At the start of the school year, Nicole Guth, a 1st grade teacher in Sidney, Neb., had a student who could only count to 29.
Kindergartners entering 1st grade in her state are expected to be able to count to 100. And by the end of 1st grade, students should be able to count by ones and tens to 120 starting at any given number, according to . If the student was going to be able to unlock the grade-level content, 鈥渟he had a lot of improvements to make, and we had a lot of work to do,鈥� Guth said.
By the end of February, the student could count to 79, 鈥渨hich is tremendous growth for her,鈥� Guth said.
Guth gives thanks, in part, to Zearn, the math learning platform that the Sidney public schools use for K-5 students. The student still receives on-level 1st grade material when she鈥檚 in small-group sessions with Guth, but when she鈥檚 doing independent work on Zearn, she鈥檚 strengthening her understanding of numbers, the teacher said.
鈥淪he鈥檚 still in a different spot than everybody else in Zearn, but her number sense has just grown so strong,鈥� Guth added.
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress scores for students who took the test in spring 2022 showed the biggest drop in math performance among 4th and 8th graders since the testing program began in 1990. In reading, 4th and 8th graders are generally performing on par with students in the 1990s, but about a third of students in both grades can鈥檛 read at even the 鈥渂asic鈥� achievement level鈥攖he lowest on the test.
With federal COVID-relief funding, schools purchased tech tools to help students make up for the unfinished learning that happened during the most critical period of the pandemic. Sidney鈥檚 use of Zearn is just one example of how districts are applying technology to embrace 鈥渁cceleration,鈥� or ensuring students can access content for the grade they are in, even if they haven鈥檛 mastered every concept from the previous grade.
In addition to Zearn, some other tech-driven accelerated learning products on the market include Amira Learning, which provides reading tutoring, oral reading fluency assessment, and dyslexia risk screening; Great Minds鈥� Eureka Math, an online math curriculum and learning platform; Amplify CKLA, an online English language arts curriculum; and ReadWorks, which provides differentiated reading instruction.
Are those investments paying off in terms of improved student outcomes?
A majority of teachers (66 percent) say yes, technology has been 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� effective at helping accelerate student learning, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey of 1,058 educators, including 296 district officials, 284 principals, and 478 teachers conducted between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1.
Tech still falls short for meaningful, effective acceleration
But some education experts say there鈥檚 still a lot of work to do for technology tools to truly accelerate learning.
鈥淚鈥檓 such an optimist about the role that technology can play in learning, both for students and for teachers,鈥� said Emily Freitag, the co-founder and CEO of Instruction Partners, a nonprofit focused on supporting educators to improve instruction for all students. 鈥淚 will say it feels like it鈥檚 had a spotty run so far.鈥�
That is the case, Freitag said, because the design of the technology sometimes requires 鈥渁 linear path鈥�: Start at point A and then work your way up in progression to point B through point Z, which 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 reflect what we know about learning.鈥�
While there are digital tools that are pushing the envelope on learning acceleration, there are other ed-tech tools that claim to accelerate learning but aren鈥檛 actually aligned with the principles of learning acceleration, said Bailey Cato Czupryk, the senior vice president of learning, impact, and design for TNTP, a nonprofit that consults with districts on teacher training, instructional strategy, and other education issues.
鈥淚f the design is: You start on the thing you鈥檙e furthest behind on or you start on a thing that鈥檚 well below grade level鈥攖hat鈥檚 not connected to the grade-level thing you鈥檙e trying to learn鈥攖hat鈥檚 not a platform that鈥檚 designed to accelerate learning,鈥� Czupryk said.
A tech tool designed for learning acceleration should give kids access to grade-level content and just-in-time support to master the content, she said.
Plus, there are other experts who are skeptical that technology is necessarily the right tool for schools to invest in to accelerate learning.
Schools should implement more tutoring, said Justin Reich, an associate professor at MIT Teaching Systems Lab and the author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can鈥檛 Transform Education.
Schools also need 鈥済enerational funding,鈥� instead of emergency funding, because 鈥渢he harms of the pandemic are going to last the rest of [this generation鈥檚 students鈥橾 educational careers,鈥� he said. And schools need to invest in 鈥渢he stuff kids love most about school, so they show up every day鈥攜ou鈥檙e not going to get accelerated learning without kids in the building.鈥�
Students show 2.5 times the growth on their math state assessment scores
Zearn, the math learning platform that Nebraska schools are using, is an example many experts pointed to. A of the Nebraska education department鈥檚 statewide partnership with Zearn found that elementary and middle school students who consistently used Zearn had 2.5 times the growth in their state assessment scores than students who did not use Zearn.
Traditionally, 鈥渨e build math systems that are really high stakes, so that when you make a mistake, you鈥檙e off the track 鈥� never to return to the grade-level instruction that you should definitely be on,鈥� said Shalinee Sharma, the CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit.
Instead, struggle in math should be seen as a positive feature, not a problem, and tech tools should reflect that, she said.
If a 6th grade student is struggling with ratios, 鈥渨e don鈥檛 need to put them two grade levels behind鈥攖hat鈥檚 a hyperbolic and unnecessarily catastrophizing reaction,鈥� Sharma said. The student probably just needs a few more minutes of support or just needs to be shown a different way to solve the problem, and that鈥檚 where Zearn鈥檚 math platform helps teachers, she added.
In Guth鈥檚 1st grade class at South Elementary, she starts every lesson with a whole-group application problem. Then, the class is divided in half; one-half works with Guth on the content they鈥檙e learning that day, and the other half works on their online component on Zearn, where they can access up to two lessons ahead or behind that day鈥檚 content.
鈥淚 love the idea that kids can work at their level and keep working ahead and I鈥檓 not holding them back,鈥� Guth said.
So far, Guth is seeing results: The most recent NWEA Map Growth test results show 100 percent of her students made progress in math, she said.
At the end of the day, the teacher who builds relationships with students and provides grade-level material and tech-enhanced learning acceleration is likely to have the most success, according to researchers and educators.
鈥淭echnology should do a lot of the extra work,鈥� said Rick Meyer, the principal of South Elementary in Sidney. It should provide adaptive, on-level, quality practice for students. It should pull reports and data for teachers so they know where each student is struggling and excelling. It should 鈥渆nhance what [teachers] are doing,鈥� he said.
Encouraging a 鈥榤indset change鈥� for teachers
The lack of tech products that are effectively designed for acceleration isn鈥檛 the only problem educators are facing. Classroom teachers also lack the preparation and support they need for accelerated learning, TNTP鈥檚 Czupryk said.
鈥淭he idea of giving kids grade-level content, even if they鈥檙e not 1,000 percent ready for it鈥攖hat鈥檚 not how we鈥檝e taught teachers to be teachers,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 necessarily, as a system, done a particularly good job making sure teachers have access to [high-quality curriculum material] and the supports they need to use it.鈥�
The gap between what teachers are learning in their preparation programs versus what they have to do in the classroom then needs to be filled in with professional development, according to experts.
Since adopting Zearn as their math curriculum in the 2020-21 school year, South Elementary teachers have had to go through 鈥渁 mindset change,鈥� Meyer said.
The biggest hurdle, he said, was adopting a more flexible way of thinking about how kids learn, as opposed to a more typical, direct-instruction approach. While Zearn provided adequate professional-development modules, Meyer鈥檚 teachers eventually switched to a professional learning community approach, where teachers in the same grade collaborate and discuss what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not.
And Meyer is seeing results: South Elementary鈥檚 2nd graders, for the last two school years, have been in the 99th percentile in growth, according to their MAP Growth test results.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 because we are able to teach our kids where they鈥檙e at and then push them with a good solid core,鈥� he said.
