Short Article

Looping is the practice of keeping students with the same teacher for more than one year, particularly during the first elementary school grades.

Some district administrators have touted this practice as a new method for increasing learning outcomes.

But, did anyone stop to test the practice?

A faculty member at Penn State's College of Education just did.

The results: No testable improvement:

"The researchers found that, after the two-year period, looping did not have any significant effect on the students’ reading and math achievement, learning behaviors, or attendance rates."
http://www.ed.psu.edu/news/looping.asp

Of course, advocates will say that this controlled study was too small. Only one set of matched class.

But, we're not surprised.

Manipulating teacher assignment variables, but not changing the correct independent variable...improved instructional strategies and increased funding support for teachers.

Looping is in effect, providing the same instruction but spinning the rhetoric about the program as though something really was different, i.e., better.

Here is what the study's lead investigator had to say.

"With federal legislation such as NCLB, school districts are under substantial pressure to show improvement in their students’ academic functioning," she said. "Not surprisingly, many are adopting new programs to address this need. Unfortunately, many of the programs selected have failed to demonstrate sufficient empirical evidence to support their use."
Dr. Barbara Schaefer, Associate Professor of Educational & School Psychology
http://www.ed.psu.edu/news/looping.asp

This seems to be similar to the Benchmarking Craze that we identified in a previous newsletter. "The Flaws, Fallacies and Foolishness of Benchmark Testing - Vol. 1, No. 3

You can find this article on our reprint page:

http://www.classroomtoolkit.com/benchmark-testing-falacies.html

The easy road to school district administration is to implement a fad initiative, then, when that fad fizzles; start a new initiative.

The real road to school improvement is to begin supporting teachers and to set processes in place that help teacher improve instruction.

The problem is that fad initiatives are cheap while real improvements cost time, money and effort (Lots of each). And, real programs have the nasty habit of bringing the "fiasco factor" of administrators' past decisions to light.

Our recommendation: If someone tries to market this fad to you or tries to convince you to sign up to teach in one of these programs. find a graceful way to decline.

The first thing that will happen is that the decision-makers will increase their expectations about what you will accomplish. Then, when you don't deliver on those unrealistic expectations, in a couple of years, they will blame you.

The second thing that can happen (worse) is that you will feel the pressure to deliver on those unrealistic expectations, and you will find yourself working every weekend and holiday (maybe every waking hour) chasing this performance mirage.

Let us know if these predictions prove to be correct.