With extended school closures exposing and amplifying existing weaknesses in student writing instruction, a leading ed-tech organization launches new tool to help K-12 school and district leaders respond
(Chicago, April 13, 2020) - When students return to the classroom next fall, teachers and instructional leaders must work to overcome the lasting impacts of extended school closures, chief among them lost learning time. The Graide Network’s new administrator dashboard will help K-12 schools and districts rise to the challenge and successfully execute a rigorous writing plan and the personalized learning efforts required to meet the greater variability in student learning levels.
Pandemic aside, parents, teachers, and school district administrators agree that teaching students how to write is a core responsibility of K-12 education. According to a recent RealClear Opinion Research poll about what Americans want most from K-12 public schools, “reading and writing” took the top spot. Similarly, surveys of K-12 leaders show that student mastery of reading and writing is highest on their list of instructional priorities and areas for improvement.
Yet, the latest nation’s report card released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that only 37% of seniors in high school are proficient in reading and just 27% are proficient in writing. There has been little to no growth in these attainment numbers over the past 20 years.
Regardless of the school setting, size, type, or demographics, there are four primary barriers to effective writing instruction that almost every school struggles with. These barriers are lack of teacher time, unconscious bias, a missing roadmap (or lack of alignment) and accountability. The extended school closures as a result of the global health crisis are kicking these structural challenges into overdrive and exposing an urgent need for a new way forward in the 20-21 school year and beyond.
To help overcome these barriers and better prepare for the coming school year, The Graide Network has launched a brand new administrator dashboard. This tool helps schools and districts successfully implement and execute a rigorous writing plan, ensuring teachers are supported, aligned, and data-driven and students have the personalized feedback and individual support they need to grow.
Key features of the new dashboard include:
An aligned writing plan. School and district leaders can map out common writing goals, prompts, rubrics, and writing benchmarks by department or grade level team to ensure rigorous writing instruction and high-quality feedback is happening with fidelity.
Real-time, robust student writing data. Objective student performance data and descriptive feedback at both the class and individual student level allows teachers and instructional leaders to quickly analyze and adjust to provide faster, more personalized support for every learner. For the first time, administrators will have access to real-time, rubric-aligned writing scores and qualitative feedback to assess performance trends, draw insights, and measure progress during the school year.
Tracking and accountability. School and district leaders can monitor teacher usage, view assignments, and feel confident their team is on track. With supplemental grading support, teachers gain the time, capacity, and data they need to be successful -- plus the reporting to make writing instruction a shareable, collaborative experience with peers, coaches, parents, and students.
Equity and access. The program works in both classroom and remote learning environments and does not require students to have access to a laptop or wifi. With Graide Network support, schools and districts can provide every student with more opportunities for formative writing, high-quality feedback, and individual support.
Right now, K-12 administrators are tasked with a more challenging job than ever as they navigate the global health crisis and plan for what is sure to be a critically important rebuilding year. Coupled with The Graide Network’s supplemental grading and feedback support, the Graide Network’s new administrator dashboard gives them the tools to coordinate and manage an aligned, high-quality writing instruction next school year.
Visit https://www.thegraidenetwork.com/admin-dashboard to learn more.
About The Graide Network
The Graide Network is building better writers through its online platform of feedback and grading support to K-12 schools. With an award-winning, innovative model, The Graide Network provides on-demand, formative feedback on student writing via remote teaching assistants. The support of “Graiders” unlocks the tremendous power of feedback to improve learning outcomes and puts relevant data at educators’ fingertips like never before. For more information, visit https://www.thegraidenetwork.com/.