4 ways we can get more precise in reversing student learning loss

Recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress scores make clear pandemic learning loss took a tremendous toll on the nation’s students. While prior to school closures the scores were still below our hopes for children and the gaps between white students and those of color existed, such outcomes have only worsened.

Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently documented the alarming state of student mental health and overall well-being, uncovering 44% of teens feeling persistent sadness/hopelessness. The situation in schools across the country warrants a response that is precise in nature from administrators, teachers, families and the communities who love and serve children.

There is no room for error and experimentation at this point when it comes to next steps. What then should be the focus when acting with precision to reverse the effects of learning loss and interruption? The answer has long been found in the research on the factors that have an impact on achievement outcomes. For example, a recent study from NWEA and Brown University shows us that students who struggle stand to benefit from intervention, and early detection is key in shaping their academic trajectories.

Leaning out of learning loss

Now is the time for district and school leaders to revisit the levers of people, time and intervention:

1. Precisely place in-house expertise for better student learning outcomes

Teachers matter—they always have and always will. Student learning outcomes are inextricably linked to teacher quality. Those who make a difference and change student trajectories are highly qualified and skilled. To add, teachers with the capacity to establish meaningful relationships with their students also impact achievement. When students know that their teachers care about them and have a genuine interest in their success, they respond positively and perform at optimal levels.

Unfortunately, the reality of teacher shortages complicates matters, but leaders cannot lose sight and lower the bar on teacher quality as it will only exacerbate learning loss. Rather, they must be strategic and precise with teaching assignments and broaden the definition of a teacher to include all adults in school buildings so that their skills can also be leveraged.

For example, practices such as departmentalization, where teachers focus on one or two specific content areas, and looping, which permits the same teacher to stay with students for two years in a row, allow students to benefit from specialized teacher expertise and continuity in their learning. The existence of teacher fatigue and burnout is well-documented and these approaches can help combat this problem by removing the burden of lesson planning in multiple content areas. These practices also save teachers from repeatedly having to learn at the start of each school year where students are academically while also trying to establish a positive relationship with them and their families.

Likewise, special subject teachers should have schedules that allow them to work with students daily and in cycles that last for several weeks. This approach provides an opportunity for both teachers and students to engage more deeply with key content topics and themes in a manner that the traditional once-a-week class period does not support. Finally, retired teachers, student teachers, substitute teachers, assistant teachers, other educators and volunteers should be methodically placed in classrooms to serve as co-teachers or facilitate differentiated and small-group learning activities.

2. Precise minute planning to increase learning time

As the old saying goes, “Time is precious.” Emerging from the pandemic, there is no place where this could be more true than in schools. Administrators should take stock of the commodity of minutes available for learning. Additionally, they should revisit master schedules, and literacy and math blocks to maximize student access to grade-level content.

These learning blocks must include an appropriate allocation of minutes for direct instruction from teachers, practice and application to ensure the transfer of knowledge to new situations. Similarly, arrival and dismissal periods, lunch and recess periods, transition periods and other times during the day where minutes are lost should be closely analyzed and adjusted as needed. This requires the precision of a stopwatch to accurately measure the time spent on these activities.

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The actual routes that students and teachers travel from one activity to the next—and the traffic flow in hallways—also warrant attention. As few as five minutes saved per day adds up to 25 minutes per week of additional learning time and since this time is cumulative, the benefit is significant.

3. Intervene with precision to remove education barriers for students

Just as teacher expertise and time on task matter, so too does what leaders do to ensure student learning gaps are rapidly addressed. High-dosage tutoring, whether in a small group or individual setting, can help students who have fallen behind catch up. But low-performing students do not benefit from being placed in an intervention at random. To be impactful, interventions must be precisely matched to student needs.

That said, it is important for teachers to closely align, down to the minute, learning activities with student skill gaps. For example, an emergent reader should spend an appropriate amount of time on decoding activities. Likewise, a child who has acquired foundational literacy skills should spend an appropriate amount of time on meaning-focused activities. This requires leaders to be savvy in their understanding of what is measured by particular exams and how to administer assessments in intervals that accurately reveal student gaps.

The data from assessments should then be used to inform the selection of appropriate interventions and to modify Multi-Tiered Systems of Support frameworks as needed. No two students have the same needs, so the approach to intervention must be precise on an individual level and as nuanced as the students being served.

4. People, time and intervention in precise combination to move forward

In short, people, time and intervention are the crucial levers needed to respond rapidly and efficiently to learning loss and interruption. Employed together in an exacting manner, they have the capacity to significantly advance students on their learning trajectories. It is absolutely essential that district and school leaders take the time to assess these areas, make a plan that includes needed support for both teachers and students—not to mention themselves—and put that plan into action.