Portland, Ore. — Jan. 30,2024 — NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released today a review of research on high-dosage tutoring (HDT) as an intervention strategy. High-dosage tutoring has drawn much attention in the last several years as a key strategy in helping students recover academically from the pandemic disruptions to learning, and just this month the Biden-Harris Administration cited high-dosage tutoring as a viable intervention.

The new NWEA report, co-authored by Dr. Ayesha K. Hashim, Dr. Miles Davison, Sofia Postell, Jazmin Isaacs, looked at the evidence on HDT and highlighted the benefits of using this strategy, especially in supporting at-risk students. It also noted several “non-negotiable” factors that lead to HDT being used effectively to accelerate academic growth.

Key takeaways from the report:

• At-risk students continue to need support, especially now as the share of at-risk students has increased post pandemic.
• HDT programs can produce large gains in reading and math test scores for at-risk students (if implemented appropriately).
• HDT is effective for building foundational skills in elementary grades, and can aid struggling middle and high school students.
• As part of implementation planning, districts must address barriers that hinder student access to HDT by ensuring an equitable selection criteria and offering holistic supports for student learning.

“We know that the federal ESSER funding is sunsetting soon and students are still coping with the pandemic’s impacts,” said Ayesha Hashim, research scientist at NWEA. “More research and evidence is continuing to emerge on HDT as an effective strategy to help students if implemented and provided appropriately. This report dives into that evidence and makes it make sense for education leaders.”

To gain the most from HDT programs, districts must adhere to these non-negotiables:

• Frequency & scheduling: 30-minute sessions, two to three or more times per week, during the school day.
• Group size: one-to-one or groups of three-to-four students.
• Qualified personnel: While it is important to hire experienced or trained tutors, districts can hire less skilled tutors to reduce program costs and overcome labor shortages. However, districts also need to build robust systems and procedures to ensure tutors implement the intended curriculum with fidelity.
• Measurement: Districts must use data and assessments to monitor learning, especially the skills that are targeted for intervention in tutoring, and to tailor instruction to the needs of students. Districts should also use non-test data to monitor factors that can affect learning for students from at-risk backgrounds (e.g., attendance, behavior and engagement, poverty).
• Curriculum: HDT materials must be high-quality and aligned to classroom content. Plus, the curriculum must be delivered in a more systemic and tailored way than students receive in a typical classroom setting.
• Relationships: Mentoring relationships are an active component of instructional effectiveness in HDT programs for at-risk students and provide students with social reinforcement, helping build student confidence and engagement in learning.

View the new report at  https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/high-dosage-tutoring-for-academically-at-risk-students/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post New NWEA Research Report Reviews the Evidence on High Dosage Tutoring appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore. — Jan. 23, 2024 — NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, announced today that its assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency, has more convincing evidence of reliability, validity and accuracy in its ability to identify students in need of intervention, based on a review conducted by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII).

The review was conducted as part of NCII’s tools chart series that “assists educators and families in becoming informed consumers who can select academic and behavioral assessment tools and interventions that meet standards for technical rigor and address their specific needs,” states the NCII website. Each tool listed by NCII is evaluated by a technical review committee of experts against multifaceted criteria. In the latest review, MAP Reading Fluency increased its ratings in almost all key categories, receiving the highest rating of “convincing evidence” in nearly all classification accuracy categories. This rating improvement for MAP Reading Fluency is significant. As NCII states about the importance of evaluating screening tools, “classifying students’ risk status is a key step in universal screening because the aim is to have tools that permit accurate identification of who does and does not need additional support to make progress.”

“We set out to create an early-literacy assessment that was reliable, accurate and valid while also simplifying educator lives by providing data on an entire class within a short session,” said Patrick Meyer, VP of Psychometrics and Analytics at NWEA. “Third-party reviews, like those from the NCII, are a critical element to our feedback and evaluation process to ensure we continue to enhance and innovate in ways that provide deeper value to educators, and we’re doing that with MAP Reading Fluency.”

MAP Reading Fluency continues to evolve into one of the most trustworthy assessment tools in the market, providing educators with reliable and accurate data that supports instructional decisions to advance reading development for all students. The CODiE-award winning tool launched in 2018 as a first-of-its kind adaptive universal screening and progress monitoring assessment for grades pre-K to 5 is now used by more than 1.4 million students in more than 2,000 districts in the nation.

Beyond quality data, one of MAP Reading Fluency’s most valuable features is the time saving aspect for teachers. Instead of having to assess each student in a class one-by-one taking a day or more, a teacher using MAP Reading Fluency can get those powerful insights in one class period for an entire group of students. Aligned to the science of reading, the early-literacy assessment measures and monitors oral reading fluency, literal comprehension and foundational reading skills from season to season and year to year. It quickly screens students at risk of reading difficulty, including characteristics of dyslexia. The benchmark assessment is available in both English and Spanish.

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post NWEA’s MAP® Reading Fluency™ Assessment Continues to Show High Marks for Reliability, Validity and Accuracy appeared first on NWEA.

Research-Based Interventions Will Be Needed to Help Older Students With Reading Fluency

“National data show that almost 70% of eighth graders are not considered proficient in reading based on 2022 test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. In 2024, districts will be working to find research-based interventions to help older students with reading fluency. Reading fluency is essential for effective reading comprehension at any age, but it’s especially critical once students go from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn.’ Unfortunately, many students leaving elementary school are still not proficient in reading, and that creates a significant barrier to their ability to learn across subjects. Middle and high school teachers will need support to help older students with foundational reading skills to address this problem. Programs that emphasize repeated reading and giving older readers the opportunity to choose practice readings on topics they find engaging will help older readers improve fluency.” ~ Laura Hansen, Director of Academic Services at NWEA

Academic Identities of Educators Must be a Focal Point to Drive Equity

“As the conversation around equity in K12 education continues, in 2024 we will see more around the topic of academic identities, which are the attitudes, beliefs, and dispositions toward teaching and learning. When teachers develop an unhealthy academic identity, their internalized negative perception is very likely to influence their instruction and can shape their students’ academic identity. To create equitable learning environments, teachers must be deliberate in raising their awareness of self and others, exploring their beliefs, examining their actions, and strengthening their academic identity. In 2024, more teachers will identify and address their academic identities, whether healthy or not, and employ strategies in their classroom to help all students thrive.” ~ Fenesha Hubbard, NWEA Lead Professional Learning Designer and author of the book, The Equity Expression.

Academic Interventions: What’s Working?

“Students remain far behind from pre-pandemic levels of achievement. School districts that serve higher percentages of low-income and minority students, and that offered remote or hybrid instruction for longer periods of time during the pandemic, have experienced some of the largest setbacks in achievement from the pandemic. While school districts made some progress in reducing pandemic-related achievement gaps in the 2021-22 school year, progress has stalled in the 2022-23 school year. Clearly, unfinished or delayed learning from the pandemic is a challenge that is going to persist for some time, and school districts will need to engage with evidence-based strategies to help accelerate student learning for the long term. Interventions that have strong evidence of efficacy include high-dosage tutoring, summer school programs, and double-dose math classes. Districts should adopt these high-impact interventions, while continuing to monitor implementation and adapt interventions to local context, so that students can have access to meaningful opportunities to catch up on unfinished learning.” ~ Dr. Ayesha K. Hashim, NWEA Research Scientist

A Data-Driven Revolution in Gifted and Talented Identification

“In 2024, states are poised to revolutionize their approach to Gifted and Talented (GT) education, driving greater equity and inclusion through a dual strategy of data-driven identification (e.g., Washington state’s new universal screening law) and the implementation of state policies mandating access to gifted services (e.g., Missouri’s new law mandating access to gifted services). Universal screening, encompassing a multitude of assessment tools, will ensure that no gifted potential remains unnoticed, while continuous monitoring and transparent reporting will guarantee equal access to the selection process. Simultaneously, state policies will require the development of individualized learning plans for gifted students, promoting inclusive enrichment opportunities, differentiated instruction, and robust teacher professional development. These comprehensive measures aim to create a more equitable and inclusive GT education system, offering every student a chance to thrive in their areas of strength, regardless of background or circumstance.” ~ Dr. Scott Peters, NWEA Senior Research Scientist

Classroom Practices That Support High Growth Learning Will Be Essential

“In 2024, the imperative to enrich the classroom experience will persist, given the multifaceted challenges faced by students in this post-pandemic world. The cornerstone of elevating educational quality rests upon strengthening the student-teacher relationship. By fostering meaningful and constructive interactions and offering valuable feedback to students, we empower them to take greater ownership of their learning journey. Implementing a diverse range of strategies, inspired by successful models in high-achieving educational settings, opens the door for learners at various proficiency levels to explore and thrive. Recent research underscores the efficacy of specific approaches and practices in promoting substantial learning growth, such as allocating time for retrieval practice (where students benefit from multiple opportunities to reinforce new knowledge) and maintaining flexibility in student group dynamics (allowing for effective student movement between learning groups), among others.” ~ Dr. Chase Nordengren, NWEA, Principal Research Lead, Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA, and author of the book, Step Into Student Goal Setting.

It’s Time to Rebrand Summer as an Academic Growth Driver

“While the pandemic is in our rearview mirror, its effects are still deeply felt, especially among the millions of US students academically recovering from its impacts. Recent research highlighted that recovery will take most students several additional months of learning to get to pre-pandemic academic levels. And pre-pandemic levels were not stellar to begin with for many students. The traditional school year calendar can only fit in so much. Summer has immense potential to propel learning if used strategically – and not just to address COVID recovery but as a long-term sustainable approach to drive academic growth. This will take high-engagement summer programs targeted to the specific academic needs of individual students built around the needs of families.  If done collaboratively, with engagement and communications with families at the forefront, schools can chip away at the stigma of “summer school” and make summer learning the new norm that families calendar into their plans and value it as a priority for their students.” ~ Dr. Andrew McEachin, VP of Research & Policy Partnerships at NWEA

ESSER Fiscal Cliff is Here; Reliable and Actionable Data will be Key to Investing in Effective Efforts

 “As we approach the impending ESSER fiscal cliff, states and school districts across the country will be grappling with the abrupt loss of federal pandemic relief funding. They have about $70 billion left to spend this school year—about 10% on top of their normal budgets—and then the money runs out. Schools have relied on those funds for the creation or expansion of summer programs and tutoring services, the purchase of high-quality curriculum and instructional materials, and a plethora of other efforts to address learning gaps students experienced through the COVID-19 pandemic. 2024 will be a mix of states and districts spending their remaining funds while also looking to the future. As the one-time funds expire, it will be more important than ever for education communities to have access to reliable and actionable data to know which interventions have been most effective in helping students grow, and where to continue investing strategically amidst shrinking budgets. Policymakers will be looking to leverage their existing data sources to better understand those trends and the remaining gaps, and they will continue to look for innovative approaches to learning and ways to assess the needs of students.” ~ Lindsay Dworkin, SVP of Policy & Government Affairs at NWEA

The post NWEA Experts Share Education Predictions for the New Year appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore., Madison, Wis., — Nov. 14, 2023 — NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, announced today Distance Dash, a new science-focused experience on Roblox, a global immersive platform for communication and connection. Through the development of Distance Dash, NWEA was able to explore innovative ways to use 3D immersive experiences to engage students in the study of science and assess their achievements in the subject.

“We’re so excited to have this experience now available to students through Roblox,” said Tyler Matta, VP of Learning Sciences Engineering at NWEA. “We dove into this project as a way to really explore how students engage with science, and how aspects of gaming could be utilized in other elements of learning, including in assessments. It was a really educational experience for us and we appreciate the support of Roblox and Filament Games.”

NWEA’s Science content and measurement experts provided the vision, direction, assessment and research expertise for the project. The Roblox Community Fund (RCF) provided the opportunity for NWEA to work with Filament Games — an educational game developer known for such projects as the Mission: Mars designed for the Museum of Science, Boston, also hosted on the Roblox platform.

“We’re excited to join forces with NWEA in a pioneering partnership that authentically and playfully connects learning to assessment. Together, we’ve created a dynamic game-based learning experience that promises to advance learning outcomes for all kids,” said Dan White, CEO at Filament Games.

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and other multidimensional science state standards emphasize that a rich and equitable science education depends on framing science teaching, learning, and assessment around students’ interests and experiences. With this as a basis for the experience, students playing Distance Dash are tasked with launching two vehicles carrying different loads and ensuring they reach the finish line in perfect sync. They’ll need to fine-tune forces based on assigned masses and predict outcomes for maximum acceleration while maintaining synchronized arrival. The experience’s assessment objectives encompass identifying data patterns, grasping acceleration principles, optimizing force application, making precise predictions, applying Newton’s second law, and problem-solving. Collaboration and social learning are encouraged as learners navigate the immersive world of physics, strategically manipulating forces, demonstrating precision, and working together to emerge as champions in this ultimate test of scientific skill and teamwork.

NWEA is among the first grantees of the RCF. Established in 2021, RCF offers grants to educational organizations and developers to enable the creation of innovative learning experiences and curriculum, leveraging the platform in compelling ways.

To check out the experience go to https://www.roblox.com/games/13470104112/Distance-Dash

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

About Filament Games

Filament Games is a boutique game development studio with an 18-year track record of success and leadership in the educational game space. We’re all about delivering positive impacts as well as legitimately engaging game play — simultaneously! It’s both our specialty and our #1 priority, whether the intended impact takes the form of new knowledge, broader empathy, or a fresh perspective. With more than 400 projects completed for heavyweight clients like National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Oculus, McGraw-Hill, Scholastic, and more, our team brings an expert hand to creating stunning educational games that can reach any age, leverage any platform, and teach any topic.

Contact FOR FILAMENT: Brandon Pittser, VP of Marketing, bpittser@filamentgames.com

Contact FOR NWEA: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

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The findings point to strong outcomes, including:

• Students who scored below the 50th percentile on the Capti Assess Reading Efficiency subtest demonstrated a statistically significant positive difference between the pre- and post-tests after experiencing the protocol.
• Teachers noted observing a positive impact from the protocol on students’ reading abilities, specifically for those students who previously performed below the grade-level expectations for reading.

“Reading fluency is essential for effective reading comprehension at any age, but it’s especially critical once students go from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn,” said Laura Hansen, Director of Academic Services at NWEA. “Unfortunately many students leave elementary school still not proficient in reading, and that creates a significant barrier to their ability to learn across subjects. Most middle and high school teachers are not trained in the teaching of foundational reading skills (e.g., phonemic awareness, phonics) to address this problem.”

At the center of the study was a new, easy-to-implement protocol for secondary school teachers to use to help increase reading fluency of their students. What makes the protocol easy-to-implement is that teachers can use it with text from any subject matter and do not need any training in reading pedagogy. While the study focused on grade 6, the protocol is designed for use from grade six on. The protocol leveraged Repeated Reading, as well as language strategies at the word and sentence level, and student engagement via culturally relevant passages and goal setting. Most formal reading instruction ends once students leave elementary school, but national data show that almost 70% of eighth graders are not considered proficient in reading based on 2022 test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. Having researched tools like the protocol featured in this study is a step forward in addressing the challenge of struggling readers past the elementary years, especially those from historically marginalized populations and/or those living in poverty.

“Reading Reimagined is urgently pursuing solutions for foundational literacy skill instruction for students in grades 3-8, who often still need, but rarely receive, ongoing direct instructional support to achieve lasting reading proficiency,” said Reading Reimagined’s Executive Director Rebecca Kockler. “NWEA’s fluency protocol is one of many tools that Reading Reimagined has already and will continue to make freely available to all educators seeking to support their students’ literacy development. We are excited to see it being used in classrooms across the country.”

Read the full report at  https://www.nwea.org/resource-center/resource/increasing-fluency-in-middle-school-readers/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (“AERDF” pronounced air-diff) is a national nonprofit R & D organization launched in 2021.

AERDF builds ambitious, inclusive three to five year programs with educators, researchers and developers, aimed at tackling major and persistent teaching and learning challenges that disproportionately affect Black and Latino students and students experiencing poverty in grades Pre-K-12.

Each AERDF program builds on existing community-driven evidence and expertise as well as learning science to translate fundamental insights into usable knowledge, useful practices, equitable approaches and transformative tools for education practitioners and students. EF+Math was launched successfully by Dr. Melina Uncapher in 2019, and served as a demonstration program that tested the core theory of action that helped launch AERDF, which has since launched two additional programs in 2021 — Assessment for Good and Reading Reimagined. Additional programs are also under consideration, for this year and beyond.

FOR AERDF Contact: Yasmene Mumby, Communications Director, ymumby@aerdf.org

FOR NWEA Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations – NWEA Division, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post New Intervention Shows Signs of Improving Reading Fluency In Middle Schoolers, Says Latest NWEA Study appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore. — Oct. 3, 2023 — K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA announced today new guidance for gifted-and-talented service identification and placement developed by a national expert on the topic: Dr. Scott Peters. The comprehensive guide focuses on appropriately using data from such assessments as NWEA’s MAP Growth, and provides broader considerations for school districts to use in evaluating and determining their gifted-and-talented service placement criteria.

“There are advanced learners — those who are underchallenged and could do more — in every school. Effective placement criteria should catch all the students who would benefit from advanced opportunities, avoid considering factors that are irrelevant to readiness or success, and do so all while balancing cost with sensitivity,” said Peters, senior research scientist at NWEA and author of the guide. “This new guide is a reference for schools on how to appropriately utilize data as well as other inputs toward a more equitable approach.”

The guide highlights a two-phase identification system and recommends that one of the phases use a universal screener that yields highly reliable data, such as MAP Growth. This is not the common approach in today’s schools where the first phase is often a referral from a teacher or a parent that initiates the identification process. Peters notes that this is a subjective, lengthy approach that can miss students who would benefit from advanced learning opportunities.

Peters adds, “That’s particularly concerning for students of color and those from low-income families. Based on research, they are less likely to be referred and, therefore, most likely to benefit from a universal screening system that does not rely on such referrals.”

In addition, he emphasized in the guide that well-designed identification systems can be more effective, more equitable, as well as cost less and save time than those commonly practiced around the country now. The guide uses an example where a district moved from subjective teacher referrals to a universal screener. As a result, fewer students are missed simply because they didn’t receive the referral, fewer teachers need to complete referrals, and the population of students identified becomes more diverse as a result.

The guide also provides recommendations and approaches for using any assessment, including MAP Growth, for the second phase of the identification process. But Peters cautions, “In deciding which data points should contribute to placement decisions, schools should consider the principle of alignment which poses the following question: How well aligned are the content, skills, and dispositions measured by a given assessment with those that will be fostered in the resulting service? The best data points for informing placement in a program or service are those that measure the prerequisite skills necessary to benefit from that program or service.”

Gifted-and-talented services have a long history of under-identifying students of color, English learners, students with disabilities, and those from low-income families. The guidelines presented in this new document can help the field move toward greater equity of identification by leveraging assessment data many already have on hand.

Read the full guide at: https://www.nwea.org/resource-center/resource/using-map-growth-for-gifted-and-talented-service-placement-decisions/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post New Guidance Released to Help Schools Identify a More Diverse Pipeline of Gifted and Talented Students appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore. — Sept. 26, 2023 — K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA announced today the availability of a new book by author Fenesha Hubbard, M.Ed., lead professional learning designer at the organization. Jointly published by Corwin Press and NWEA, the book, titled “The Equity Expression: Six Entry Points for Nonnegotiable Academic Success,” is based on the equity-focused professional learning series offered by NWEA for K-8 educators featuring the innovative framework centered on six entry points to equity: mindsets, relationships, products, spaces, processes and systems.

“Equity work is complex. Sometimes just talking about equity work is difficult and that’s why I’ve developed a resource that will guide educators in their equity conversations and empower them to create learning spaces and opportunities that build more equitable classrooms and instruction,” said Hubbard.

The workshop series and the book address several key elements currently missing in equity conversations, including:

• Addressing teacher efficacy, which is the level of confidence the teachers have in their ability to guide students toward success.
• Making sense of pedagogical content knowledge, which is a combination of what teachers know about the subject they teach, and how they teach it to make that content come alive for students.
• Highlighting concepts and approaches that support a teacher’s continuous personal growth and professional learning – such as academic identities, data identities, and self-reflection as a practice.

One of the distinguishing features of this professional learning series, and a highlight of the book, is a specific framework organized around six entry points for equity:

• Mindsets: Focuses on how mental attitudes impact academic identities, or how a person thinks about teaching and learning, engages with students, and what they believe about teaching and learning.
• Relationships: Dives into the importance of understanding how building and maintaining psychologically safe relationships with other educators can amplify their agency as an equity empowered educator.
• Products: Highlights the equity look-fors in the tools used to support teaching and learning, and understanding why products need to reflect the ideas and experiences that learners will recognize.
• Spaces: Examines the environments created for learning and the messages these spaces convey to learners.
• Processes: Investigates what educators have been taught about assessments, and reconsiders how they think about assessment processes in teaching and learning.
• Systems: Featuring advice from fellow educators, this entry point focuses on how to thrive in systems fraught with inequities.

“What makes this framework so impactful is the focus on the individual teacher and helping them understand all the aspects of themselves that they bring into their classrooms,” said Hubbard. “The series and the book are a way for them to holistically improve their own craft of teaching and connect equity to their day-to-day instructional practices. It’s deeply personal work.”

The new book is available at https://us.corwin.com/books/equityexpression-284012

Learn more about the professional learning series at https://www.nwea.org/professional-learning/creating-supportive-environments/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post Innovative Equity-Focused Professional Learning Series Now a Book appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore. — July 11, 2023 — K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA released today its latest report tracking the impact of pandemic disruptions on academic gains and achievement levels for U.S. students using data from the 2022-23 academic year. This analysis provides the most current evidence to help guide recovery efforts and resource allocations in support of schools. While the pandemic is now deemed over, the impacts on students based on two markers, achievement in reading and mathematics, are still apparent.

Using data from 6.7 million U.S. public school students currently in grades 3 – 8, the study examined academic gains in the 2022-23 school year relative to pre-pandemic years. It also tracked the gap in achievement between the COVID year student group compared to their pre-pandemic peers.

Key findings from the study:

• While students grew academically in the 2022-23 school year, achievement gains fell short of pre-pandemic trends in most grades, with the exception of the youngest students who bucked this trend and made above average achievement gains.
• The gap in achievement levels between the COVID cohort and their pre-pandemic peers did not shrink in 2022-23, and in some grades widened slightly.
• With these latest numbers, it’s estimated that most students would now need, on average, an additional 4.5 months of mathematics instruction and 4.1 months of reading instruction to recover in these two subjects. 
• All groups showed sluggish achievement gains, but traditionally marginalized students (Black, Hispanic), remain furthest from recovery.

“COVID-19 may no longer be an emergency, but we are very much still dealing with the fallout from the crisis. These data reiterate that recovery will not be linear, easy, or quick and we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal,” said Dr. Karyn Lewis, co-author of the study and director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA. “Disappointing as these results may be, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that things would likely be so much worse without the enduring work of educators and schools to support students in this moment.”

To help contextualize the scale of the gaps, the report estimated the amount of additional learning that will be required to catch students up to pre-pandemic achievement levels. It stated that the average student would need support and interventions equivalent to an additional 4.1 months of school to catch up to pre-COVID levels in reading and 4.5 months in math. This amount of additional schooling cannot be compressed into a single year or achieved in a short-term intervention but rather will require sustained effort over several years. For traditionally marginalized students, the road ahead is even longer. These estimates are only to return students to pre-pandemic status quo, which does nothing to address the achievement disparities that pre-date the pandemic.

“Pandemic disruptions have been persistent and unprecedented, and, not surprisingly, so have their impacts on student achievement. School and district leaders have been doing a heroic job in identifying local needs and deploying evidence-based strategies to address them. But scaling interventions takes significant time and resources, and we know the hard work of educators often takes years to show up in test results,” said Lindsay Dworkin, SVP of Policy and Government Affairs at NWEA. “One year from the expiration of the federal education relief funds, which have supported so much of their vital efforts thus far, policymakers and leaders throughout the education ecosystem must renew their commitment to recovery. Our students deserve the sustained resources and urgency necessary to ensure they have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

That urgency for sustained resources is reiterated in a series of recommendations for policy makers and education leaders noted in an NWEA policy brief, released alongside the new research. Recommendations include:

• Using local data to guide recovery and investing in what works. States and districts can set up processes and tools that provide capacity to schools when gathering data and tracking the implementation of interventions.
• Expanding instructional time by deploying evidence-based interventions and programs to the students who still need additional support.  Interventions and programs must be scaled to the size of the challenge, and students in need of additional support may require multiple interventions to fully recover from the pandemic’s impacts. State and district leaders can work with schools to develop policies and practices that ensure schools are able to implement interventions efficiently and effectively.
• Communicating the importance of academic recovery, sharing timely and relevant information with families. States, districts and schools can provide families with timely information about their child’s progress and achievement compared to grade-level standards and resources that families can use to support learning recovery at home.

Read the full research report at:  https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/educations-long-covid-2022-23-achievement-data-reveal-stalled-progress-toward-pandemic-recovery/

Read the policy brief at: https://www.nwea.org/resource-center/resource/the-long-road-to-academic-recovery-students-are-learning-but-older-students-recovery-needs-attention/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of  HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit  NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post New NWEA Study Shows Progress Toward Academic Recovery Stalled in 2022-23 appeared first on NWEA.

Portland, Ore. — June 7, 2023 — K-12 assessment and research organization NWEA released today a new study that takes a deeper look into instructional practices driving high academic growth. Led by Dr. Chase Nordengren, principal research lead for Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA, the study zoomed into two schools that have historically shown high growth for diverse populations of students, including through the pandemic. The findings highlight 10 instructional strategies that utilize small changes to teaching practices leading toward growth outcomes for students.

“We wanted to understand what makes these schools tick and how, year-over-year, they were able to produce higher-than-typical student growth, across each decile of student achievement,” said Nordengren, “One of the big takeaways is the way these schools balance meeting students where they are AND providing access to grade-level content they need to succeed.”

The two schools in the study are an elementary school and middle school in Schiller Park, Illinois, which reflect similar demographics to many schools across the country. Fifty-five percent of students in that district are non-white, 62% receive free or reduced-price lunches, 25% are identified as English language learners, and the district’s per pupil spending in 2021 was below the state average. Based on classroom observation and in-depth interviews with the school staff, 10 instructional strategies were identified as effective instruction that helps students grow, and fell into three main categories:

Optimizing instructional time

1.     Provide supplemental learning time for targeted retrieval practice

2.     Mix whole group, small group, and individual activities

3.     Adjust student groups in real time

4.    Share students and strategies within a grade level

Exposing students to more content

5.     Differentiate tasks within a unit

6.     Provide targeted practice for foundational skills

7.    Teach from multiple standards at once

Empowering students

8.     Create opportunities for self-directed learning

9.     Use student discourse as formative assessment

10.  Explicitly teach academic vocabulary

This in-depth look at instructional strategies driving academic growth is a continuation of an NWEA research initiative by Dr. Andy Hegedus who in 2018 released a novel study focusing on growth as a marker of school success rather than just meeting or exceeding proficiency. His study found that schools showing high levels of growth were not necessarily those showing high levels of achievement, and that high growth schools could exist in communities with a variety of income levels and demographics. NWEA’s new study followed that research to answer the next, necessary question: what can be learned from high growth schools about teaching and learning?

Read the full study: https://www.nwea.org/resource-center/resource/the-transformative-ten-instructional-strategies-learned-from-high-growth-schools/

About NWEA

NWEA^® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526

The post New NWEA Study Points to Instructional Strategies Driving Academic Growth appeared first on NWEA.