Focus instructional support on helping the lowest-achieving students catch up after pandemic disruptions¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 2 studies (2 associational), q2–q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The brief recommends targeting support toward the lowest-achieving students, because pandemic-era score dispersion grew mainly at the bottom of the distribution and low achievers improved least during 2021-22. It states there is "a critical need for focusing support to help the lowest achieving students catch up to address the achievement divide." This recommendation follows directly from the brief's own distributional findings.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Assessment data capable of identifying students at the bottom of the achievement distribution, as the brief did with MAP Growth scores relative to national pre-pandemic norms

Constraints¶

• Grounded in the pandemic context of 2020-2022; the brief frames the need around the divide that widened over the last two years

Target Learners¶

• Students in grades 3-8
• Lowest-achieving students in the bottom decile of pre-pandemic achievement

Target Learning Goals¶

• Closing pandemic-related achievement gaps in math and reading

Claims¶

• Low achievers experienced larger initial pandemic impacts and less improvement during 2021-22 [+W]
• Increased score variability was primarily driven by spreading out at the bottom end of the achievement distribution [+W]
• Pandemic-period growth varied by pre-pandemic achievement status: higher achievers' gains were more consistent with projected normative growth while lower achievers more often fell short [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Targeted investments in early literacy and math programs for the youngest students

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Karyn Lewis, Megan Kuhfeld, Meredith Langi, Scott J. Peters, Erin Fahle. (2022). The widening achievement divide during COVID-19. NWEA Research brief. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/the-widening-achievement-divide-during-covid-19/