Looping?

Looping is the term for keeping a group of students with the same teacher for more than one school year. That was how AP Literature and History classes worked in my high school (not science or math). From my perspective, this worked very well, but I liked my teachers. Maybe if I hadn’t, I’d feel differently, but I think from my experience it gave my teachers a longer time to build on the progress they had made. I think I still have my semester progress reports from my Literature teacher, and she was able to show me a more comprehensive look at what I had learned and where I could still improve. It was much the same in American History; I had a great teacher and because the class was in effect two years long, we were able to study much more in-depth. My History and Lit teacher also coordinated projects that drew from both disciplines, which was great for analysis and synthesis skills. Overall, it was very challenging and comprehensive and I believe I benefitted from it.

Some districts in Minnesota are questioning if looping is a fad, or if it really does help student achievement. Parents seem to be in favor of looping, see it as a valuable tool and a way to build stronger teacher-student relationships. School districts in metro Minneapolis view it as a “best practice”. Studies, on the other hand, say there is no real difference in test score, teacher ratings or attendance rates between comparable schools that loop/do not loop.

My guess is that I would have learned the same amount of facts from two teachers or one, but other skills I learned (reasoning, analysis, writing) were better served by looping, and I developed great relationships with my teachers. I still talk to them today.

It looks like Minnesota schools may jump-start more studies on the benefits of looping. An interesting tactic with an interesting name!