69ý

School & District Management

Personalized Learning: ‘A Cautionary Tale’

By Benjamin Herold — July 18, 2017 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Customizing instruction for every student can generate modest gains in math and reading scores, but it can create major implementation challenges for schools, concludes .

The researchers behind the most comprehensive ongoing study to date of personalized learning describe their latest findings as a “cautionary tale” about a trend whose popularity far outpaces its evidence base.

“It’s important to set expectations,” John F. Pane, a senior scientist and the distinguished chairman in education innovation at RAND, said in an interview. “This may not work everywhere, and it requires careful thought about the context that enables it to work well.”

Fifth grader Jack McGeen works on a personalized learning app at Amity Elementary School near Cincinnati. The school was not part of a new RAND Corp. study that found modest test-score gains from personalized learning, but challenges in implementing it.

The report, “Informing Progress: Insights on Personalized Learning Implementation and Effects,” is the third and most recent study in a multiyear RAND analysis underwritten by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (The Gates Foundation has provided support in the past forcoverage of personalized learning in Education Week.)

Personalized learning generally means using digital technologies to tailor instruction to each student’s strengths and weaknesses, interests and preferences, and optimal pace of learning.

RAND’s new findings are based on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with students, teachers, and principals at 40 schools that have embraced the idea. All have won funding from Gates.

‘Cautious and Thoughtful’

On the ground at “personalized-learning schools,” researchers found that many management and instructional practices closely resembled those employed at more-traditional schools used as a comparison group. Teachers also reported major challenges, such as not having enough time to craft customized lessons for each student.

RAND did find that embracing personalized learning led to small test-score gains. A student who would have had average test scores in amore-traditional school performed 3 percentile points better than average as a result of attending a personalized-learning school, the researchers determined. That was true in both reading and math, although only the math gains were statistically significant. 69ý in personalized-learning schools who started the year academically behind also made up slightly more ground than comparable students in traditional schools.

The researchers also found a cumulative improvement in student-test scores after schools had completed their second year of implementing a personalized-learning model. Still, Pane of RAND cautioned against making too much of the positive achievement results.

One reason: The charter schools in the new study generally outperformed the district-managed schools, many of which actually saw drops in student achievement after implementing a personalized-learning model.

It’s also impossible to tell at this stage which specific personalization strategies and practices have the biggest impact, the report says.

“There’s promise here, but we have to do the scale up in a way that’s cautious and thoughtful,” Pane concluded.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 19, 2017 edition of Education Week as Personalized Learning: ‘A Cautionary Tale’

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management 69ý Want Results When They Spend Big Money. Here's How They're Getting Them
Tying spending to outcomes is a goal many district leaders have. A new model for purchase contracts could make it easier.
7 min read
Illustration of scales balancing books on one end and coins on another.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Reports Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress
This report highlights key findings from surveys of K-12 administrators and product/service providers to shed light on the alignment of purchasing with instructional goals.
School & District Management Download Shhhh!!! It's Underground Spirit Week, Don't Tell the 69ý
Try this fun twist on the Spirit Week tradition.
Illustration of shushing emoji.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How My Experience With Linda McMahon Can Help You Navigate the Trump Ed. Agenda
I have a lesson for district leaders from my (limited) interactions with Trump’s pick for ed. secretary, writes a former superintendent.
Joshua P. Starr
4 min read
Vector illustration of people walking on upward arrows, symbolizing growth, progress, and teamwork towards success.
iStock/Getty Images