WHAT NOW? HOW TO RETHINK INSTRUCTION WHEN A STUDENT ISN'T MAKING PROGRESS

Have you ever had a student who wasn't making progress? Of course, you have; we're special education teachers, after all! If our students didn't need specially designed instruction and support, we wouldn't have jobs. We start with a plan, and when that plan doesn't work, we move on to the next. But what happens when you feel like you've taught it again and again, with differentiation and support, but a student's progress has plateaued? What comes next?

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It's frustrating to feel stuck without a backup plan, especially when your usual special education strategies seem to fall flat. But it's not always about doing more, it's about doing things differently. Remember, flexible teaching = effective teaching.

Just because a student's progress has flatlined doesn't mean we give up on the IEP goal. It doesn't mean that a placement change is necessary. And it doesn't mean you have failed. It simply means it's time to find a new approach with intentional, inclusive teaching strategies and supports.

Step 1: Ask the Right Questions

Before making changes, let's zoom out and assess what's working and what's not.

• Reflect on the current instructional approach.

  • What is the goal of this strategy, and what did you expect to see?

  • What's working (even a little bit) about the current approach?

  • What's not working, and how do you know?

  • Is the student engaged during this task?

  
  

• Review the student's needs.

  • Is the skill too easy or too hard?

  • Does the student need more repetition or variety?

  • Could the student benefit from a different mode of input?

  
  

• Analyze instructional supports.

  • Are scaffolds or prompts are in place?

  • Is the level of support appropriate?

  • Have you tried multiple instructional strategies (visuals, manipulatives, modeling)?

  
  

• Consider environmental factors.

  • Is the time of day or setting affecting performance?

  • Are there sensory or behavioral needs that are interfering?

  • Is the student successful with another adult or in another context?

As we ask ourselves these questions, think about what types of adjustments could be made. If the student needs more repetition, perhaps we simply plan for more time in the day to practice the skill. If the time of day is affecting performance, perhaps we can adjust the student's schedule to work on this skill in the morning vs afternoon. Take notes about what the barriers may be and how to remove them for student success.

Step 2: Adjust the Instruction, Not the Expectation

There are many ways to adjust and modify our instructions while maintaining the same learning goals. These small, impactful tweaks may help a concept "click" for a student.

• Receptive vs expressive tasks

• Reducing the load, not the skill

• Add visual supports

• Pre-teach key concepts and vocabulary

Download the FREE Student Support Poster for your faculty lounge.

Step 3: Layer in Classroom Supports

Plan for ways to enhance classroom supports to help students succeed, like:

• Visual schedules

• Adjusted worksheets

• First/Then boards

• Embedded choice

• Simplified directions or rubrics

  
  

  Don't forget, these classroom supports don’t replace teaching; they support it.

Step 4: Plan the Follow-Through

If we’re going to try something new, we need a way to know if it’s working.

Having a strategic plan means that it's not just in our heads. Write out what changes are being made, how long you'll wait to see if it's working, and how you will measure whether it's been successful. Success indicators may be data collection, grades, fewer prompts needed, or even a student rating scale. Be intentional about what you're looking for, and include both quantitative data and observational notes. It is also important to consider what happens if you do not see progress after making changes. What is the next adjustment you'll make?

Word of caution: Making changes needs to be a planned process. If we adjust too many things at once, it's hard to determine which adjustment(s) the student truly needed to be successful. Make small tweaks, and then wait to see whether they were helpful or not.

Advocacy Bonus: Talk the Talk

Let's be real for a minute. When a student doesn't appear to be making progress, oftentimes our general education colleagues feel lost and stuck. They want students to learn. We all do. But when a student isn't learning at the same rate as their peers, they feel ineffective. That isn't the norm in a general education classroom, and as a result, they may propose pushing students out of the classroom because we want to see them make gains.

But changing placement isn't always the right answer, yet. Special education and regular education teachers are partners. Collaboration and communication are absolutely essential, especially when progress has stalled. It takes both parties to come up with a plan and move forward. Take a minute to think about how you talk about student supports.

Are you framing supports as tools for success, or signs that a student "can't"?

When we reframe how we talk about supports, we shift the narrative. Instead of needing help, our students are using tools—language matters. Let's normalize support as a strategy, not a deficit.

Grab the Student Support Toolkit

You don’t need to guess your way through this. The Student Support Toolkit gives you the structure and language to plan next steps with confidence.

What's inside:

• Reflection questions and note sheet

• Go-to modifications list

• Classroom supports checklist

• Support planning template

• Advocacy reframing statements

• Printable poster for your staff lounge

• Bonus visuals & supports: Token charts, first/then charts, and task checklists

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