Why Academic Success Isn’t the Same as Student Success

expanded core curriculum mindset mindset for teachers May 16, 2025

Educators, especially orientation and mobility specialists, teachers for the visually impaired (TVIs), general ed teachers, and paraprofessionals, know that good grades and test scores don’t tell the whole story. Traditional measures of academic success (test scores, worksheets, “seat time”) come from an old “factory model” of education. But today’s world, and students with visual impairments, need more. For children who are blind or visually impaired, student success means independence, confidence, and life skills, not just perfect spelling tests.

One educator puts it this way: visible academic skills are just the “tip of the iceberg”, built on months of hidden foundational learning.

The Limits of Academic Success

When we focus only on reading levels or math grades, we miss crucial skills. A student may earn A’s but still struggle to cross a street safely or make friends. In the old industrial model, rows of students completed identical worksheets while the teacher lectured. The goal was uniform academic output, not supporting the whole child.

But students with visual impairments often need support in non-academic areas – like mobility, daily living, or emotional health, before they can learn effectively. If a blind student doesn’t know how to navigate the hallway or advocate for accommodations, no math test can fix that gap.

A Holistic View of Student Success

True student success is holistic. It includes safety, mobility, independence, and well-being alongside academics. The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) outlines key life skills for blind students, including orientation and mobility (O&M), social skills, and daily living skills, that go far beyond the academic core.

In practice, this looks like:

Orientation & Mobility: Learning to travel safely and independently using a white cane or other tools.
Daily Living & Independence: Gaining skills like cooking, using accessible tech, and taking care of oneself.
Social & Emotional Well-being: Building confidence, friendships, and self-advocacy – because students need to feel safe and supported to truly learn.

O&M training – “the art and science of teaching people who are blind or visually impaired where they are in space and how to travel independently”, builds the kind of confidence that no worksheet can measure.

Students who master these skills can navigate the world independently, which opens the door for deeper academic and personal growth.

Maslow’s Hierarchy and the Pyramid of Learning

Educators are familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – a pyramid that starts with basic needs like food and safety, building up toward self-esteem and personal growth. In the classroom, we can’t expect a child to focus on fractions if they don’t feel safe, secure, or included.

Similarly, the “pyramid of learning” model reminds us that academic skills are built on foundational abilities like sensory processing, emotional regulation, and basic life skills. For students with visual impairments, success might begin with learning to make a snack, use a cane, or navigate their school safely.

Only once those lower-level needs are met can they fully access academic content. That’s not a detour from learning, it is learning.

From Factories to Real Classrooms

The factory model of education treated students like identical parts in a production line. That system valued compliance and uniformity over creativity or independence. But today’s students, especially those with disabilities, need more individualized, engaging, and real-world learning experiences.

Many schools and programs now use active, experiential learning to support students who are blind or visually impaired. Instead of rote drills, students might learn through group projects, community outings, or hands-on activities that integrate life skills and academics.

Teaching Beyond Worksheets and Test Scores

To support broad student success, educators can:

Use Functional Learning: Teach reading through recipes, math through grocery lists, and social skills during real interactions.
Integrate Technology: Support access and confidence using screen readers, Braille displays, and tactile maps.
Design Real-World Projects: Let students plan a route, shop for ingredients, or practice interviewing.
Promote Student Agency: Offer choices in how students learn and show what they know.

These strategies build competence, confidence, and independence. Instead of asking, “Did the student complete the worksheet?” we can ask, “Did the student gain a skill they can use in the world?”

A child learning to cross the street safely, prepare a simple meal, or speak up in class is learning something far more lasting than what’s measured on a test.

Redefining Success for 21st-Century Learners

We’re preparing students for a world that values problem-solving, independence, and collaboration. For students with visual impairments, success means living independently, advocating for themselves, and feeling confident in unfamiliar settings.

When we focus only on academics, we may overlook the very skills our students need most. That’s why educators across roles, from O&M specialists to classroom teachers, are expanding their view of what success really means.

Let’s celebrate the milestones that matter:

The first time a student walks down the hall alone.
The day they advocate for accessible materials.
The moment they feel seen and valued for who they are.

A New Definition of Success

Student success is more than academic success. Yes, reading and math matter. But so do mobility, confidence, life skills, and emotional wellness.

When we redefine success in this way, we create learning environments that truly support all students – especially those with visual impairments, in living full, independent lives.

Topics: student success for visually impaired, academic vs student success, expanded core curriculum, ECC for blind students, orientation and mobility skills, O&M for students with visual impairments, teaching students with visual impairments, life skills for blind students, functional academics for visually impaired, holistic education for students with disabilities, independence for blind students, special education strategies

Resources

Clark, R. (2000). The Expanded Core Curriculum. Perkins School for the Blind.
Perkins School for the Blind. Orientation and Mobility for Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired.
Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. Educational Programming and Holistic Support.
Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review.
Maloney, C. (2023). Training on Expanded Core Curriculum Implementation.
Supporting Education (n.d.). Factory Model of Education Explained.
Occupational Therapy Insights. Pyramid of Learning: How Foundational Skills Impact Academics.