Using Data to Improve Schools One child at a time……….. The Educator’s Role Pamela M. Kastner National Board Certified Teacher

DATA As an educator, when you see or hear the word data, what are your first thoughts? Think-Pair-Share

DATA  Data drives strategy design, delivery/implementation of the strategy, and the professional development necessary to make the strategy effective.  How does this translate into our classrooms?

Where the rubber meets the road… the classroom. I have found the following steps have helped me know how to interpret and use data to make informed decisions in my classroom to impact student achievement. Step One Gather evidence of student learning from assessment results and record the data. - Record information on a data sheet under appropriate objectives/standards.This should be done for individual students in a class as well as for the entire class.

Data does not fix problems  “Disaggregating data is not a problem- fixing strategy. Rather it’s a problem- finding strategy.” Lezotte 1999

Step One- continued  For each objective, the teacher should record where a child is currently on the continuum: advanced, proficient, basic, or below basic.  After all the results have been recorded, the teacher should go back an decide if the objective/standard is a high, medium, or low priority for their students.

Step One- continued  Once results are recorded for each individual student, a plan of action can be determined for the class and for individual students.

Step Two- Look at the impact of the data on classroom teaching.  What do I know about individual students?  How can I use this information in my teaching?  The data is then used to design instruction and can also be used as a discussion point with parents at parent/teacher conferences.

Step Two- continued  Teachers can use the data to work with other teachers looking for patterns of strengths and weaknesses across grade levels. (data dialogues)  Teachers will be able to determine standards they should be focusing on to increase student learning and best practices that are effective in their classroom.  The data will help teachers decide how to use instructional time effectively, for example, when whole-class instruction is most effective and where use of small group instruction will be most effective.

Step Three- Making sure your students learned it.  You understand the results of your data and have adjusted your instruction accordingly, now you need to use classroom assessments that mirror the instruction that has taken place.  Effective classroom assessment measures what was learned as compared to what was taught.

Data Informed Classrooms  If we want curriculum, instruction, and assessment to be one seamless entity teachers need to know how students will be assessed. (PSSA/ Eligible Content/Reporting Categories), that way our instruction and classroom assessments can be designed to enable students to be successful.  Professional development and dialogue is essential.

Tools to help  Getting Results- Pennsylvania’s Voluntary Framework for School Improvement Planning  Leading for Learning- A framework for District Strategic Planning  Assessment Anchors- Clarify and focus the Reading and Math Standards on the PSSA  Adopt-an-Anchor- A tool designed to build a bridge to Assessment Anchors, designed to support teachers. 

Let’s begin the dialogue with a hands-on/minds-on activity  Listen for instructions.  Place yourself in your team groups.  Engage in a data dialogue.  Choose one person to share the team’s thinking.

THANK YOU!  Thank you for sharing in this dialogue.  The information shared with you today was gained from training and tools available from the PA Department of Education, Donna Long- a national assessment consultant for McGraw-Hill, and my fourteen years of teaching, one child at a time, one mind at a time, and one heart at a time.

If you want to continue the dialogue….  My address is:

Data  Is data collection highly centralized at the district level?  Is data being shared with teachers at the building level and at the classroom level?  In other words, “Who is actually analyzing and interpreting the data?”  We are all stakeholders in the process of using data to inform our instruction, one child at a time, as we move each child toward proficiency levels as measured by AYP.

The Five D’s - Data  It is critical that a district have a high quality data system that provides the kinds of information and analyses that help a school staff.  The data needs to: -provide rich detail of a student’s current status of student achievement with respect to the academic standards in reading and mathematics.

The Five D’s- Design  When a data system provides teachers with a rich analysis of current achievement and practice, it provides the teacher with a clear reference for developing a design the describes “where they want to go next” with respect to what research-based strategies that they will use to improve their teaching practice and student achievement.

The Five D’s- Delivery  Data helps a school staff implement its design effectively by letting it know to the extent to which the improvement tasks are being done and the extent to which the strategies are being implemented.

The Five D’s- Documentation  A school staff needs a data system that helps it track the changes that are occurring in practice and in achievement.

Focus Area: Multiple Data Sources  Questions to ponder…  Does the district/school use multiple sources of data?  What is the district’s/school plan for analyzing collected student performance data and trend data?  What is the district/school plan for analyzing data related to educational practice?

The Five D’s- Development of People  Data can help a staff focus its professional development and let it know how effective it is.

Data informed classrooms