Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Data-Driven Decisions and School Leadership: Best Practices for School Improvement Theodore J. Kowalski Thomas J. Lasley II James W. Mahoney This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: • Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; • Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; • Any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Chapter 7: Collecting and Assessing Data Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
External Data Sources (Selected) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) http://nces.ed.gov State Department of Education Google the state department for your state Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Nondirect Data Sources (Selected) GreatSchools http://Greatschools.net Private School Review http://privateschoolreview.com Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Observer draws on only Observer has too little one type of evidence evidence Observer fails to observe for a long enough time Evidentiary Inadequacy Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Indirect Observation (Key Questions) Are specific learning targets established for each unit of study? What specific content must students know and be able to demonstrate? Are appropriate assessments in place to determine if students learned what they need to learn? Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Reasoning Compare & Contrast Knowledge Basic Understandings Product Tangible Outcomes Skill Oral fluency or manipulation skills Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Learning Assessments Recall of Synthesizing of Information Information True-False Essay Matching Performance Fill-in-the-blank Assessment Multiple Choice Key Question: Does the teacher use a variety of methods to collect data about students? Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Creating Quality Assessments of Student Learning Set clear, well-defined learning targets Identify appropriate methods of assessment Ensure that enough information/data about student performance is collected Ensure that “outside” factors do not bias student results (e.g., a noisy classroom) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research Step 1: Reflect on what is or is not working Step 2: Focus on something specific Step 3: Clarify the specific question to be answered Step 4: Collect data Step 5: Analyze data Step 6: Take informal action Step 7: Report results Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008