Office of College, Career and Technical Education

EWIS Monitoring

Monitoring Student Risk throughout the School Year

Schools collect student data on a regular basis. At times, it can be difficult to cut through the volume of information and understand who is at risk and for what reason, and to track what is being done about it. In fact, educators can hone in on key indicators to identify which students are showing signs of academic risk throughout the school year.

Research shows that ABC's — attendance, behavior & course performance — are particularly powerful indicators of students' academic risk (Allensworth & Easton, 2005; Balfanz, Herzog & MacIver, 2007). Examining these at regular intervals (two, three or four times a year) and comparing them to thresholds allow educators to identify students if they begin to go off track. Catching changes in student risk right away and assigning programmatic supports can bring students back on track quickly.

This practice of monitoring ABCs can help districts and schools identify trends in student needs, and make recommendations for school-wide improvements such as changes in schedules, curriculum, or instructional approaches.

Monitoring strategies and tools can be simple or complex. The best tools are any that are used to impact students. The department has developed several resources for monitoring student risk.

Getting Started with DESE's EWIS Monitoring Resources

Using the EWIS Monitoring Tool

Early Warning Implementation Cycle

6 Step Early Warning Implementation Cycle: Step 1- Get Organized; Step 2- Review EWIS Data; Summer/Beginning of School Year; Step 3- Explore Underlying Causes; Step 4- Take Action Repeat throughout the School Year; Step 5- Monitor Students and Interventions; Step 6- Refine the Process End of School Year/Summer.

The template data files below illustrate the format for loading student enrollment, EWIS and ABCs files into the monitoring tool. See the Monitoring Tool and Monitoring Tool Guidance Document for more.


If you need an alternate version of this material, please contact Jennifer.E.Appleyard@mass.gov .

Last Updated: November 7, 2025

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