What data is needed to help students succeed?

Key points:

In education, the quality and type of feedback students receive can significantly influence their academic success. Typically, the information provided to students is qualitative or overly broad, such as in parent-teacher conferences or course grades. These forms of feedback often focus on pre-college assignments and homework, where feedback is scarce. In contrast, medical school can overwhelm students with detailed information, such as longitudinal reports on performance on multiple-choice questions throughout the year. This raises an essential question: what type of feedback information is actually useful to students?

Effective feedback is vital for several reasons, allowing students to adopt new study strategies, identify weaknesses, and chart their progress over time. However, there is a delicate balance to be struck: too much information can be as detrimental as too little. For example, understanding why a concept is misunderstood can effectively guide remedial efforts. If a student is struggling to implement a concept but does not understand it, then it is not wise to have the student review or reteach the topic; it is more beneficial to perform practical problems in application. Conversely, listing the student's shortcomings can seem overwhelming and not offer a path to success.

Take the example of a high school student who is struggling with systems of equations. While the concept is understood (solving an equation and substituting to solve for the missing variable), the deficiency is application, not knowledge. The student would be much better off with a list of 20 or more practice problems than with retrieving all applicable topics. The student does not have to know that he or she got a question wrong because he or she forgot to multiply by the parentheses; he or she just needs to practice applying it. This idea is well understood in grading, but not so much in feedback to students. For example, a student will get partial credit on a math problem when the steps are correct, but makes an arithmetic error because arithmetic is not the topic being tested. This balance becomes more difficult to achieve as more topics are presented. It is easier to say that a 6^He It is better to tell a high school student who does not understand World War II that he has a hard time handling systems of equations.

Student-specific feedback is the best kind of feedback a student can receive. Identifying gaps in understanding can be addressed through targeted correction. For example, knowing that a student is struggling with the concept of ATP in mitochondria allows for focused study of that topic. Students may understand a topic in general terms, but overlook finer details needed for higher-level questions. Detailed analysis and practice of these aspects can improve their understanding. Students often know historical facts but fail to make connections, such as the link between the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the start of World War I. Concept maps can be particularly beneficial in subjects like history and science.

Students seek a comprehensive understanding and application of knowledge. They want to know what they don't know and prefer to review exams thoroughly, identifying trends in their errors. Implementing systems like ExamSoft or Canvas for online exams can facilitate this. For example, identifying consistent problems with higher-level Bloom's questions can guide deeper study.

At lower educational levels, specific and actionable plans are crucial. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) goals helps students focus on attainable steps. Let's say a student is having difficulty pulling topics from different eras in a history class. The student understands all the important topics about the Gilded Age, World War I, and World War II, but is unable to write a coherent essay on the overarching topics. A beneficial piece of feedback for this student would be to explain the difficulty with synthesis, not review each topic individually. A SMART goal for the student would be: For the upcoming argumentative essay, make sure you can link each era to the topic of your project. After providing the student with some sample essays that accomplish this goal, all parts of the goal should be attainable. They have a timeline, can be measured by teacher assessment and comparison to provided resources, are attainable because only one deficiency is being addressed, and are relevant to the coursework. While this approach is challenging, it pays off by fostering a mindset geared toward lifelong learning. High school teachers should prepare students for college by developing these habits.

Student-teacher conferences and effective feedback systems are critical to student success. By providing actionable information, setting specific goals, and encouraging deeper learning, educators can significantly improve students’ educational experiences and prepare them for lifelong learning.