Root Causes of Studen Achievement Problems

Jillian Young
EDU 530: Adv. Techniques in Instruction and Assessment

Root Causes of Student Achievement Problems

Due: March 1, 2011

Descriptive Section:
This is an average American fourth grade class. Most students complete their homework every night, are proficient in Reading and Math, and come from stable homes. There are a few advanced students, and a handful of low-performing students. I asked their teacher to identify the root causes to the lack of performance in her-lowering performing students. The following is a report of her responses and rationales.
#1. Student’s ability to process
The first thing she sited was the students’ ability to process the information.
#2. Home environment
Secondly, without much of a pause, she listed the home environment. “Home is the biggest factor. Their parents are not involved and school is not a priority. I can only do so much,” the veteran teacher explained. “Teachers can’t go home with them.”
#3. Curriculum rigor – (math and grammar) As the conversation continued, this teacher began to evaluate the role of the curriculum. While she has been teaching for 20+ years, this is only her second year teaching the district’s newly adopted Everyday Math program. The third root cause she noted was this math program. So far, she has found it to be inefficient when it comes to her struggling students. While her high level students do well, as they would likely do with any program, it is “too scattered” for her special education and low-level students. She also feels it is so rigorous that it does not allow for enough basic skills practice because there simply is not enough time. The grammar component of the district’s reading curriculum is also a source of tension for this teacher, who has a certification as a Reading specialist and teaches an Education course at a community college. She feels the district’s grammar program is not on grade-level, not concrete enough, and is too abstract for her students. Fine motor skills like coloring, cutting, and handwriting, she says, are casualties of the overly rigorous curriculum.
#4. Student processing (and) #5. Student health issues
Two struggling fourth graders entered the discussion. According to the teacher, even with every intervention the classroom teacher and basic skills teacher can think of, the students are barely keeping up. The biggest weakness seems to be the students’ ability to process. Health issues distract one student, who is an enthusiastic student in the classroom, but does not have much support at home.
#6. Frequent absences
The other student she discussed is a recent transfer who comes from a difficult home situation and has not done any homework at home since her arrival. To make matters worse, this student is also absent on almost a weekly basis. This teacher stays after with her when she is in school to try to keep her caught up.
Out of the root causes categories, this educator identified demographic, curriculum, and external factors. She did not attribute student achievement problems to instructional, organizational, or cultural issues. The root causes identified by this fourth grade teacher are organized into categories in the following table: Demographic | Curriculum | External | -Inconsistent attendance | -Everyday Math curriculum not manageable or well differentiated -Grammar program too abstract-Overall too much rigor | -Family issues-Health issues-Lack of effort-Lack of motivation (both students and parents) | Perspective Section: This educator gave thoughtful responses to my question. She paused to think before answering, and her first answer was student-centered. She quickly followed up with placing fault on external factors, as many educators, myself included, are quick to blame. The conversation did go deeper as we continued. She took the time to specifically reflect on the curriculum and her two students she feels are struggling the most and discussed the interventions that are in place. For example, she explained that breaking things down into “small pieces seem to help” in the students’ understanding. She did not, however, beyond this, pause to reflect more on her own instructional practices. While the curriculum was identified as a source of trouble, curriculum implementation was not. Modes of assessment, classroom management, and professional development were also absent from our conversation. Since it is only her second year working with the new math program, it is likely that with time she will become more adept at implementing it with more practice. I also received the impression that she has not “bought into” the program, by which I mean she does not see the merits of the new program and prefers the old one. I left the conversation wishing she had included several things, since I played the role of the listener and did not steer the conversation. I wondered how she felt about the district intervention system in place, as I am in the midst of forming my own opinion on it. I was also prepared for her to place some of the blame for the achievement problems on one of the third-grade teachers, whose teaching and classroom management are notorious in our school. I know from teacher’s room conversations that the teacher I interviewed does not think highly of the one third grade teacher, and that she was feeling very frustrated with her for things that affected her current students. Instead of placing the blame on another teacher, she focused on her classroom this school year. Out of the root causes categories not covered in our discussion, instructional and organizational are two that deserve reflection (cultural differences do not play much of a role in our district). Although she does not agree with the choice of curriculum, perhaps she could be making adjustments to the implementation of it in order to meet the needs of her students. She could also reflect and perhaps adjust her interventions and assessment system. Collaborating with the other fourth grade teachers in the district would be beneficial for even the most experienced teachers. Speaking from my experience, when educators are used to being effective with their classroom management and instructional strategies they become comfortable. When a student or two come along who are not succeeding, it is easy to blame the things that are not in our control. Since our teaching works for everyone else, it must be this student and their personal issues or the district and their unreasonable curriculum. Educators should always recognize room for improvement in themselves and focus on the things in their control.