the few that still struggle with reading, we might want to look at how we can even invest more into the good work that's going on to build this proficiency with even greater success.
Math Support
I think we have to re-look at how we support our most challenged math students. I'd like to revamp the way we do Response to Intervention to better support these students with greater consistency, skilled support, and targeted interventions. I think we can increase the time and better organize our program and staffing in this regard to help those students.
Apt Scheduling and Positive Routines
In some cases these students receive a lot of interventions in multiple areas, we have to be sure that we are scheduling these services in ways that don't take away from other important areas of learning. Sensitivity to scheduling matters a lot at the beginning of the year, and sticking to those positive routines as much as possible helps. With that said, however, I believe our efforts to add lots of engaging field studies and special events to the schedule kept many struggling learners in the game of learning and built their sense of team, collaboration, and curiosity. The curriculum program has to have a good routine, but it also has to have multiple interesting events to enrich students' experience of learning and their membership in the learning community.
Early Identification of Struggling Learners
In some cases, I don't think we identified these struggling learners early enough, and we also did not re-think programs and supports early enough. In some cases, I believe students' supports should have been increased and better targeted to increase their success.
