1. Involving Teachers in Data Driven Decision Making to Improve the Achievement of Special Education Students in Middle School Brigid Collins Susan MacDonald Dan Marquardt George Maurer Whittney Smith

2. Design Principal, Assistant Principal, the Director of Special Education and the Middle School Instructional Leaders developed a needs assessment to determine staff development for the following year. Administrative Team determined that there was a performance gap that was too large between special education and general education students

3. Needs Assessment Results from this needs assessment indicated that both general education and special education teachers felt that they wanted to increase student achievement but did not know how to use data to drive instruction.

4. Needs Assessment - Data Analysis ELA Grade Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Total % Passing (Level 3 + 4) 62.3%23%56.3%18.3%74.6% 77.2%29.2%49.3%14.4%63.7% 83.3%24.6%63.5%8.5%72% 6 th Special Ed. 46%  54% 7th Special Ed. 77%  23% 8th Special Ed. 84%  16%

5. Needs Assessment - Data Analysis Math Grade Level 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Total % Passing (Level 3 + 4) 66.6%15%58.4%19.9%78.3% 77.9%23.7%53.5%14.9%68.4% 85.6%19%60.2%15.3%75.5% 6 th Special Ed. 36%  64% 7th Special Ed. 63%  37% 8th Special Ed. 72%  28%

6. Synopsis Accountability mandates such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have drawn attention to the practical use of student data for school improvement. The disaggregating of the data for successful instruction. Student data are often stored in forms that are difficult to access, manipulate, and interpret. Such access barriers additionally preclude the use of data at the classroom level to inform and impact instruction.

7. Connection to Board Goals Board Goals – 2006-2007 IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT *Continuous incremental improvement towards school excellence as measured by quality indicators *A District of Readers MOBILIZE DISTRICT MISSION AND CORE VALUES *District Mission and Core Values are involved in district decision-making ENSURE FISCAL STABILITY OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM *5 Year Financial Plan *5 Year Capital Plan *Budget Development Process

8. “Increasing Student Achievement” nySTART allows efficient organization and access to student data. –these tools allow user-friendly data access at all educational levels, meaning that teachers can use these tools to engage in the informed reflection necessary to improve classroom practice. With Appropriate Support, teachers can pair lessons / tasks to the specific performance indicators using NYS-Virtual Learning System http://eservices.nysed.gov/vls/welcome.do, www.MarcoPolo.com, www.schoolisland.com, and Data Mentor www.datamentor.org http://eservices.nysed.gov/vls/welcome.do www.MarcoPolo.comwww.schoolisland.comwww.datamentor.org

9. “Tracking Growth” More Effective Measures --- The data shows all stakeholders how much a student has grown compared to his/herself as well as how much he/ she has grown compared to others. The New Frontier: Internet-Delivered Testing --- use of School Island for students & teachers to be able to track progess (expand) what progress is being tracked with this school island. Looking Ahead --- Assessment tools must be able to monitor growth in academic achievement over time; able to report results on a common measurement scale (across time, years, and grades) and provide timely and useful results for children, parents, and teachers.

10. Costs ProgramCost nySTART$0.00 DataMentor$0.00 (with BOCES Contract) Virtual Learning System$0.00 School Island$5.00/student ($3300.00) Staff Development$0.00 (in-house) Ongoing support (conference days, faculty/dept. meetings, release time) Substitute Fees

11. Funding Source District Budget

12. Timeline for Implementation JulyTechnical Infrastructure in place AugustSuperintendent’s Conference Day Rollout SeptemberDepartment / Faculty Meetings Release Time (Sp.Ed. with ELA & Math) OctoberDepartment / Faculty Meetings Release Time (Sp. Ed. with ELA & Math) NovemberSuperintendent’s Conference Day

13. Timeline for Implementation JanuaryELA Assessments! Release Time (Sp. Ed. with Math) FebruaryDepartment / Faculty Meetings MarchMath Assessments! AprilDept./Faculty Meetings MayFaculty Presentation JuneSummer Plans Addressed

14. Goals for Implementation JulyTechnology Infrastructure in place AugustIntroduce Data Initiative / Expectations Breakout Sessions (nySTART, School Island, Data Mentor) SeptemberData Analysis (Scores, Student Work) Training for all teachers in reading and writing across the content areas OctoberPaired Lessons / Activities (ELA / Math) NovemberSharing of Best Practices (ELA /Math) JanuaryNYS ELA Assessments 6-8: Move high level 2 students to level 3 and maintain or improve number of 3’s and 4’s within the district

15. Goals for Implementation FebruaryELA Dept. Meeting: Analyze our own data Benchmark Math Assessments / Paired MarchNYS Math Assessments 6-8: Move high level 2 students to level 3 and maintain or improve number of 3’s and 4’s within the district AprilMath Dept. Meeting: Analyze our own data MayEnsure March to March material (Math) is being addressed Presentation to Faculty Overall Math and ELA Results JuneMake Plans for summer work and/or curriculum writing/outline units of study for following year

16. Program Assessment Monitor growth in academic achievement over time; Quarterly Assessments and benchmarking that mirror state assessments Report results on a common measurement scale (across time, years, and grades); Provide timely and useful results for children, parents, and teachers. Only those types of assessments will meet our dual goals of keeping schools accountable and helping all students learn.