BE ON TARGET WITH DATA ACRP 2014 Virtual Conference Data Powered Futures July 17, 2014 Nancy Karpowitz

ON TARGET GOALS Participants will better understand why using data is an important component of ischool counseling programs and school improvement. Participants will better understand how to use data to improve equity and access to close achievement gaps. Participants will better understand practical ways Jordan District school counselors have used data for program improvement projects..

ON TARGET WHY USING DATA IS IMPORTANT

ON TARGET STUDENT SUCCESS IS OUR GOAL “The ultimate goal of a school counseling program is to support the school’s academic mission. Ensuring academic achievement for every student includes counselor-initiated activities designed to meet the needs of under-served, under-performing, and under-represented populations. School counselors do this by examining the student academic achievement data and developing interventions designed to help students succeed.” -The Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance p. 56 “Schools are no longer judged by the accomplishments of their brightest students; they are held accountable for the progress of every student.” -The Educational Trust, 2002

ON TARGET STUDENT SUCCESS IS OUR GOAL “A comprehensive school counseling program is data driven. The use of data to effect change within the school system is integral to ensuring that every student receives the benefits of the school counseling program. School counselors must show that each activity implemented as part of the school counseling program was developed from a careful analysis of student needs, student achievement, and related data.” -The Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance p. 56

ON TARGET DATA CONTRIBUTES TO STUDENT SUCCESS Concretely demonstrates accountability and progress toward goals Monitors student progress Creates an urgency for change and serves as a catalyst for focused action Engages decision makers, district leaders, school teams, in data-driven decision making Challenges existing policies, practices, attitudes, and mindsets Shows evidence of access and equity issues for focused advocacy and interventions Focuses resources, programs, interventions and strategies where most needed –The Education Trust, 1997

ON TARGET DATA IS KEY TO STRATEGIC PLANNING

ON TARGET STRATEGIC PLANNING MAXIMIZES COUNSELOR TIME AND RESOURCES

ON TARGET DATA AND COUNSELING FOR EQUITY School counselors know that not all students come to school with equal academic and personal/social resources. Disaggregated data helps uncover areas where groups of students are having difficulty. Analyzing disaggregated data also uncovers equity and access issues. Once the problem areas are brought to light, it is important to thoughtfully consider those factors that are creating barriers in those areas. School counselors then strategically design programs or activities to help lessen the barriers and begin to close the gap.” -The Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance p. 60 WHERE ARE THE EQUITY GAPS? College Preparation and Access College Affordability and Financial Aid College Admission and Completion

ON TARGET COLLEGE PREPARATION AND ACCESS Students not meeting SAT Benchmarks for College and Career Readiness: Class of 2013

ON TARGET COLLEGE PREPARATION AND ACCESS Utah Students meeting ACT Benchmarks for College and Career Readiness: Class of 2013

ON TARGET COLLEGE ADMISSION AND COMPLETION

ON TARGET COLLEGE ADMISSION AND COMPLETION

ON TARGET COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY AND FINANCIAL AID

ON TARGET DATA AND PROGRAM IMPROVEM ENT Data informs discussions of key questions:  What are the positive and negative trends for important indicators of educational progress?  How is my state/school doing compared to the rest of the district/state/country?  How are we doing at eliminating education gaps?  What are the areas where progress is slow,  Where we need to focus additional resources and reforms in order to achieve our goals? -Adapted from United States Education Dashboard Data tells us where we are. Data tells us how far we need to go. Data drives progress toward our goals.

ON TARGET Demographics Data This is data that helps us better understand the composition of our student body. It describes our students in terms of grade, gender, and group:  ethnicity,  socio-economic status,  IEP students,  504 students,  Honors students,  homeless students,  refugee students, etc. Data Elements Data elements show results and not just perceptions. They can be measured to determine student access, participation, attainment, and achievement.  Grades  Discipline Referrals  Test Scores  Graduation Rates  Attendance  Dropout Rates BASIC DATA SKILLS Baseline Data This is data that tells us where we started. Without a baseline data, we do not have a way to measure progress

ON TARGET Cross Tabulate Data To cross tabulate means to take two or more pieces of data and look at them at the same time to better clarify how students are progressing. Cross tabulating demographics data with data elements helps identify inequities. Longitudinal Data Longitudinal data is trends data. It tracks data over time. There are two types of longitudinal data  Snapshot data looks at what is happening right now.  Cohort data looks at the same group over time. BASIC DATA SKILLS Disaggregate Data To disaggregate means to break down the whole and look at the parts. It helps identify inequities by answering these questions:  Who is this working for and who is it not working for?  Who is okay and who is not?  In looking at inequities we need to ask, "How far apart are the percentages?  If we try something different, do the percentages get closer?

ON TARGET

PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

ON TARGET Goal: Increase the percentage of the federal five student population enrolling in honors, Advanced Placement, and/or concurrent enrollment courses by 10% for the academic school year.

ON TARGET Goal: Increase the number of students using Utah Futures as part of the Student Education Occupation Plan process during

ON TARGET 2013 – 2014 Program Improvement Projects

ON TARGET College Preparation and Access Goal: Decrease the number of students with attendance below 80% after the first quarter and/or the second quarter by 50% by the end of the 3rd quarter. Results: The number of students whose attendance was below 80% was decreased by 51% by the end of 3 rd Quarter Goal: Increase the number of Hispanic 8th grade students enrollment in the Utah Scholars Program by 200%, for a total of 9 students, by the end of the year and track to see they signed up for Biology in 9th grade. Results: 7.5% of our Hispanic 8th grade population signed up for the Utah Scholar Program. We increased enrollment after interventions by 400%. All but 1 student is also signed up to take Biology as a 9th grader. Taking biology puts students on the right path to complete the Utah Scholar curriculum.

ON TARGET College Preparation and Access Goal: Decrease failing grades by 50 % for AI/AN, African American, and Pacific Islander students who have received one or more F's in a core class during 1st and/or 2nd quarter to one less F by the end of 3rd quarter. Results: Approximately 37% of the students decreased failing grades. To be more effective in helping these students, we need to look at attendance as well as school success skills. The relationships we built with these students and the positive connection to school are outcomes that are more difficult to operationalize, but those outcomes have benefited these students and the school. Goal: Increase the ELL student population involvement in the 8th grade PCCR meetings by 5% during the school year. Results: Even with limited interventions, there was still an increase in our ELL families’ attendance. We had a greater than 10% increase from the attendance the previous two years. The plan is to continue this momentum of the project by increasing the systemic interventions across different levels.

ON TARGET College Affordability and Financial Aid Goal: Increase sophomore awareness for financial aid and scholarship opportunities for higher education by 20% Results: 95% of sophomores showed increased awareness in financial aid and scholarship options. Goal: Increase the percentage of FAFSA attempted/completed applications by the current senior graduating class by 5% over the 2013 graduating class. Results: The percentage of students attempting increased by 3%. The percentage of students completing the FAFSA remained the same. Therefore, we although some progress was made, we did not meet our goal.

ON TARGET College Admission and Completion Goal: Increase the percentage of the senior class who have applied to college by 10 percent (At least 66% of the senior class) by the first part of April Results: By the first week of April 2014, the data we collected showed that 501 of 651 seniors (77%) had already applied to college. We were also able to call down the students who had not applied and offered further support before the end of the school year. Our “Senior Launch” was a success.

ON TARGET COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS RESOURCES

ON TARGET Complete College America US Education Dashboard Achieve Early Warning System FAFSA Completion The Education Trust EdWatch State Reports National Center for Transforming School Counseling (NCTC) National Office for School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA ) Own the Turf Tools and Resources Webinars advocacy-noscahttp://advocacy.collegeboard.org/college-preparation-access/national-office-school-counselor- advocacy-nosca College Board Advocacy and Policy Center College Guidance NOSCA Research and Policies You Can Gohttp://youcango.collegeboard.org/ College Board You Can Go Big Future Everyone Graduates Helpful Websites

ON TARGET President Obama’s North Star Initiative Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative Prosperity Governor Gary Herbert’s P.A.C.E Initiative Utah Scholars StepUp to Higher Education Utah State Office of Education Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program Data Projects College Board Webinar: Strategic and Savvy: School Counselor Action Steps for Equitable College and Career Readiness OutcomesApril 25, 2013, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EST college-and-career-readine Jordan School District Closing the Achievement Gap District-Wide Program Improvement Project Helpful Websites