How to Help Students That Are One or More Grade Levels Behind

The impact of remote instruction on students has been discussed a great deal during the past ten months, while our nation’s teachers grapple with the complexities of implementing distance learning. As teachers and students engage daily in e-learning, with some schools pivoting back and forth between a hybrid model of remote and in-person schooling, the topic of what it actually means for students to be at “grade level” has been trending. Prior to COVID-19, students were considered to be on “grade level” if they had mastered the skills and concepts at their expected level of difficulty as measured by formal assessments and district/state standards. 

As the nation has dealt with disruption of standardized test cycles and daily instruction, the term “being at grade level” has become increasingly nuanced. That said, throughout my work as an MTSS (Multi-Tier System of Supports) consultant, there is one question that has remained constant regardless of the pivot from in-person instruction to remote classroom settings, from both teachers and administrators alike: “How do I catch my students up, especially my students that are trending two or more years below grade level?”.  

In order to answer this question, I regularly ask my district partners to look inward and participate in a guided self-reflection of their current practices. I use the following reflection questions to determine both how to provide support when students are significantly behind, and how to be proactive when students are just beginning to struggle. These reflection questions also help to ensure the district’s MTSS implementation is working towards improving outcomes for all students and is based upon multiple factors, and not just tiering students or providing intervention based upon a single assessment or solitary concern.

Reflection #1: What are your student’s areas of strength? What are your student’s areas of need? Is your core appropriate for most of your students? How do you know?

A core curriculum is the collection of strategies that are used routinely with ALL students in a general education setting. Schools and districts implementing MTSS look to their core curriculum to meet the needs of 80% (or more) of their students.  To state the obvious, in order to know which students the core curriculum is serving and which are falling behind, it is important to take a look at the big picture. How are ALL students performing? To determine the answers to these questions, one must first answer:

• Are normed benchmark screeners being used routinely? When benchmark screeners are consistently given in the fall, winter and spring, teachers can quickly identify their student’s areas of strength, as well as their areas of need. This data is critical in order to understand if most students are progressing, who needs significant or proactive support, and what specific areas of need will receive targeted intervention.
• Are there any trends and patterns in benchmark screening data that exist in specific grade levels or classrooms? Is there a grade level or classroom that is an outlier? In what way and what does this identify?

Reflection #2: When students are found to be falling behind, do you use research-based interventions consistently and have confidence that they specifically match the students’ areas of need? How do you know if the interventions you picked are working?

Intervention is a program or a set of steps to help students improve in specific areas, and it is never a “one size fits all” approach. Intervention can be used to provide support with academic, behavior and/or social/emotional needs, and can successfully close knowledge gaps when applied with fidelity.

Within MTSS implementations, once students are identified with specific needs based upon multiple factors (screening data, observations, collaboration etc.), evidence-based intervention can be applied for areas of need and closely monitored. During my work with teachers, I often find that they can inadvertently spend hours and hours trying to pick appropriate interventions for their students. A simple google search for an intervention will yield tens of thousands of results, and it can be overwhelming to review even a handful of the search results, much less pick one that is evidence-based and the “just right” support for a student's exact area of need.  In order for an intervention support to be successful, it should be backed by research and will never have a “one size fits all” approach.  Intervention works best when:
 

• A specific area of need is targeted with a research-based intervention;
• It is carried out for a specific number of weeks, based upon the evidence of its’ success; and, 
• It is frequently monitored for progress.

Students with a knowledge gap of two or more years will need to participate in a more intense intervention approach and picking the “just right” support becomes even more critical. In order to ensure that my clients are selecting the “just right approach,” I ask them to “pre-qualify” or curate a list of interventions that can be consistently used throughout their campus and that have a valid, reliable research base and set clear expectations around frequency of administration. In addition, research-based interventions that utilize a scaffolded approach (such as graphic organizers, mentor texts for students to emulate, previewing text and the use of visuals) provide support for all students, and are fundamental for students working to close significant knowledge gaps.

Discover the Branching Minds Insight Survey:  The Branching Minds Insight Survey guides the collection of teachers’ observations of students' academic, cognitive, SEL and behavior skills necessary to achieve success. Used independently or collaboratively, the Insight Survey scaffolds the qualitative data collection to complement the quantitative data, and present students’ strengths and challenges across the skill areas predictive of success. Request a demo to learn more

Final Thoughts

During our work together to implement MTSS and support all students, schools participate in a guided self-analysis of their core curriculum, benchmark data, use of research-based intervention and consistent collaboration. As a result, teachers are able to successfully meet their student’s needs, including closing their students’ significant knowledge gaps and work towards success for all. 

Sources

Johnston, W., & Berglund, T. (2018, February 28). American Teachers Could Use More Time to Collaborate. Retrieved January 24, 2021, from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2217.html