Which Student Needs Are Going Unmet in Your District?

Experienced leaders know that even districts with high achievement have students whose learning needs are going unmet.

Years ago, I served as a district leader for elementary education in a Washington, D.C.-area school district. The district had the highest assessment pass rates in the state for reading, writing, and math, and these rates were steady or slightly growing each year. 

Even though we were happy with our outcomes, when we took a deeper look at the data, we saw there were students who were falling behind and needed support. The learning gaps became evident when we compared overall student performance with the subgroups of race/ethnicity, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and students who are economically disadvantaged. 

The principals in my district used grant funding from the state Department of Education to provide students with additional practice or instructional opportunities to improve their outcomes. This took place in late summer, when students could make a final attempt at passing the test before the beginning of the school year.  

Taking the long view

Most principals would identify students who were "close to passing" as those who had the best chance of passing the state assessment on a retake. This is understandable. Improving scores for students who are not too far behind is an easy win.

But what if principals used the power of data to put resources where they’re most needed? This could change the trajectory for more students. That’s exactly what one principal in my district did to great success. 

This principal decided to address the needs of students who were identified as "too far from passing.” Rather than limit remediation to the late summer, she took advantage of every available opportunity throughout the school year to provide students intervention with her most effective teachers. Between the bells and at any free moment before or after school, she would be sure these students were getting extra instruction and practice. 

By the second year, every student had made progress on the state assessment. None of the students passed the immediate retake. But by spring, all but a handful of students passed, with a few achieving advanced passing scores. New students joined the group the following summer to replace those who had passed in the spring.

By the third year, every student who had been in the initial "too far from passing" group had passed the state assessment, thanks to sustained, intensive, and intentional intervention. These students represented every subgroup, demonstrating that with the right plan in place every student can perform at the highest rates. These were powerful outcomes for students who may have cycled through intermittent intervention for years. 

Digging into the data

In this example, district and school leaders used state assessment data to identify students who were not reaching proficiency rates. These leaders dug deep into the data to examine subgroup performance and address students’ needs. 

Additional data points included formal progress monitoring with frequency dependent on the level of need; consistent targeted intervention with performance measures; monitoring of formative and summative assessments; and normed, benchmark, and interval assessments three times a year. School teams met frequently using structured protocols to review data and engage in collaborative discussions related to teaching and learning. This formal process had been in place for more than 10 years and continues to respond to needed changes.

What if your district or school is just beginning to take a deeper look at student data? Many states and districts are in the early stages of implementing a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) model to identify the needs of all students. Other districts may have begun implementation and just need increased engagement to drive outcomes. These changes can become big undertakings, but there's a framework that can help.

A model for achieving growth 

Dr. Mary Lippitt, an expert in leadership effectiveness, has developed a model for dealing with complex change. Here's a chart that breaks down the five components needed for success: vision, skills, incentives, resources, and action plans. The chart also shows the effect created by any missing components. Without vision, for example, the effect is confusion, and without an action plan, the effect is a false start. Let's take a closer look at these components, along with an added one—assessment—and explore why they are essential to the change process.

Starting with vision, it's important to identify the rationale for the change that you'd like to make. Why are we taking on this effort? Lacking a clear reason for new practices and implementation can lead to confusion.  

Skills include the competencies to lead the work (communication, facilitation, subject area knowledge) and serve as an effective champion for the vision. Lacking skills can result in anxiety for stakeholders because it becomes difficult to see how the team will be able to accomplish the work. 

Next, consider the incentives for this undertaking. Engaging in high-stakes, public-facing, complex change is difficult work. Motivators such as recognizing benchmark achievements and the like can keep the team engaged and support better outcomes. While incentives aren’t necessary, change may take longer without them, and resistance may be more difficult to tackle. 

Resources such as funding, time, and materials are crucial to success. If the team works through the vision, develops a plan, and applies skills but doesn’t have the resources to carry out the plan, they are likely to become frustrated. 

Action plans detail the steps needed to accomplish goals and allow stakeholders to understand their role. A detailed action plan is necessary to avoid false starts, leading team members in different directions, and impeding progress. 

Finally, assessment informs the change process and allows stakeholders to see progress and make adjustments. If assessment of the process does not occur, there may be limited outcomes, and it may be difficult to progress. 

This model has been adapted in many ways to help educators think about how to lead change, particularly when implementing new practices. Planning carefully for each component avoids common implementation obstacles and allows all stakeholders to understand the importance of each component.

Putting the model to work

Let’s apply Lippitt's model to the following question: How can we use data and inquiry to identify underserved students and develop a plan to meet their needs? A group of stakeholders guided by a trusted leader will facilitate the work to create a draft for consideration by the larger learning community. 

• Vision: Students not developing grade-level proficiency in reading are at risk for academic failure, which will have a long-lasting negative impact. A structure to provide intervention supports is needed.
• Skills: Those guiding the work will include district leaders responsible for curriculum and instruction, school leaders with strong commitment and previous success with intervention, and a teacher champion.
• Incentives: Celebrate implementation and success milestones, and recognize engagement, accomplishment, and collaboration. 
• Resources: High-quality, evidence-based resources that are an instructional match to individualized student needs must be used with fidelity. Commitment includes professional learning for teachers and support personnel.
• Action Plan: Develop criteria to determine what level of support each student requires based on available data. Identify additional data points to target student need. Determine the level of intervention needed for each group, including supplemental, intervention, and foundational skill instruction. 
• Assessments: How will success be measured? Usage? Growth? The initiative’s success can include process measures and must include an impact on student growth. 

Serving all students

Many districts highlight positive outcomes and trends, and end up losing sight of our most vulnerable learners. Meeting the needs of all students requires leaders to do the important work of analyzing data and making strategic decisions about student needs. Using a process that will bring clarity to planning and implementation will support success for leaders and learners.

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For more on data-driven assessments and instruction, explore HMH assessments that help educators gain a complete picture of student achievement.