According to SEDL, collaborating with parents and communities will enhance student achievement in schools. Making steps to involve parents in a student’s schooling has shown to increase school attendance and improve work habits. Teachers can increase parent involvement in student academic success using online parent portals and classroom websites as communication tools. These portals allow parents to track student grades and progress online, while classroom website can provide curriculum and assignment information.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, building a safe and positive school environment is essential to improving student achievement. Students and teachers will be more productive when they feel safe. School districts and individual classroom teachers can implement strong classroom management, behavioral guidelines and procedures that will improve the learning environment. For example, the U.S. Department of Education states that implementing policies such as school uniforms will improve student self-esteem and reduce violence. In addition, implementing systems such as positive behavioral intervention and support will help reduce student behavior problems by providing school districts with standard practices for dealing with student behaviors.
Improving student achievement requires the use of effective teaching strategies. Effective teachers use strategies to teach students how to learn, synthesize and use information. For example, rather than telling students the similarities between plants and animals, a teacher could have students compare concepts and objects by using a Venn diagram. In addition, effective teachers participate in professional development activities to build their skills and knowledge base by sharing and learning new strategies.
Assessing student learning allows a teacher to gauge student learning and ultimately improve student achievement. A teacher is constantly assessing, through analysis of tests, classwork and observations, whether or not students are synthesizing information Using data is essential to determining what material needs revising or reteaching. Teachers can change their teaching strategies according to the outcomes of ongoing data analysis in their classrooms. For example, if a majority of students incorrectly answer a question on the causes of the civil war, the teacher needs to reteach the topic and rethink their teaching strategy.