Six Priorities for Student Results

Doug Reeves has a way of distilling his research down into takeaway nuggets for busy educators. In a recent edition of his center's magazine, he presented the "big six" priorities that represent the right work for schools.

1. Feedback--Providing accurate, timely, and specific feedback is the most powerful teaching strategy to improve student achievement.
2. Efficacy--Educators must believe that they can impact student results, rather than believing that the factors are outside of their control.
3. Time--Students who are struggling learners need extra instructional time. Allocating time differently can produce different results.
4. Nonfiction Writing--"There are few activities that have a greater and more consistent positive impact on every other discipline than nonfiction writing," states Reeves.  Descriptive, persuasive, and analytic writing help students improve their thinking and reasoning skills.
5. Formative Assessment--Assessments used to "inform" teaching and learning has a greater impact on improving achievement than any other form of assessment.
6. Expectations--"Forty years of research...demonstrates that when teachers and administrators expect more, they get more; when they expect less, they get less."

How can you weave these six priorities into your work to positively impact student results?