In this Data Note, the authors use nationally representative survey response data from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys (LTS) to examine how secondary teachers leverage different types of information to guide them to the supports and interventions that they use in the classroom. Drawing on their analysis of LTS data, the authors discuss three key findings and conclude with implications and policy recommendations.

Identifying Supports for Struggling Students

Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys

Sy Doan, Lucas Greer, Elizabeth D. Steiner

ResearchPublished Nov 2, 2021

Teachers commonly rely on many sources of information to diagnose student needs and to identify the most-appropriate resources to support those needs. In this Data Note, the authors use nationally representative survey response data from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys (LTS) to examine how secondary teachers leverage different types of information to guide them to the supports and interventions that they use in the classroom.

Drawing on responses from 3,605 6th- to 12th-grade teachers, the authors focus their discussion on survey items from the "Supporting Struggling Students" and "Sources of Information and Support" portions of the survey. They compare teacher responses across various school-level characteristics, including school free and reduced-price lunch enrollment, percentage of non-white students, and school locale, and various self-reported teacher-level characteristics, such as main subject taught, grade band taught, race/ethnicity, and their school's mode of instruction during the 2020–2021 school year. The authors conclude with implications and policy recommendations based on their analysis.

Key Findings

  • Teachers rely most often on information that they gather from personal interactions with students and from students' performance on teacher-created classroom tasks to support students' academic needs.
  • More than 50 percent of teachers first look to school and district colleagues for information about interventions and supports for students.
  • Teachers are least likely to report knowing where to find information to support students experiencing poverty, English language learners, and anti-racist instruction.

Recommendations

  • Develop guidance on using multiple sources of information to guide student supports.
  • Leverage professional learning opportunities to better inform peer-provided intervention recommendations.
  • Provide more descriptive information about student supports beyond standards alignment and academic effectiveness.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Doan, Sy, Lucas Greer, and Elizabeth D. Steiner, Identifying Supports for Struggling Students: Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys, RAND Corporation, RR-A827-3, 2021. As of September 10, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-3.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Doan, Sy, Lucas Greer, and Elizabeth D. Steiner, Identifying Supports for Struggling Students: Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-3.html.
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