1. Resource Allocation and District Action Reports: RADAR
MASBO Fall Institute
October, 2018

2. AGENDA Agenda 1 2 3 Overview of RADAR An example of using RADAR
Review and wrap-up

3. 1 Using state data to support resource analysis
Overview of RADAR 1

4. There are three RADAR packages available to districts
Change over 5 years
State context
Per-pupil expenditure
Staffing per 100 students
SPED enrollment
SPED staffing
Class size by grade and subject area (district and school)
Class size/courses
Security portal
Special education
Benchmarking
Public website
SPED enrollment/placement
District profile – 5 years
Students identified for or moving off services, by grade
Four year trajectories for students by placement

5. How can you access the three different RADAR tools?
RADAR Benchmarking
RADAR Special Education
RADAR Class Size/Courses
On the DESE website:
Supporting materials on the webpage:
Online tutorial (introduces reports; includes an example of using them)
Slides from summer workshops
Introductory video
One-page handout
Security Portal Dropbox Central RADAR Dropbox You need RADAR Dropbox permission assigned to your user ID by your data coordinator

6. RADAR is visual, comparative, longitudinal
Why did DESE develop Resource Allocation and District Action Reports (RADAR)?
RADAR is visual, comparative, longitudinal
Data collections from districts hold much useful information
DESE analysts can mine that data to provide reports
RADAR has new metrics about resources

7. Resources are people, time and money
70-80% of district budgets are for staff
District leaders in every standard area are familiar with staffing positions and scheduling
DESE has more complete data about personnel, especially teachers, than about spending
EPIMS and SCS are very detailed data sets
This data can be looked at from different lenses

8. Districts have used RADAR to support decision-making
Benchmark
Communicate
Cite an outside source
Connect plan and budget
Reallocate resources

9. 2 An initial look at RADAR
An example of using RADAR 2
Suggest that you follow along with your own selection of districts as well

10. RADAR Benchmarking: Home
Selecting comparisons – an art not a science
This is RADAR Benchmarking

11. RADAR SPED: Home
RADAR SPED has additional information on Home Page and in other reports – for today, we are working with RADAR Benchmarking reports, but we used this to look for districts with performance results that made us want to track them in the resource analysis

12. An exercise in analyzing SPED results and resource allocation
Focus on goals for students with disabilities
Student math performance, especially growth
Inclusion
Look at comparison districts, starting with SWD performance and growth
Let’s track Bristol and Point Hope as we go through other reports
District
SGP
M/E Expectations
Ashmont
49.2 9%
Bristol
52.3
15%
Point Hope
53.2 8%
Range
6%-16%
Can we learn something from looking at higher performing districts? Focus on Bristol with higher growth and performance; Point Hope has high growth this last year – will they increase performance over the next couple of years? Are they making changes that might be relevant to Ashmont?

13. Identification rates
Ashmont has a moderate percentage of SWDS, close to the state and below several others in the group.
How might ID rates in Bristol (low) and Point Hope (high) influence our thinking about performance results?
Next step is to understand similarities and differences in SPED programs as outlined in summary reports on SPED enrollment and staffing
Ask for shout-outs on how to think about ID rates for Bristol and Point Hope

14. Inclusion placement rates
Ashmont’s inclusion rate is proportionally higher than most other districts.
We are making progress in meeting our goals around inclusion.
How might inclusion rates in Bristol (high) and Point Hope (low) influence our thinking about performance results?
Ask for shout-outs for this and succeeding questions

15. SPED teachers
Ashmont’s SPED teacher staffing rate seems to be above the norm in this group, and in the state.
Does this data tell us what an optimum staffing level is?
How might staffing rates in Bristol (low) and Point Hope (average) influence our thinking about performance results?

16. SPED paraprofessionals
Our paraprofessional staffing level is higher than most of the group and the state.
What questions might we want to ask about how paras are deployed in our SPED program, and in Bristol and Point Hope?

17. SPED staffing trends and state comparison
Over five years Ashmont has been increasing its teacher staffing rate, as well as its paraprofessional staffing rate.
The state average is fewer teachers and even fewer paraprofessionals than Ashmont.
What more would we like to know?

18. Looking at our resources more broadly…
Ashmont spends less per pupil than almost of of these districts - $12,874
How might spending rates in Bristol (low) and Point Hope (above average) influence our thinking about staffing and performance results?

19. Staffing level of teachers and paras (non-SPED and SPED)
Though we are lower spending, our staffing level of teachers is in the middle of the group. We seem to have fewer SPED teachers though. Do we think our reporting is accurate, consistent with other districts?

20. RADAR SPED: a quick look at placement trajectories
RADAR SPED has additional resources that can influence your comparison of district SPED programs – example is trajectory report

21. 2 An initial look at RADAR
Review and wrap-up 3

22. Step back, review, determine next steps
What have we learned about the data in our example?
What do we infer about SPED programs from the data?
What are three options for next steps in this analysis?

23. Using RADAR in your district
What opportunities do you see?
What questions do you have?
What suggestions do you have for DESE?

24. Contact radar@doe.mass.edu
Thank you
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