NYC Teacher Data Initiative: An introduction for Principals ESO Focus on Professional Development October 2008

2 Session Objectives for Principals Become familiar with the new Teacher Data Reports Consider ways to incorporate this new tool into school-wide professional development Plan for sharing Teacher Data Reports with teachers Locate support resources

Take a closer look at two teachers Read the scenarios How effective is Ms. Brooks as a teacher? How effective is Mr. Capstone? What differences, if any, will there be with the students ELA scores in January? 3

4 We use an array of instruments to determine teacher and school-wide professional development needs Classroom observations Lesson plans Participation in professional development Quality of student work products Student performance on state assessments No one measure gives us the full story, but the various pieces come together to create a more reliable picture Areas of convergence and dissonance in our observations are equally useful

5 Teacher Data Initiative (TDI) provides a new lens that will soon be available to schools Purpose: To contribute another lens through which to look at teacher contributions to student learning Rationale: Teachers make a big difference, and value-added data provides a lens to focus on what teachers bring to students rather than what students bring to the classroom Framing Question: How might the TDI data tool fit into existing school plans for instructional improvement and professional development? TDI should not be viewed as a silver bullet, big initiative, or accountability metric that will be forced upon schools. Rather it is a new tool available to principals to incorporate into their larger instructional and professional development plans.

6 TVI draws on 10 years of city-wide data (test scores, student, teacher, and school characteristics) to predict individual student gains The predicted gains are compared to the actual gains for each student to determine the teachers contributions or the value added The teachers contribution for each student is averaged, and then compared to other 4-8 ELA and Math teachers or rank ordered top 20%, middle 60%, and bottom 30%. How Teacher Data Works Predicted Score Mathematically isolates factors beyond teacher control e.g. prior year test scores Teacher Contribution Factors within teacher control e.g. quality of instruction & high expectations Actual Test Score Student scores on ELA & Math tests

7 How TDI Works: The Model Value added for one student Proficiency rating 3 rd Grade 4 th Grade Predicted Gain Actual Value Added Baseline (Previous Years) Score Teacher A Teacher B Teacher E Teacher D Teacher C Least Gain Most Gain The value added is the difference between the predicted and actual scores Value added is averaged for all students in a class The value added is measured in proficiencies TDI orders teacher from least to most gain to determine a percentile rank

8 TDI mathematically factors in measurable characteristics to predict student scores Student characteristicsClassroom characteristicsSchool characteristics Prior year reading Prior year math Free or reduced price lunch Special education status English Language Learner status Number of suspensions and absences (prior-year) Student retained in grade Attended summer school New to school Race Gender Prior year teacher Average prior year reading and math Percent free or reduced price lunch Percent special education status Percent English Language Learner status Average number of suspensions and absences (prior) Percent of students retained in grade Percent attended summer school Class size Percent by race Percent by gender Average classroom characteristics Average class size Total tested by grade/subject Year starting and ending school Teacher characteristics (used when comparing teachers to peer teachers) Years of experience Years teaching in the same grade and subject

Principals will receive a summary report and analysis by student subgroups

10 Individual teacher reports will also be available for principal use and to share with teachers Similar to the Progress Reports, TDI compares teachers to the following groups: 1. All teachers on the same grade level, City-wide 2. Peer teachers (similarly situated in terms of teacher experience, and student, school, and classroom characteristics) 0%25%50%75% %95% Last 3 years 69%92% 100% My percentile (0%-100%) 79% Range* 81% My percentile 0%25%50%75% %85% Last 3 years 58%78% 100% My percentile (0%-100%) 68% Range* 70% My percentile

Analyze sample reports to look for trends and consider key questions Key Questions What is being taught? How is it taught? Are the students learning? How are teachers learning? How are resources invested? Potential Trends Clumps of teachers scoring low with a particular subgroup Individual teachers consistently low/high across many groups Sizeable difference between math and ELA Similar scores among all teachers on a team or in a grade

Example: Think through a specific trend School summary report reveals much higher scores on math than ELA What is being taught? Is our math curriculum stronger than ELA? Consult with schools using similar curriculum How are resources invested? Are more push-in resources allocated for math? Teacher report reveals high scores on everything except for ELL students What is being taught? Might ELL students require additional instruction Analyze test items for trends in ELL responses How is it taught? Is teacher differentiating instruction? Analyze quantity and quality of math PD Request peer observations Consult with others who have high ELL score Does this teacher receive adequate ELL Support? Pair this teacher with ELL coach

13 Principals can use TDI in numerous ways, but with some cautions Potential Uses >Look for strengths, areas for development, surprises and wonderings >Emphasize instructional improvement >Triangulate with other insight Consider factors you know about the teachers or the classrooms that may not be measurable >Consider professional development approaches for individual teachers or groups >Help teachers connect these results with insights from their periodic assessments, student work, and item analysis >Consider implications for classroom assignment >Consider implications for curriculum or instructional programs >Consider implications for staffing needs >Prioritizing principal observation and coaching >Inform principal and teacher goal setting Cautions >DO NOT Use TDI for teacher evaluation >Avoid replacing principal judgment and other forms of information >Not all negative value-added results are bad and all positive results are good Use the performance ranges to see how strong a positive result is or how weak a negative result is. Be aware of small sample sizes or few years of data >Remember to consider context that is not easily measured and not in the model for example: Push-in/pull-out teachers AIS services Life events for teachers, students School context >Secure the teachers permission before sharing the report with coaches and others >Consider individual teacher information confidential and thus not sharable available to parents

14 Next Steps to Consider How will use Teacher Data Reports to improve instruction? How will you involve others within the school? How can you introduce TDI to your staff? How can you share individual reports with teachers? What additional supports might you need?