Meeting the Needs of All Students When We Return to Learn-Part One

Schools all around the nation are preparing to reopen and resume classes this fall operating under a 'new normal', where the questions we ask often lead to more question with fewer answers. We don't know yet whether all the students will be in attendance, or if we will at some point in the school year be forced to implement remote learning, or a hybrid model of learning where not all the students are in attendance at the same time (or any multitude of other scenarios). We are planning for all of these contingencies. The number of issues to tackle in preparation for this fall are numerous and complicated. One of the biggest and most critical of problems to solve is how to make up for lost learning. This is our primary mission and the core of our entire operation. An understanding of what was missed is a good place to start, but even that muddies the waters when considering learning that may need to be reviewed after such a long break. 

But in order to get to crux of this question, it first important to understand what learning needs to be made up. We can begin that examination quite simply be considering which essential learning skills were not taught. In our case, we missed almost a quarter of the school year (eight weeks to be exact). While teachers can evaluate lessons to see what wasn't covered, we also need to consider whether or not a particular skill was introduced, developed, mastered, or advanced. The necessary level of skill development helps us determine how we might best approach remediation. At the same time, we need to pay particular attention to the fact that not every student will need the same level of instruction. Or even have similar skills that need attention. Because of these factors, a certain amount of personalization will be necessary. For that reason, a one size fits all solution does not sound reasonable. 

Academics and the Research on Extending the School Year

While the school start date of August 23rd was waived this year paving the way for schools to start earlier if they so chose, very few Iowa schools have decided to take advantage. While on its face there are significant financial hurdles to adding days to a school calendar, from an academic standpoint there is an even more important point: it is unlikely to work. 

First, think about this concept from a purely objective point of view. Our students missed almost a quarter of the school year. There is no way to fit 8 weeks (in our case) of instruction into a one or two week period. It's impossible and defies logic. Second, lengthening the school year is not supported by scholarly educational research. Educational researcher John Hattie has found that adding days to a school calendar only has a .23 effect size on academic achievement. Effect size is a statistical measure of standard deviation and the larger the effect size, the larger the impact would be on the population. 

The good news is that we know what works. A comprehensive Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). This means we tailor instruction to the needs of our students using an ‘on time model of remediation’. Not all students are going to need the same remediation at the same time over the same material. According to Hattie, this type of support system has an effect size of .73. Coupled with interventions, the annual impact on a student’s achievement could be has high as 1.29 standard deviations. To put that in perspective, a one standard deviation increase is typically associated with advancing student achievement by two to three years. 

(John Hattie, Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 Meta Analyses Related to Student Achievement (2009), p.7

At the same time, we need to be clear that we haven’t completely shut the door on modifications to the school calendar. It is possible we could decide the length of the school year needs to be extended: but would it make more sense to add those days on to the back end of the calendar as opposed to the front end? When hopefully we have a much better sense of how the pandemic is impacting society? Or when we know how much and what targeted instruction is necessary? Additionally, we could determine that it makes sense to lengthen the school day—but maybe that doesn't need to happen until second semester. The point is, until students return to school and we start working with them, we really don’t know what they need. In any event, adjustments to the academic calendar should only be made when we have a clear picture of what we would do with that time and a way to demonstrate it truly is a value added benefit for students.