How a rural Alabama school system outdid the country with gains in math

PIEDMONT, Ala. — While the rest of the country’s schools were losing ground in math during the COVID pandemic, student performance in a rural Alabama school district was soaring. But researchers like Dreyfus say it involves the same principle of identifying students who need extra help on certain skills, rather than simply pulling out children who are “behind.” At the state level, math specialist Keri Richburg has been working to help more middle grade educators use small group instruction effectively. BALANCING SMALL GROUPS AND INDEPENDENT WORK While math teachers in Piedmont’s elementary and middle schools work with small groups, the other students write in math journals, play learning games, or use iPads to work on their Individualized Learning Path, created from assessments of what a student needs or wants to learn. At first, when Piedmont expanded small group instruction beyond reading in elementary grades, teachers said they didn’t have enough time in a regular class to do it well, Hayes said. “I’m not sure we have a secret sauce or anything earth shattering,” Hayes said, “but we do have teachers and administrators committed to being intentional with data and letting that data drive small group instruction.