Monitor Learning

What it means:

Assess students’ learning achievement and growth frequently with data—daily and weekly—from the start and continuing through the year.

More Detail

Monitoring student learning data during the year includes the following:

Use aligned assessments
- Align with lesson, unit, and annual goals
- Incorporate standards-based grading
- Capture data on both mastery and growth

Track with an effective and efficient system
- Follow assessment calendar; adjust if needed
- Standardize and automate some components

Collect and compare multiple data points
- Conduct pre-tests for baseline data
- Assess student grasp daily
- Use interim assessments (unit, quarter)
- Observe student activity
- Confer with students and families informally
- Use surveys for formal student feedback

Generate reports to summarize mastery and growth and to guide instructional change
Analyze data for individuals’ needs, trends, and outliers in each class and across school

See a one-page Instructional Excellence Summary covering all the key elements.

Videos—For Teachers & Multi-Classroom Leaders

Watch these short videos of educators discussing the elements of Monitor Learning, organized by action:

General

Aggressive Daily Monitoring Enables
In-the-Moment Adjusting

MCLs Ellen Rayburn and Bobby Miles detail the
powerful technique of aggressive monitoring,
to speed student understanding and growth
and avoid misconceptions that slow learning.

Frequent Small Assessments
Are Key

Use many small, interim assessments to quickly
adjust instruction and increase students'
understanding, says MCL Erin Burns.

Use Data to See Where to
Increase Rigor

Look at daily data points, such as from exit tickets
or independent work, to make quick adjustments
to increase rigor, Multi-Classroom Leader
Kristin Cubbage says.

Use aligned assessments

Use Frequent, Aligned Assessments
to Adjust Instruction

MCL Jacqueline Smith explains her team’s actions
to assess students continually to ensure they
meet their goals.

Track with an effective and efficient system

Use a Data Tracking System to
Address Students’ Weaknesses

A color-coded data tracker lets Blended-Learning
Teacher Lori Treiber quickly visualize where her
students need help.

Collect and compare multiple data points

Collect, Prioritize, and Respond to
Data Immediately

MCL Bri Waddell discusses the need to prioritize
data to match goals for student learning, and
adjust instruction quickly in response.

Track and Compare Multiple Data Points

MCL Jacqueline Smith carefully tracks and
analyzes results from all interim assessments
with her team to push all students to mastery.

Generate reports to summarize mastery and growth

More videos to come!

Analyze data for individuals’ needs

Use Exit Slips to Stay Focused on
Students’ Daily Progress

Use exit slips as a key tool to constantly monitor
students’ progress, MCL Hadley Moore says.

Use Data Meeting to Analyze Data

Focus data meetings on academics, attendance,
and behavior to determine where students are
struggling and need re-teaching, MCL Kathryn
Smith says.

Use Data for Reteaching

“Data is everything,” to know what students need
to fully grasp a concept, Multi-Classroom Leader
Stephanie Roper says.

Discussion Questions

Use these discussion questions to help guide your instructional team through the elements of Monitor Learning:

Which actions in this element of instructional excellence are strengths for you or your team?
Which actions in this element of instructional excellence are weaknesses for you or your team? Think about actions you never take, fail to take as often as needed, or do not take as well as needed to achieve strong learning growth consistently.
What one to three specific changes will you or your team make to use your strengths more often or more consistently and improve weaknesses in the coming months?
Make a brief action plan with specific goals, roles, and time by which you will make specific changes!
Did your changes produce better learning results? If so, keep them. If not, think again about what other changes to make!

Study Guide

See this printable study guide with discussion questions and real examples from educators:

For Multi-Classroom Leaders—Key Element of Instructional Excellence: Monitor Learning [pdf]

Instructional Excellence Support Tools

Use this tool and action list to guide and support your teachers:

Instructional Excellence Action List: Monitor Learning and Adjust Instruction [Word]—print a copy of this detailed, checkable action list for each teacher you lead
Instructional Excellence Support Guide Overview and Support Tool [Word]—use this tool to record observations, provide feedback, and identify next steps

Other Developmental Resources

See the following developmental resources, provided by other organizations, related to the elements of Monitor Learning:

Use aligned assessments

Quick Resources:

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (tools)

Mastery Connect: K-12 Assessment & Curriculum Tools (tools)

Achievement Network: Interim Assessments (tools)

Align with lesson, unit, and annual goals

Spotlight On: Academic Resources:

Student Achievement Partners: Achieve the Core (frameworks, tools, templates, lessons, samples, assessments, academic word finder, tasks, coherence map)

Instructional Practice Guides aligned to Common Core in ELA, Math, History/Social Studies, Science & Technical Subjects across all grade levels

Classroom resources for ELA/Literacy and Math

Teaching the Core (videos)

Coherence Map for math (tools)

Lesson Planning Tool (tools)

Core Literacy Lessons from the Text Set Project (tools)

Read Aloud Project (tools)

Match Fishtank

ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies curriculum (tools)

Teach Like A Champion, Grab-n-Go Resources

Everybody Writes (tool)

Phrases for Building Students’ Writing Stamina (tool)

Prompting for Revision, A Menu of Ideas (tool)

KIPP (frameworks & tools, all available in the Beyond KIPP Resource Library)

Close Reading Concept Paper (framework)

Close Reading 101 (video) + Phases of Understanding (tool)

Close Reading Rubric (tool)

Guided Reading Concept Paper (framework)

Guided Reading Rubric (tool)

Guided Reading Lesson Plan Template (tool)

Unbound Ed

Explore Curriculum (searchable resources)

Enhance Instruction (searchable resources)

More

Success Academies Education Institute: Literacy Curriculum for K-8 (tools, e-courses)

CommonLit.org: Free literacy resources and progress tracking tools (tools)

gooru.org: Open, high-quality learning resources – search by standards, content from over 500 sources for millions of free, multimedia resources (tools)

Reading Without Limits Companion Site (tools)

Achievement Network: Qualitative Text Complexity Screencast (tutorial video)

LearnZillion and Louisiana Department of Education, English/Language Arts Guidebook Units (tools)

What does it take to implement a strong curriculum effectively? by Instructional Partners (white paper)

Papers & Books

ASCD: The Core Six Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core (book)

ACSD, Education Update: How to Plan Effective Lessons (journal article overview)