Module 4 Using Data for Decision Making

Why is Data so Important? Provides the team with baseline information Helps to identify behavioral patterns and trends Leads to increased consistency of office discipline referral procedures Helps in determining priorities and implementation activities Provides feedback and evaluation of the process Improves communication Provides assessment information critical to planning interventions for individual students

Individual Student Data “Red Flag” process and procedures lead to early assistance and interventions Provides accessible record of previous incidents Leads to consistent follow through Provides legal protections (IEP) The idea is for campuses to be more proactive in our approach to discipline. Data for academics helps us do this, we should do the same for discipline.

Teams will Become Skillful at Using Data Summarizing and analyzing the data (diagnose and evaluate) Discussing the findings Using data to prioritize activities for PBIS Cross-referencing data Presenting data to your entire staff Using data to evaluate the effectiveness of PBIS implementation

Data to Collect Office Discipline Referrals (ODR) School-wide Observations Surveys Attendance/Tardy rates School enrollment trends Removals of Students to Other Settings Positive Behavior Referrals Academic Performance Pass/Fail Information Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ)

Office Discipline Referrals

ODR Procedures…The Need for Consistency What constitutes an office referral? Illegal Physically Dangerous Overt Defiance Staff need to be consistent regarding which behaviors should result in a referral to the office and which behaviors should be teacher/staff handled. (Mild-moderate behaviors versus severe) The three types listed above are considered “severe” behaviors Often, adults on a campus have a different “picture” about what behaviors they consider to be mild-moderate versus severe. As part of the PBIS process it will be important to review and/or define and clarify the levels of misbehavior for your campus. If there is an expectation on the campus to only refer students for severe behaviors, then the adults on the campus should be provided with training, tools, strategies, and interventions for handling different types of challenging behaviors.

Collect ODR Information by… Number of referrals… year, month, day of the week grade levels (track over time) locations (in and out of class) gender/ethnicity type of infractions/behaviors mild to moderate vs. severe behaviors administrative action taken referring staff students with IEP

Examples: Office Discipline Referral Data

By Day of the Week

By Grade Level

By Gender

By Ethnicity

Surveys: Staff, Student, Parent, Tell you what people think “Remember, perception is reality”

More About Surveys Compare survey results with observation and discipline data results Avoid making decisions in isolation Respect the perceptions of others Report feedback from the survey to all stakeholders Celebrate successes and point out concerns

School-wide Observations

Observations Structures Staff Behavior Student Behavior Tell you why Help to identify structural, staff, and student issues that may affect behavior Tell you about the level of safety, civility, and productivity of a common area or activity Reveal what is actually in place versus what is written on paper Provides information for “celebration” and “opportunities for improvement” Provide information about the climate and culture of a school. Initially you might benefit from an “outside” view Observations should be conducted each time a change in a procedure is made. School-wide observations generally include formal or informal interviews with the staff and students. Eventually, you will do your own in-house observations or “spot-checks” Student Behavior

Completing Observations Observers should use a consistent format within a school Choose your common area(s) Observe and listen for “positive to negative” interactions Have at least one other observer (same time/same place) Write down what you saw and heard, not solutions Compare afterwards

Tools and Resources to Evaluate Effectiveness and/or Fidelity Benchmarks of Quality, Revised (BOQ) School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) Positive Behavior Support (PBS) Self-Assessment Survey Oregon School Safety Survey www.pbis.org/evaluation/evaluations_tools.aspx http://flpbs.fmhi.usf.edu/ www.txbsi.org Benchmarks of Quality have been approved for use with project schools by the Texas Education Agency. The SET is a formal observation tool that was originally used for observation as part of the PBIS Process. While the information is helpful, it requires extensive planning and staff resources to conduct on a regular basis. Some trainers, coaches, or facilitators report using the interview questions, but in a less formal observation structure. Others report using with specific campuses that need a more in-depth process.

Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ) “Critical Elements” PBS Team Faculty Commitment Effective Procedures for Dealing with Discipline Data Entry & Analysis Plan Expectations & Rules Reward/Recognition Program Lesson Plans for Teaching Expectations/Rules Implementation Plan Classroom Systems Evaluation The Benchmarks of Quality are used to measure the “Fidelity” of implementation in the 10 Critical Elements listed above. This is a helpful tool to guide areas of implementation that have not been addressed. If teams have not completed a baseline BOQ, show them the power point for completing it using a team consensus-based process. Please note that the original Benchmarks of Quality were revised in the Spring of 2010. The section on “Crisis Plan” has been removed and “Classroom Systems” has been added. There are still 53 items, however the total possible score is now 107 rather than 100. The BOQ

Perception Perception is based on…. See clip

Module 4: Team Assignment Discuss and Analyze Your Data Sources 1. Identify apparent patterns and trends from all of your data sources What do you think may be the cause for the pattern/trend? What information, if any, is missing? What questions do you have before you can or should act on the data? What are the top 5 reasons students are referred? What are the specific behaviors? Is there anything you can celebrate base on your data? Does your data system need streamlining/updating? Based on your findings, what are your priorities/next steps? 5. Create a data collection calendar, Example: Survey staff & students in August and again in December Observations: 1st week of school and the months when you have peaks in misbehavior Review each item prior to the team work time to clarify how they should be analyzing their school data. Remind them that their data “tells a story”. What story does their data tell so far?