Q: Is it right to check how students are doing very early in the semester, when they haven't had a chance to really practice the material yet?

A: We know that many schools who hold Student Success up as a primary goal build into their system an "early identification" feedback loop that allows teachers to pinpoint students who may be struggling for one reason or another.

Teachers use homework, quizzes, tests, essays or short papers, classroom assessment techniques (CATs), and careful observation as methods to check how students are doing in the first three weeks of class.

Often students will show a problem exists simply by not attending, and this notation of attendance enables the teacher to initiate contact to find out more.

Importance of Feedback

As a learning disabilities specialist, I support the early identification procedure because research shows clearly that feedback from the teacher is one of the most important factors in promoting student success. (See KU's Strategic Intervention Model.) When an instructor steps back to synthesize the many details received, he or she may identify patterns and be able to provide the crucial feedback and advice to a student that will most precisely promote that student's success.

Putting the information gained in a larger picture allows the instructor to make the right referral or recommendation. Also, by identifying the missing skills that prevent a student from fulfilling the requirements of a task, an instructor can either incorporate teaching those skills by demonstrating during lecture, and/or ask a student to see a tutor who is trained in learning strategies in addition to knowing the course content to take care of the "gap".

Putting Information in Context

Some teachers don't want to "label" a student early so s/he is given a chance to perform better with more instruction, but labeling and stereotyping are not the issues here; the concern is to provide support at an earlier point in the term so that teachers can act more effectively, precisely and in a timely manner to make a difference in the student's life. Of course the students will do better with more practice, so the early id results are understood from that wider, holistic perspective.

Ideas... Suggestions?

Please send an email message in to let us know what types of early identification methods you have used and found helpful, or to inform us about misuses of early identification. Thank you for your time and expertise.

Please send your questions and/or answers for either teachers or students to Gerry Lewin for possible posting.