1. DATA PERCEPTIONS OF GREAT PRAIRIE AREA EDUCATION AGENCY
Great Prairie AEA gathers data a number of ways and from a number of sources throughout the year. Today, I will review data perceptions from the Department of Education Customer Survey, LEA/AEA Administrative Cabinet Visits and Teacher/Principal Focus Groups, but first let me explain to you the process in which we gather information from our schools.
Improving Student Performance

2. GATHERING DATA Chief Administrator and Superintendent
Cabinet & Administrative Team
Teacher/Principal Focus Group
Board of Education
Iowa Department of Education’s AEA Customer Survey
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Data
Great Prairie AEA administrators schedule yearly face-to-face meetings with each of our local school districts in one of four ways. 
One-fourth of our districts receive a visit between Chief Administrator Joe Crozier and the district Superintendent;
one-fourth of the districts receive a Cabinet Visit, where our GPAEA Cabinet members schedule a meeting with the Superintendent and his/her Administrative Teams;
another one-fourth of the districts receive a Focus Group Visit, where Communication Specialists Nancy Brown and Jennifer Woodley schedule time to visit with the Principals and teachers of the district; and
the final one-fourth of the districts receive a presentation to their Boards from Chief Administrator Joe Crozier, Instructional Services Director Dona Goettsche or Special Education Director Mary Ellen Becker. 
This cycle is followed each year, with districts rotating through the complete cycle over the course of four years.  The purpose of the visits is to gain valuable input from the districts about the programs and services we, as an Agency, provide and to build those all-important relationships between Great Prairie AEA and the districts we serve. 
We also gather data from the Iowa Department of Education’s AEA Customer Survey, which is conducted every spring and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Data - the first data source that I want to share with you.

3. NAEP DATA

4. NAEP
Most recent NAEP assessment results for mathematics for students with and without IEPs
From National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) website (NAEP Data Explorer)
4th and 8th grade

5. NAEP
NAEP assessments are reported as scale scores on a 500-point scale, then translated into achievement levels
Below basic
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
Here we use the percent at basic or above as a measure of student achievement.

6. 4TH GRADE MATH
Iowa ranks among the top 15 states in the performance of students without disabilities on the NAEP in 4th grade math (5th)
Iowa ranks 20th in the nation in the performance of students with disabilities on the NAEP in 4th grade math
Iowa has the second-highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 15 states

7. 4TH GRADE MATH
Iowa has the second-highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 15 states

8. 8TH GRADE MATH
Iowa ranks among the top 16 states in the performance of students without disabilities on the NAEP in 8th grade math (7th)
Iowa ranks 36th in the nation in the performance of students with disabilities on the NAEP in 8th grade math
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 16 states

9. 8TH GRADE MATH
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 16 states

10. 4TH GRADE READING
Iowa ranks among the top 19 states in the performance of students without disabilities on the NAEP in 4th grade reading (12th)
Iowa ranks above only two states in the performance of students with disabilities: New Mexico and Hawaii
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 19 states

11. 4TH GRADE READING
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 19 states

12. 8TH GRADE READING
Iowa ranks among the top 18 states in the performance of students without disabilities on the NAEP in 4th grade reading (10th)
Iowa ranks 24th in the performance of students with disabilities
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 18 states

13. 8TH GRADE READING
Iowa has the highest achievement gap between students with and without disabilities among the highest-achieving 18 states

14. WHAT DOES THE DATA TELL US?
Largest gap in some areas
Doing a good job in general education
Iowa is losing rank and perhaps students aren’t learning what is being taught by a particular test
Iowa having higher identification rates our scores should be higher
Initiatives for special education not raising achievement
Last Spring GPAEA Administrative staff looked at the data and came up with the following conclusions:
Largest gap in some areas
Doing a good job in general education
Iowa is losing rank and perhaps students aren’t learning what is being taught by a particular test
Iowa having higher identification rates our scores should be higher
Initiatives for special education not raising achievement

15. WHAT DOES THE DATA TELL US AS A TEAM?
Presenter: Discuss implications of the data with your team.

16. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CUSTOMER SURVEY
School Year

17. DE CUSTOMER SURVEY SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES
Percentage of Respondents Who Strongly Agree or Agree
07-08
08-09
09-10
Meets Professional Needs 93 92 94
Responsive to Student Needs 86 87 90
Provides Leadership for Emerging Educational Needs 84 88 89
Delivers Current & Timely Services 83 85
Delivers Cost-Efficient Services
Assist District to Meet Federal/State Mandates
Service Improve Student Achievement
Services Improve Instruction 91
AEA Staff is Knowledgeable & Has Positive Impact
AEA Staff Create/Maintain Good Working Relationships
The Department of Education’s annual statewide customer survey is a part of AEA accreditation requirements. This chart shows the three-year of results for GPAEA and you can see that the results shown on this slide indicate progress over the years. We are pleased to report that our percentages have increased across the board!

18. DE CUSTOMER SURVEY SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES
Percentage of Respondents Who Strongly Agree or Agree
09-10
State
Meets Professional Needs 94
Average
Responsive to Student Needs 90
Provides Leadership for Emerging Educational Needs 89
Delivers Current & Timely Services 87 88
Lower
Delivers Cost-Efficient Services
Assist District to Meet Federal/State Mandates 93
Service Improve Student Achievement 86
Higher
Services Improve Instruction 91
AEA Staff is Knowledgeable & Has Positive Impact 92
AEA Staff Create/Maintain Good Working Relationships
We are encouraged and proud of our progress yet, according to the results from the latest survey, we fall below or closely mirror the state average in all areas. We must strive to be the leader and out in front.
At this point, we have not even begun to wade through the comments provided to us. The survey offered educators several open-ended questions. We received over 4,000 comments. Many of the comments were positive and thoughtful. We also had some negative ones. Here is a sampling of some of the comments to the various open-ended questions:

19. CUSTOMER SURVEY COMMENTS
“Overall the staff is willing to help in any way they can and are knowledgeable in their content area.”
“I appreciate the hard work and dedication that 99% of the AEA staff have for my love of teaching. They truly want to help teachers/kids.”
“AEA should not try to push every initiative that comes along. One or two initiatives are plenty to have on the table at a time.”
Our third source of data is the LEA/AEA Administrative Cabinet Visits. The purpose of the visits is to gain valuable input from the districts about the programs and services we, as an Agency, provide and to build those all-important relationships between Great Prairie AEA and the districts we serve.

20. CUSTOMER SURVEY COMMENTS CONT.
“Coming from teaching in a state that didn’t have an AEA system of support, many issues had to be figured out on our own and “dealt” with. I see the AEA structures essential in the success of Iowa Schools. Thank you!”
“Work with us not against us, we are in the trenches every day with these students and we do want what is best for students.”
“I’m not seeing the AEA staff as much as I used to see them. They are in the building infrequently which makes it harder to have a good working relationship with them.”
We will continue to share comments that we have received via the Staff Update and other communications. Your administrators are proud of you, but there are clearly some issues that must be addressed.

21. LEA/AEA ADMINISTRATIVE CABINET VISITS AND TEACHER/PRINCIPAL FOCUS GROUPS

22. LEA/AEA ADMINISTRATIVE CABINET VISIT THEMES
Guidance from the AEA on which of the initiatives offered would be best for individual districts to pursue - "too many to do well”
Continued support for Iowa Core implementation
Need for continued and possibly more Autism support.           
Need for continued behavioral supports and strategies
Need for more technology training to help with integration in the classroom
Our fourth source of data is the LEA/AEA Administrative Cabinet Visits & Teacher/Principal Focus Groups. As a result of our visits the following themes surfaced:
Guidance from the AEA on which of the initiatives offered would be best for individual districts to pursue - "too many to do well”
Continued support for Iowa Core implementation
Need for continued and possibly more Autism support.           
Need for continued behavioral supports and strategies
Need for more technology training to help with integration in the classroom
Knowing these concerns from districts will help us to plan for next year’s services.

23. TEACHER/PRINCIPAL FOCUS GROUPS
Addressing Respectful Communications and Experience Concerns
Addressing the Need for More Technology Training
The final data set that I will highlight is the Teacher/Principal Focus Groups. The purpose of the focus groups is to gather input and determine current perceptions and compare them to the data from the previous year. The same questions were asked each time, and the comments were recorded.
This year, although the responses were similar to last year’s, there was more conversation. The following two themes emerged, which echoes findings in the Customer Survey and LEA/AEA Administrative Cabinet Visits.
Addressing Respectful Communications and Experience Concerns – Educators expressed concerns with AEA employee communications and experiences. Many educators mentioned AEA staff not returning phone calls or s in a timely manner. They also noted disrespectful communication between AEA staff and teachers.
Addressing the Need for More Technology Training

24. EVERY STUDENT IN EVERY CLASSROOM
School Year

25. EVERY STUDENT IN EVERY CLASSROOM
Everything that works at Great Prairie AEA is because of the relationships involved.
Everything that doesn’t work at Great Prairie AEA is because of the relationships involved.
All of the data tells us that we are on the right track, but we have to continue to push forward and improve student performance for every student in every classroom.
The past two years Mr. Crozier has shared the statements:
Everything that works at Great Prairie AEA is because of the relationships involved.
Everything that doesn’t work at Great Prairie AEA is because of the relationships involved.
This year keep relationships at the fore front - we are partners in change to improve student achievement.