Student Assessment and Learning Recovery: Promising Options to Inform Differentiated Instruction

In this April 6, 2021 GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar, part of CGLR’s Learning Loss Recovery Challenge webinar, Tommy Chang, Ed.D., of Great Public Schools Now, moderated a conversation exploring how high-quality formative and interim assessments can inform efforts to address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on children and youth, enabling educators to adjust and customize lesson planning to meet their students where they are and accelerate students’ learning. The presenters ― Karen Barton, Ph.D., of NWEA, Larry Berger of Amplify and Kristen Huff, Ed.D., of Curriculum Associates ― shared highlights from what they are seeing in nationwide analysis of their assessment data, offering insights on how that analysis can inform responses at the classroom, school and district levels.

Barton stressed that “missingness matters,” noting that unprecedented numbers of students have disappeared during the pandemic. With the pandemic spotlighting longstanding inequities in education in the United States, she noted that this is a pivotal moment, providing the opportunity to build systems of assessment, instruction and learning that address access, learning inequities and professional development growth to ensure we are helping all children learn and closing achievement gaps. 

Berger pointed to the unprecedented drops in reading scores in the early grades. He noted that children who fall behind in these foundational years and don’t receive the resources and supports needed to catch up will likely not master the skills necessary to succeed in the higher grades. 

Huff shared data showing acute drops in both early grade reading and elementary math, highlighting disaggregated data indicating more alarming drops in schools serving majority African-American and Latinx populations and schools located in low-income communities. As districts and communities explore the potential of using high-dosage tutoring, summer boot camps and other strategies to accelerate learning, she stressed the need to ensure these responses cohere and align with the instruction happening in the classroom. 

Despite the grim analysis they shared, the presenters noted that their data likely underestimate the full impact of the pandemic on children’s learning. To respond to this challenge, they stressed that educators need to receive actionable data from assessments linked to high-quality instructional materials, but they cautioned against a remediation focus that squelches children’s love of learning. 

Lillian Lowery, Ed.D., of ETS offered commentary based on her experiences as a classroom teacher and school and system leader, drawing on her leadership roles as state superintendent in Maryland, Secretary of Education in Delaware and vice president of Council of Chief State School Officers. She agreed with the presenters on the vital nature of assessment data in discerning and addressing the urgency of ensuring that students get back on track for academic success. She stressed the need to build the capacity of teachers to use assessment data to inform their planning, sharing a story of how data coaches from Amplify worked with educators and school leaders in Delaware under her leadership. She called on state and local education leaders to understand and demonstrate the importance of student performance data to inform teaching and learning. 

Alejandro Gibes de Gac of Springboard Collaborative also offered commentary, highlighting the intersections between student assessment and family engagement. He described Springboard’s Parent-Family Learning Screener, which engages parents and teachers in goal setting and educational supports, and shared Springboard’s methodology for helping teachers and parents team up to help children reach their learning goals.