Picture a second grader who is struggling to read at a school trying hard to fix that. He gets his regular classroom lessons, is pulled out for intervention during the day and works with a tutor. On paper, he is a child surrounded by support.
But here’s what it feels like from his seat. In his classroom, his teacher references a “silent e,” but the intervention software calls it a “magic e.” His tutor uses different hand signals and follows a different skills sequence. Supports meant to reinforce classroom learning are unintentionally cutting against that, leaving him to sort it out alone.
When a student hasn’t mastered something in class, the standard response has been to try a fresh approach — a different program, a new strategy. But evidence from Knox County Schools in Tennessee suggests the opposite: What they need is more of the same…