The Small Group Rotation & Data System

Who needs what, when — and what happened when they got it.

Small group instruction is one of the highest-leverage teaching moves available — but its effectiveness depends on how groups are formed and whether teachers track whether groups are actually working. Step 1 forces data-based grouping into four defined levels. The biweekly review protocol in Step 3 explicitly asks which students have grown enough to move up, preventing the failure mode where groups calcify and students get stuck with a label. The during-group observation log prompts objective language — student said, student attempted — rather than interpretive language, to ensure a critical and action-oriented eye on group work and effectiveness.