Remediation No More!

Something happened when the entire world slowed down to navigate the pandemic crisis: education coined a new term: Accelerated Instruction (AI). AI has become the buzz phrase for quickly moving students forward to close gaps left by 18 months of educational inconsistency.

The term is confusing as it closely resembles Accelerated Learning – an educational model that compacts the curriculum into shorter periods of time. Accelerated learning allows more advanced students to progress through requirements faster. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) defines acceleration as occurring “when students move through traditional curriculum at rates faster than typical.” It is in place in such programs as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or grade placement based on skill/performance rather than age.

In fact, acceleration has been a term reserved for students with high capacities for learning. Its new use, spurred by funding guidelines, can be misleading. Let’s look at the term a bit more closely:

Accelerated Instruction is NOT Accelerated Learning (but it is…)

The newer term implies that grade level curriculum is taught with an emphasis on earlier skills related to the new instruction that may have been missed. It really means that educators must actually slow down their teaching to pick up the missing piece before swinging forward in an accelerated way. The missing piece may have been caused by instructional inconsistencies created by the pandemic, or it may be something students have been struggling with for some time. Either way, it promotes the understanding that we cannot continue to completely reteach entire missing years and expect students to catch up to current grade level expectations.

We addressed this concept in our very first blog post as our “swing back” theory. It even incorporates the way we communicate with students: that seemingly elementary skills contribute to their current – and needed – success. We also capitalize on the Throw Back Thursday (#TbT) fad to reteach VERY basic skills without the feeling of condescension. We have experienced success with this model for years as we move secondary struggling readers to striving secondary readers. So student learning did accelerate to meet grade level expectations. But now, AI has taken on a life of its own!

Accelerated Instruction around the Country

National funding (particularly ESSER) has promoted use the of the term accelerated instruction in public schools. A Google search shows how some states are addressing the requirement. Click to visit each:

If your area is not linked, or if you would like broader information, these sites are helpful:

The Carnegie Corporation of New York – How to Implement Accelerated learning Successfully

Instruction Partners – Addressing Unfinished Learning

TNTP (The New Teacher Project) – Learning Acceleration Guide

See below for more accelerated instruction information.

TX HB 4545: 30 Hours of Accelerated Instruction

While Texas historically does not jump on the federal bandwagon, its education agency (TEA) was quick to leap into accelerated learning requirements during its special legislative session this past summer. (Again, due to funding.)

House Bill 4545 requires any student who failed (or did not take) the spring’s STAAR test to receive 30 hours of accelerated instruction in the test subject in the form of STAAR preparation. Thankfully, the bill allows time before, after, or beyond the school days (such as summer school) for tutoring. It also requires tutoring groups of three or fewer students; parents must give permission for the student to participate in a larger group. You can find The Texas Education Agency’s translation of the requirements on this TEA page with additional FAQs here.

What’s the Plan, Stan?

Texas’s plan was formed independent of SB 1153, which puts the MTSS system into place. Of course that is a system for identifying student needs in math, reading, or social emotional areas. Thus, it has specific requirements for recording interventions and monitoring progress.

The nexus of SB 1153 and HB 4545 is causing many districts and teachers to create master schedules of interventions and tutoring opportunities. While the majority of students needing interventions (1153) also need the STAAR preparations (4545), not all students need STAAR prep need interventions. In other words, many students “threw” the state assessment in the spring, thinking their results would not matter during the time of Covid-19. These students are meeting current grade level expectations but will have to participate in the tutoring groups for any tests they failed.

Texas teachers and leaders – how is your school managing these overlaps? Who is providing your interventions and STAAR prep, and are you combining them into one? I’d love for you to comment below and share what your plans are!

So How Do You Accelerate Instruction?

The most concise answer we found comes from the lessons learned section of the toolkit produced by Instruction Partners:

1. Tier 1 instruction is the primary lever for accelerating learning outcomes.
2. Addressing unfinished learning while moving forward requires teachers to spend more time on priority units, not less.
3. The way to address unfinished learning is content-specific; in other words, it depends on what you are trying to teach.
4. Leaders need support both helping teachers develop new skills and setting up a strong academic strategy.

Please visit that link to download your copy of that very valuable toolkit!

Training Teachers for AI

Since the key environment for accelerated instruction is the general education classroom, many teachers will need at least a reminder of steps to determining important skills. Of course, they will also need ways to measure current skills.

Analyzing assessment data from a state test is a great place to begin. Beyond that, informal assessments can help identify missing skills. This post details some assessments that give excellent starting point information. Pre-assessments can also give valuable information.

Teachers must be able to place students in a learning situation that builds skills. To determine required skills, review each standard for expectations. Each is a learning goal. To continue:

1. Note the verbs each standard uses and the expected depth of knowledge.
2. Create a list of high-impact prerequisite skills. In reading, this typically includes vocabulary (in context and / or morphology) and reading strategies (especially monitoring understanding, inferring, and summarizing).
3. Using assessment data, determine which students need which prerequisite skills. If many do, begin your instructional cycle with mini-lessons focused on the skills. If only a few do, either create targeted learning groups and/or partner students with more knowledgeable peers during activities.
4. Consider the learning materials. What skills do students need to employ to successfully understand the text? These are also mini lessons.
5. Track the skills you are teaching and student performance on each as they are employed in grade level materials. Who needs further assistance?

Help teachers work through this process a few times, and they will be accustomed to swinging back, then forward!

Materials for Accelerating Instruction in Secondary Reading

Please visit the Products page for materials specifically designed to assist you in moving secondary readers forward while attending to foundational skills. Nearly all our materials are meant for “swing back” instruction.

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