Infrastructure to Support Personalized Learning and Individualized Instruction

School community members voice a need for alternative learning pathways that encourage students to explore their own interests and skillsets further and for a greater range of vocational offerings and career technical education courses that students can take at their own pace. For high school students with significant family responsibilities, offering flexible learning pathways with hybrid in-school and online course options might better support their learning and continued education while balancing their home lives.

Educators and school staff emphasize the importance of having access to timely student data to inform their instruction and to tailor learning experiences to each student’s needs.

In addition to having more time embedded in the school day for teachers to meet one-on-one with their students, many school community members emphasize the importance of having instructional assistants, reading specialists, and subject-specific coaches available to support each student’s learning needs. While funding and teacher shortages may restrict school staffing, schools can prioritize partnerships with community organizations that provide students with access to academic supports and tutoring services before school, in class, during lunch, and after school.

As teachers strive to tailor lessons to the individual learning needs of each student, many students, teachers, and community members likewise wonder what it would look like to tailor assessments in a similar way, to address the specific learning strengths, weaknesses, pacing, and interests of students.

Members of the community suggest providing assessment accommodations for students learning multiple languages or for students with neurodivergence. Some community members suggest implementing a more differentiated assessment approach altogether, where schools prioritize competency-based evaluation and mastery of specific foundational skills and knowledge.

Some teachers wish that educational resources, especially learning apps and web-based programs that require licenses, could be available to students in school, after school, and at home. Removing accessibility restrictions would allow students to gain additional exposure to beneficial learning materials outside of school and also help families remain involved with their child’s learning.