HOW TO MONITOR INTERVENTIONS

Monitoring interventions means systematically checking in and reviewing data to make sure that interventions are implemented as agreed on, and determine whether student outcomes are improving as a result.

One obvious reason to monitor interventions is to make sure they are having a positive impact on individual student outcomes and make adjustments or course corrections as necessary. However, monitoring interventions at a collective level also helps educators identify which interventions are most useful generally and for specific groups of students.

Follow this link for a PDF of the material below. 

 

How to Make it Happen
Exemplars in Practice
Training Materials

HOW TO TRANSITION TO EWS 2.0

HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

Monitoring interventions requires collecting the right data in a timely manner and reviewing it regularly in teams of teachers and other school staff.

~ Besides collecting student data on targeted outcomes, be sure to indicate interventions identified for each student, who is responsible for making sure interventions are implemented, and the intensity or frequency of the intervention (both as planned and as executed). Some school data systems do not offer tracking of this information; in that case, teams should find tools that do or develop appropriate spreadsheets.

~ Make sure teachers and involved support staff upload relevant data (attendance, behavior, course performance) into the system at least weekly to track trends and progress.

~ Train teams to conduct “cycles of inquiry” to continually revisit the impact of interventions and refine them to address student needs. This should occur within teacher teams (for identified at-risk students) and within leadership teams (for systemic improvement interventions).

~ Provide time for teacher teams to meet at least bi-weekly to discuss and review student supports; meeting agendas should include time to monitor and evaluate previously planned interventions as well as time to discuss and plan interventions for newly identified students.

~ Schedule quarterly meetings for leadership teams to monitor whole-school interventions, or at least twice a year for district or other large-scale interventions.

~ Train teams to monitor implementation of interventions as well as student outcomes. For example, “How many tutoring sessions did Johnny actually receive?” as well as “Have Johnny’s math grades improved?”. or “Was the attendance campaign implemented as planned?” as well as “Has the chronic absenteeism rate declined?” 

~ Include reflection on why certain interventions may not have been as effective as hoped, and how to improve or replace them as necessary.

~ Conduct periodic evaluations to identify the interventions that are the most effective for the greatest number of students.

 

EXEMPLAR IN PRACTICE

Early Warning Systems 101: An Introduction to the 5 Core Components of an EWS
REL
February 2016
Training video that includes monitoring focus. Slides from the webinar are also available in PPT.

TRAINING MATERIALS

~ Essential Elements in Implementation
John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities; Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and UChicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, May 2014. This general guide to EWS offers helpful guidance on monitoring on pages 16-17.

~ A Practitioner’s Guide to Implementing Early Warning Systems
REL, Jan 2015. Good guidance on monitoring on pages 13-14.

~ Early Warning System Implementation Guide
AIR National High School Center 2013. This guide is helpful, but relies heavily on an EWS tool that is no longer available. 

~ Preventing Dropout in Secondary Schools
What Works Clearinghouse, Sept. 2017. Lengthy overview of EWS implementation.

Skip to content