Page 13 - Learning for All – A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2013

2. Instructional Approaches
This chapter provides an overview of instructional approaches5 that both respond to the characteristics of a diverse group of students and are precisely tailored to the unique strengths and needs of every student. Only such approaches can be effective in closing the achievement gap.
Before exploring these approaches, it is worth clarifying how “achievement gaps” and the achievement of individual students are connected.
Understanding Achievement Gaps
The term achievement gap commonly refers to the disparity in achievement between groups of students. Gaps in achievement can be measured in terms of various factors, such as gender, ethnocultural background, socio-economic status, special education needs, language profi- ciency, or number of credits accumulated by the end of a particular grade. Achievement gaps can also be defined according to combinations of these factors, such as gender and special education needs, or gender and socio-economic status, or ethnocultural background and credit accumulation by year and grade.
The literature on school effectiveness indicates that contextual and background factors, particularly socio-economic status and parent education, have a significant influence on student achievement.
The term learning gap is often used to refer to the gap between a student’s actual achievement and his or her potential for achievement. This document focuses on an integrated process of assessment and instruction that helps every student reach his or her potential and, as a conse- quence, helps to close the achievement gap between different groups of students.
Research confirms that gaps in student achievement can be narrowed and overall improvement in achievement attained if:
1. the responsibility for making these changes is shared by all partners in the education system – students, parents,6 educators, and community partners (Campbell, Comper, & Winton, 2007; Kober, 2001; Mortimore & Whitty, 1997; Willms, 2006);
2. there has been a sustained and deliberate focus on individual students’ strengths and needs, assessment for learning, and precision in instruction through evidence-informed interventions (Fullan, 2007).
5. MuchofthissectionistakenoradaptedfromEducationforAll,K–6,pp.9–18,60andTIPS(TargetedImplementation and Planning Supports): Developing Mathematical Literacy (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004).
6. Throughout this document, parents is used to refer to both parents and guardians.
11