Amherst School Sets Standard for Personalized, Data-Driven Instruction

Amherst Middle School has changed its approach to student learning over the past few years, and will now serve as a role model for schools looking to do the same.

The school has implemented a Response to Instruction (RTI) framework over the past two years that approaches student achievement from a personalized, data-driven angle. AMS is focusing their framework on mathematics and reading.

RTI uses benchmark testing three times a year to identify which students need extra help in core areas of instruction, and which may require more of a challenge in the classroom. Students who fall below a certain range would undergo an “intervention,” where they receive additional instruction based on their needs.

The interventions are performed by school staff who specialize in the skills in need of improvement.

Short tests, or “probes,” are performed throughout the extra instruction to measure the progress of each student individually. The interventions last as long as they are needed before the student grasps core concepts on a specific topic. The tests, which only last anywhere between 1-15 minutes, are then administered after the intervention to ensure that the learning has been retained.

Assistant principal Patty Wons said that these interventions can range from a few months to a few years, depending on the student’s needs. Goals and instruction are all dependant on multiple data points gathered on each individual students.

This process ensures that all students have a grasp of core concepts before moving onto the next grade level. Students who are in need of an intervention are categorized as Tier 2, while those who fall below as placed in a more extensive Tier 3 framework. Those who do not require an intervention are placed in Tier 1.

AMS is one of the seven pilot schools for this method of instruction in New Hampshire, but is currently the only middle school participating. Other middle schools from across the state will be visiting AMS during the 2013-14 school year to observe the changes they have made for student learning.

Wons and fellow assistant principal Pam Gross have lead the charge of implementing RTI methods into AMS classrooms. They wanted to ensure no student fell through the cracks and avoid simply placing them in special education. The constant stream of data gathered makes this possible and, in turn, higher achieving students are given more challenging coursework.

This national model had already been tested in elementary schools, but AMS is the first middle school to bring it into their classrooms.

The results have been positive so far. Although the school still struggles with mathematics, its reading performance has vastly improved. The number of students identified as being in need for their read skills dropped to only 14 percent last year, compared to the 61 percent seen in recent years.

The school has undergone many changes to align itself with this new methodology. Gross said that they have set a more flexible schedule to allow time for interventions. Each school day includes an extra period to accommodate this, although some students may be taken out of their core class if special assistance is needed.

An integration of the Math in Focus curriculum fits with RTI because of its focus on mastery and retention instead of broad instruction of subjects. For example, a student would need to demonstrate an understanding in fractions before moving on to the next level.

Gross added that teachers have been meeting regularly to share feedback and provide assistance in making each others’ students proficient. Along with the RTI leadership team of school staff, a parent partnership team also meets monthly to discuss RTI.

Elaine Mcnulty-Knight, the RTI School Improvement Coach for the New Hampshire Department of Education, said RTI does not cost any additional money for schools. New Hampshire is one of the nine states using this framework, which is funded through grants.

In the end, all of this work is to give students a faith in their skills that translates into confidence in the classroom. Wons said they plan to expand this methodology to other schools in the school district, and they are all behind the idea.

“We believe in it,” she said.

More information on New Hampshire's Response to Instruction can be found on the New Hampshire Department of Education website.