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2. 2 Finding The Stories Behind The Data Ministry of Education Webcast December 6, 2006

3. 3 Part 1 How to work with school data

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5. 5 Co-Presenters Kim Howland, President, BCCPAC Charlie Coleman, Principal, SD79 “Data for Beginners” Introductions and Overview Who? Why? How?

6. 6 1. Understanding data sources Information Evidence Data 2.Connecting data with: Goals for this webcast Student learning School planning Stories behind the data

7. 7 Think about something you enjoy doing. It can be a hobby, sport, skill or talent. How good are you at it? Were you always that good? Are you improving? How do you know? How good do you want to be? By when? How will you know that you are getting better? 3 minutes of partner talk Starting the Conversation

8. 8 The Planning Cycle

9. 9 Working Together: Learning Communities are collaborative School improvement is a team effort The process should involve everyone, not just a select few

10. 10 The Planning Cycle Review: Review current school plan Monitor progress of goals Ask if the current strategies are making a difference

11. 11 The Planning Cycle Collect Information: Gather information, evidence, data Consider various sources Determine what is relevant

12. 12 The Planning Cycle Analyze: Engage in conversations about the data Ask questions about the data Consider the unique needs of the school

13. 13 The Planning Cycle Plan for Improvement: Select goals that matter to your school Set meaningful and measurable targets Choose strategies that will impact student learning

14. 14 The Planning Cycle Implement the Plan: Take action based on the plan Involve parents, staff and students Be flexible; the plan must be able to adapt to changing circumstances

15. 15 COLLECT INFORMATION “Improving districts and schools are actively considering at least three sources of evidence including classroom, school, district and provincial data” District Review Guide

16. 16 classroom school / school community district / community provincial Sources of Evidence (See Handout)

17. 17 Sources of Evidence “Sources of Evidence” (See Handout) At your table… Take 3 minutes to preview this handout What stands out for you? Discuss with a partner. 2 minutes Table Talk. 3 minutes What questions arise from this handout?

18. 18 Classroom Evidence Examples of classroom-based data include: BC Performance Standards Unit tests and quizzes Report card marks Teacher observations, checklists and notes Assessments developed by teacher, school or district Attendance information

19. 19 School-Level Evidence Examples of school-level data include: Reading assessments School-wide writes Report card marks BC Performance Standards Behaviour & attendance information Satisfaction Surveys

20. 20 District-Level Evidence Examples of district-level data include: District-wide assessments (reading, math, etc.) District-wide write Report card marks Participation rates Discipline & attendance records Demographic information

21. 21 Provincial-Level Evidence Examples of Provincial-level data include: Ministry of Education Satisfaction Surveys Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) Provincial Exams Dogwood Completion Rate Grade-to-grade transition rates

22. 22 Classroom School / school community District/ community Provincial Classroom data informs instruction and tracks progress of individual students. School data tracks progress and informs school practices / policies / goals and objectives. District data tracks trends and informs district practices / policies / goals and objectives. Provincial data tracks trends over time and reveals patterns and systemic strengths and weaknesses.

23. 23 See handout: “Commonly Used Terms” Take 5 minutes to preview this handout Is there something of particular interest? Why? Discuss with a partner. 2 minutes Table talk. 3 minutes What did you find that was new or surprising? Return from Break at 7:25 Commonly Used Terms: (Jargon Alert!!!)

24. 24 Part 2 Finding the stories behind the data

25. 25 Questions and Answers

26. 26 “It’s not the raw scores that count but what you do with them” Michael Fullan, Macleans, May 2001

27. 27 ANALYZE 1.Look for patterns and trends over time 2.Check participation rates 3.Check the data for sub-populations (i.e. Male, Female, Aboriginal, ESL) 4.Compare data from different sources 5.Ask questions and generate alternate hypotheses 6.Plan for improvement based on the data Finding the stories behind the data:

28. 28 An Elementary Example

29. 29 Interrogating your data What good news is here for us to celebrate? What points seem to pop up? What is missing? What is surprising, unexpected or unexplained? What other sources of data would be useful to us?

30. 30 A Middle School Example In your materials… Find the data for “Erehwon Middle School” Have a 5 minute conversation Start by asking questions…(see next slide)

31. 31 Looking at some data -What important points seem to emerge? -Are there patterns that you notice? -Based on this data, what appear to be strengths of the school? -What is missing? What does the data not tell us? -Based on this data, what goals might be included in a school plan?

32. 32 A Secondary Example Secondary School Social Responsibility Goal

33. 33 What to do with the data: Ask lots of questions Focus on student learning Find the stories behind the data

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35. 35 Collecting & Analyzing Information: (See Handout)

36. 36 Use the guiding questions in the handout to discuss this at your table.

37. 37 Use the guiding questions in the handout to discuss this at your table. Indicators/evidence What data did we look at? Results to Date How are we doing? Target What do we hope to achieve? Comments/Summary of Progress District-wide Assessment; Grades 3 and 6 BC Social Responsibility Performance Standards: Solving Problems in Peaceful Ways. All Grade 3 and 6 students in the school, assessed by classroom teachers (June 2005) June 2005 % at each level of BC Performance Standards Percent fully meeting or exceeding expectations combined Grade 3 74% Boys 67% Girls 82% Aboriginal 67% Grade 6 64% Boys 54% Girls 76% Aboriginal 46% gr. 3 n=115 (96% participation); Aboriginal n=30 gr. 6 n=131 (93% participation); Aboriginal n=26 Increase the percent of students who "fully meet" or "exceed" expectations for Solving Problems in Peaceful Ways. Increase the percent of boys who fully meet or exceed expectations in this area. Increase in the percent of Aboriginal students who fully meet or exceed expectations. Baseline data has now been established and will be supported with structures and strategies. The results show that at both grades, teachers’ ratings of girls were substantially higher than for boys. Aboriginal students, overall, were less likely to be assessed as fully meeting or exceeding expectations than non-Aboriginal students. When Grade 3 and Grade 6 data were compared, younger students were more likely to be rated as fully meeting or exceeding expectations than were older students. The lower pattern of ratings for Aboriginal students is troubling, and the basis for these decisions by school staff needs to be carefully examined to ensure that there is no systematic bias in the results. A similar examination of ratings for boys also needs to be undertaken. This may involve a focus group of teachers.

38. 38 Use the guiding questions in the handout to discuss this at your table.

39. 39 Table Talk Look at the sample data in the handout “Collecting and Analyzing Information”. In pairs, discuss the guiding questions below each example. At your table discuss: What is new or surprising for you? What stories might be behind this data?

40. 40 The Planning Cycle

41. 41 Questions for Continuous Review What are we most proud of in our work towards improving student achievement? What results are we finding so far? What strategies are working well? What strategies might need to be revised? Have we met our targets – if not, why? What adjustments might need to be made? What are some new priorities or challenges that we might need to address?

42. 42 Celebrations! It is important to celebrate your success stories. This should occur regularly. Examples of this include: Individual student “high fives” Newsletters, memos and presentations Conversations in the parking lot Discussions at school functions Conversations in the Staff Room or Parent Room PAC and SPC meetings How else could you celebrate success stories?

43. 43 Conclusion To accomplish great things, we must not only dream, but act. - Bill Blackman ACT! Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the difficult may become easy. - Bill Blackman PERSEVERE! INQUIRE! To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions -Author Unknown “Celebrate what you want to see more of” -Thomas J. Peters CELEBRATE!

44. 44 Thank you! For more information check out: www.bced.bc.ca/spc January 31, 2007 SPC Webcast