Dive Brief:
- For the past two years, teachers at Clear Lake Middle School in northern Iowa have received extra time to analyze student test results and adjust their instruction to help boost performance.
- Students are dismissed early on Wednesdays, thanks to a policy launched by the school’s principal, Steve Kwikkel.
- The school has seen rising proficiency rates in both math and reading.
Dive Insight:
American teachers tend to receive less time for professional learning than those oversees. A study last year found that teachers in Denver have no time regularly set aside for collaborative lesson planning with other teachers. Teachers in Lexington, KY, and Seattle fared slightly better, but still lagged behind places like Shanghai and Singapore.
In general, teachers would like better quality data and more access, as well as the training to help them understand and use it.
"It's about having accessible data, and having a consistent time in which teachers can review that data and put it into practice," Kwikkel told District Administration. "If you don't have time during your work day to review that information, you won't see buy-in or a sense of efficacy built among teachers. They won't be sure if the work they do is paying off in the classroom."
