Looping in education is the practice of placing the same group of students with one teacher for more than one year.
Still considered extremely innovative and used infrequently, looping often occurs for two years and occasionally for three.
The idea of a teacher moving with his or her students to the next grade level rather than sending them on to another teacher is backed by substantially favorable research. According to a multitude of literature, the practice makes certain that students move from one grade to the next with a minimum of anxiety and eliminates the transitional period that a new school year often requires thereby providing more time for new learning. The practice also fosters greater relationship building, for students and for parents.
The looping concept is embedded in Italian preschools, considered by experts to be among the best in the world, where it is common to use a three year loop. In Germany, being somewhat common, one will find that the practice is in great supply with six year loops. And the practice is critical to the Waldorf concept where one teacher and the same group of students remain together from grade one through grade eight.
The concept is also being practiced with great success at the Met School in Providence, R.I., where one teacher/advisor is assigned 15 students in grade nine and then takes those students through their entire high school program, all four years and in all subject matter.
The practice of looping eliminates a good part of the blame game that happens in the school setting. All too often the pecking order begins when the high school blames the middle school for not preparing the students, the middle school blames the elementary school, and the elementary teacher blames the prior teacher, ad nauseum. Looping puts one teacher in charge of a group with complete responsibility for progress.
With all the data collected, the concept of looping is a proven practice leading to better classroom social aspects and increased learning. It is extremely disappointing to realize that the practice is still considered far-reaching in most areas of the country. If looping is good for kids then the adults must be the professionals they are hired to be and garner the skills necessary to employ this practice.