From L to J SaraDixonLana Balletti Gin FisherJen Grzenda Using Data to Track Student Progress

Fishbowl Activity

Focus for this session: To understand the purpose of moving from L to bell to J How to conduct random sampling of grade-level expectations How to effectively motivate students with individual and class charts

Numerical Goals ? Improvement means that this year is better than the prior year. Continuous improvement means each year is better than the last. Numerical goals cause confusion. If a 5% goal is set and the school improves 3.5%, staff doesn’t know whether to celebrate or moan.

Failed Strategies Fear Blame Ranking Incentives These strategies are based upon the belief that you and I are the problem.

The Wrong Statistics Education has patterned its statistics after athletics, whose aim is to have only one winner. Ranking keeps education from creating as many winners as possible.

A Little Math Five incentives per day… 180 days per school year… Thirteen years… Equals 11,700 incentives

Hope comes from: Understanding the root causes of educational frustration Having solutions to these frustrations

Root Causes: The Jefferson Memorial

Permission to Forget Beginning with first grade spelling, students know they have permission to forget. Sometimes after the test, but almost always by the end of the year. Teachers estimate they spend 1/3 of the school year teaching students content they should know prior to entering their class.

Permission to Forget Four years of K-12 education is spent in review. Ten years of a teacher’s career is spent in review.

Fishbowl Activity

Harry & Schroeder “When there is no system of measurements in place to gauge customer satisfaction, can an organization genuinely say that its customers are a top priority ? ”

Purpose of Analyzing Data Improving learning, not improving test scores Alignment and continuous improvement are both needed Improved learning will result in improved test scores How to have both high standards and high success rates

LowAverageHigh Easy “A” NCLB Average Bell Curve Low 50% F Standards Success Rate

Tracking Student Progress The classroom’s histogram shape should progress from an “L” to a bell and finally to a “J”. This can also be used to track grade level or school wide data.

L Curve Percent Correct Number of Students Beginning of the year

L Curve  Bell Curve Percent Correct Number of Students Mid-year

L Curve  Bell Curve  J Curve Percent Correct Number of Students End of the year

Student Made Charts The place to start is with students graphing their own progress toward end-of- year grade level expectations.

Tracking Letter Recognition

Self-Reflection

Random Sampling Random sampling from end-of-year items provides students a constant review of what has been taught and a constant preview of what is yet to be taught.

Sample Size The square root of the total number of questions is an ample sample size for accurate data, if collected weekly or bi-weekly. For example, if there are 120 items to be mastered, you should ask 11 random questions a week.

Random Selection Drawing from a hat or fishbowl Popsicle sticks Rolling dice (numbered list) Numbered ping-pong balls Bingo numbers (tumbler) Transparency questions

Class Run Charts Used to track class, grade level, or school wide progress Can be useful in identifying trends, valleys, and plateaus Can also be used to monitor attendance, tardiness, referrals, etc.

Fishbowl Activity

Conclusion Most test data is designed to rank and compare rather than to give insight; education is considered a contest to be won or lost. Insight is necessary to create a better future. The focus is year-to-year progress.

Ready, Set, Flush!

1.Flush your fish… 2.Grab the fishbowl… 3.And move from L to J!