Our children's progress is being monitored constantly at school, through the steady stream of homework assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, and standardized tests. On first hearing the term "student progress monitoring," our initial reaction may be "they're doing this already!" or "more tests?". Show
But do you really know how much your child is learning or progressing? Standardized tests compare your child's performance with other children's or with state standards. However, these tests are given at the end of the year; the teacher who has been working with your child during the year will not be able to use the test results to decide how to help your child learn better. Progress monitoring can give you and your child's teacher information that can help your child learn more and learn faster, and help your child's teachers teach more effectively and make better decisions about the type of instruction that will work best with your child. In other words, student progress monitoring is not another way of assigning a number to your child; it is a way of helping the child learn and the teacher teach. Student progress monitoring helps teachers evaluate how effective their instruction is, either for individual students or for the entire class. You are probably already familiar with the goals and objectives that must be included in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for each child who receives special education services. A teacher who uses progress monitoring works with the goals in the IEP, and the state standards for the child's grade level, to develop goals that can be measured and tracked, and that can be used to divide what the child is expected to learn by the end of the year into shorter, measurable steps. For example, the child may have a reading goal that is stated in terms of the number of words per minute expected by the end of the year. Or, the child may have a math goal that is stated as the number of problems scored correctly on tests covering the math content for the year. Once the teacher sets the goals and begins instruction, then he or she measures the child's progress toward meeting the goals each week. All the tests have the same level of difficulty, so the weekly tests can reflect the child's rate of progress accurately. With each test, the teacher compares how much the child is expected to have learned to the child's actual rate of learning. If the child is meeting or exceeding the expectation, the teacher continues to teach the child in the same way. If the child's performance on the measurement does not meet the expectation, then the teacher changes the teaching. The teacher might change the method being used, the amount of instructional time, the grouping arrangement (for example, individual instruction versus small-group instruction), or some other aspect of teaching. In this process, the teacher is looking for the type and amount of instruction that will enable the child to make enough progress toward meeting the goal. The measurements take from 1 to 5 minutes, so the child should not have the feeling of constantly being tested. In addition, since the teacher measures progress frequently — usually once a week — he or she can revise the instructional plan as soon as the child needs it, rather than waiting until a test or the state assessment shows that the child's instructional needs are not being met. After each weekly measurement, the teacher notes your child's performance level and compares it to previous measurements and to expected rates of learning. The teacher tracks the measurements on a graph as a way of showing the success of both the teacher and the student. If a teacher, or a school, decides to implement student progress monitoring, you may receive a letter describing the program and how the teacher will be working with your child, or it may be discussed at your child's IEP meeting. After that, you should receive regular feedback from the teacher on how well your child is doing, perhaps with a copy of the graph itself and information on instructional changes. If you do not receive the graph and instructional information, ask for it. Student progress monitoring is an important part of education — and it’s not just about the students! Regular formal and informal assessments provide teachers with valuable information on the progress and achievements of their students. Not only this, but monitoring student progress also gives teachers the opportunity to reflect on their own teaching and assess the impact of the instructional strategies they use. What are other benefits of student progress monitoring? And how can you assess students in ways that will benefit you both? Our teacher team has got you covered! What Are the Benefits of Monitoring Student Progress?#1 Collecting Useful DataCarrying out regular assessments and collecting student samples of work is a useful way of gathering informative student performance data. This data is helpful when monitoring the progress of individual students across a range of learning areas, as well as tracking their achievement throughout the year. The data can be used to identify where a student is placed in relation to their personal learning goals, the other students in the class, or other targeted benchmarks. It’s also valuable information to share in your parent-teacher communication. Explore the best resources for parent/teacher communication. #2 Improving Teacher InstructionOne great benefit of monitoring student progress is that it allows the teacher to evaluate the effectiveness of their own teaching. If the majority of the class is finding it difficult to understand or demonstrate a specific objective, it may not be the ability of the students that is the issue. You may need to re-evaluate the delivery method through which the concept is being taught. To do this, it is especially important for teachers to assess their own instructional strategies to see if they are working. A collection of formative assessments such as exit tickets may indicate that there is a need for the teacher to adjust their instructional strategies to better meet the needs of the students. At times, the need to re-teach a specific lesson may be required — something your formative assessments will tell you before it’s too late!  #3 Encouraging Student GrowthMonitoring student progress on a regular basis also enables the teacher to analyse a student’s current performance level, as well as evaluate growth throughout a school year. For example, pre and post-learning tests can measure a student’s ability and skill before and after learning new content. Keep them stored safely for quick reference in a binder, and slip work samples and test samples into the folder, recording results as you go. Download a mountain-themed template for setting student goals! You can then use the information collected to provide students with valuable feedback about their own progress. With this feedback, students gain greater personal responsibility for their own learning and become more aware of their own academic performance. #4 Enhancing Differentiation OpportunitiesFinally, an important benefit of ongoing monitoring of student progress in the classroom is that the teacher is able to identify students at risk and provide intervention when required. Additional support and instruction can be given to at-risk students and areas that need to be retaught or taught differently can be identified. Monitoring all students on a regular basis ensures that no student “slips through the cracks” along the way. It also highlights which students require extra help or additional challenges. Explore an extensive collection of teacher-created resources for monitoring student progress.Banner image via Shutterstock/Diego Cervo
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If you’ve heard that phrase before, it’s probably because, like me, you watched G.I. Joe when you were a kid. But even though it’s a phrase from an old cartoon, it still has a lot of merit. As educators, we can amazing things and we have a lot of tools and knowledge at our disposal. However, without knowing when to utilize these tools, the access to them does little good. One of the most powerful aspects of The Grid Method and Mastery Learning, in general, is Progress Monitoring. This simply means that as students work through a self-paced Mastery Grid or pathway, you are monitoring their progress and know where they are in their level of mastery or learning. While this is a great way to ensure you’re meeting the needs of all students, you should consider a few options before diving in headfirst. While there are many ways to utilize your progress monitor, the most important thing is that you as the educator are ensuring that all students are getting what they need when they need it. Click To TweetWays to Monitor Student ProgressWorking with teachers, schools, and districts across the country, I’ve seen many different ways to monitor progress and there isn’t a single answer. A few questions you can ask yourself are:
Whether you’re using a Google Sheet to monitor (example here) or a simple printout on a clipboard, these questions will determine what works best for you! Ways to Utilize Your Progress MonitorMonitoring progress is just the first step. The most important aspect is HOW to use it. You can utilize your progress monitor in many ways. These include:
While there are many ways to utilize your progress monitor, the most important thing is that you as the educator are ensuring that all students are getting what they need when they need it. [scroll down to keep reading]Tips to Get Started
So…Are you ready to know more than ever about where your students are, what they need, and how you can help them? Impact StoryI was overwhelmed and consumed by work. I felt like I had no idea how to reach all of my students, and I was running on a hamster wheel trying to figure it out. It was exhausting. Something had to change. Out of new ideas, I decided to try out The Grid Method, a concept that I had attended a two-day training on. Once creating and implementing my first Grid, everything clicked. To teach my students, I needed to meet their individual needs through self-paced learning. Why had I not thought of that before? I have been running my classroom using The Grid Method for over two years, and everything is different. I have students making incredible growth at all levels. My students are working, failing, trying again, and succeeding. Their ownership of their own learning is something to envy. Since all of my Grids have been created, I now pull out my binder for each Grid, make copies, assign things on Google Classroom, and I am prepared for our entire unit. I assess students in the moment and don’t bring home piles of papers every week. I have my time outside of school back. The Grid Method reignited my passion for teaching. I love spending my days watching my second grade students learning that failure isn’t the end. Every day, they are becoming better. Every day, I become better. The Grid Method changed everything in my classroom, and I am so thankful that it did. – Amanda Post, 2nd Grade Teacher- Ohio About Chad OstrowskiChad Ostrowski is the co-founder of the Teach Better Team, and creator of The Grid Method. He is also a co-author of the Teach Better book. But Chad is a middle school science teacher at heart. He now travels the country sharing his story, working with teachers, schools, and districts to help them to reach more students. Chad is also a member of the Teach Better Speakers Network. |
4. what activities do you do to monitor your learning
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