How Can Using Data Lead to School Improvement?

Six-Year Plan: Vision Collaborating for Success VISION: An effective positive behavior support system fosters discipline at each school. All teachers and administrators participate in fully functioning professional learning communities. High Quality Curriculum &Instruction All students achieve high levels of success as math problem solvers. All students achieve high levels of success as readers, writers and thinkers. All subgroups of students meet or exceed Standards of Learning goals. All students graduate from high school. All teachers reflect on student learning and continuously work to improve instructional practices. Purposeful Use of Data &Assessment Teachers and schools respond intentionally when students struggle with or exceed learning expectations. All staff collect, manage, and use data and assessment to inform decisions. Community Outreach All Staunton City Schools are revered by staff, students, parents, and community. All Staunton City School parents are fully involved and engaged in their child’s education.

What data do you collect? 7/11/2012 What data do you collect? Assessment Data (Quantitative) Perception Data (Qualitative) Student Data (Quantitative) Program Data (Quantitative) ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: DOES YOUR SCHOOL HAVE ACCESS TO ALL 4 TYPES OF DATA? DOES YOUR SCHOOL CURRENTLY USE ALL 4 TYPES OF DATA FOR PLANNING PURPOSES? WHAT DECISIONS ARE MADE BY USING THE DATA? Assessment Data Assessment data is the foundation for all other data analyses. When looking at student, program, and perception data, continue using assessment data. Comprehensive assessment system uses more than state assessment data, need all 3 types of assessment data. State assessment data not a full view of how students are learning. Student Data Demographic-not in student’s control Behavioral-in student’s control Demographic Gender Ethnicity Economic Status Grade Age Year of Enrollment Transportation Disability Limited English Proficiency Career/Tech Education Behavioral Attendance Referrals Truancy Suspension Student Employment Date of Dropout Date of Graduation Program Data Course enrollments Alternative-program enrollments Graduation rates Student/teacher ratio Teacher attendance data Teacher licensure data Extracurricular participation Special education program information Perceptions Data Satisfaction evaluated by the school community Students, parents, teachers, staff, school board, citizens, businesses Parents/student surveys School safety data School climate data Suggestion box information Newspaper editorials/letters

Why do you choose to keep that data? 7/11/2012 Why do you choose to keep that data? Assessment Data Student Data Where do we as a department or school want to be? What are the needs? Is this reflected in our goals? What are the highest accomplishments we can achieve in our department/ school/ division? Are we there? Is what we are doing making a difference for ALL students? Are all students meeting the benchmark? Are all students making progress? Perception Data Program Data How do we want to be perceived by students, parents, staff, community? Is that the perception? Is what we are doing working? If so, how can we continue to show improvements in this area? If not, have we implemented with fidelity? What do we need to do in order to see progress? Assessment Data (examples): Increased advanced academic achievement for students (Advanced test scores, Advanced Placement testing, Advanced Diplomas, etc.)? Academic recognitions for schools (VIP award, Blue Ribbon, Title I Distinguished School, etc.)? Growth for ALL students? Athletic awards???? The most efficient, "green", and well-kept school?

Schools committed to improving student learning need information more than ever. They must have a process that gathers authentic and relevant information and used it to identify strengths and weaknesses in a way that pushes people toward continuous improvement.” (Dolan, 1994)

Where should we focus our attention? Goal-Setting It takes all of us . . . Goals AND Strategies Administrator s Teachers Staff Students Parents Community Daily Instruction Every day matters . . . Maximized instructional time Clear learning target (planned) Aligned curriculum Engaged/authentic Higher-level thinking (rigor) Evidence of student learning Work of the PLCs Common learning goals, assessments, reflections What do we want students to know? How will we know they have learned it? How will we respond when they don’t learn it? How will we enrich when they do learn it? Intervention Continuous monitoring and support for individual student progress Use data to identify students Set appropriate goals for students Provide high-quality intervention and support Continuously monitor student progress If this is the focus, what do you see as really important data to keep?

How does data lead to improvement? Questions to begin thinking about soon . . . Did we, as a school/division, meet our objectives? If not, what do we need to do differently? What are indicators (best practices) that align to our data needs? What is the climate of our school/division? What are some specific perceptions or needs that need to be addressed in the improvement plan? What programs and/or interventions are working or not working? - SOL blitz - Summer school - Homework club - Successmaker

Resources for School Improvement

What does the data indicate is an area of improvement? Math? Reading? Discipline? Attendance? Graduation? Take a comprehensive look at the data from your school. What does the data indicate needs most immediate improvement? Subgroup? Content category?

What are contributing school factors or needs? Common vision? High level thinking? Belief in all students? Rigorous assessments? Aligned curriculum? After looking at the data, brainstorm school factors that may have contributed to this area of improvement. (Note: There are many factors outside of our control, so we need to focus on those that are within our control and how we may impact change for the student.) Fidelity of implementation? Maximized instructional time? Specific and targeted interventions?

How do these needs align with indicators? Example Data/ Need: Indicator Data indicates that the mathematics performance at the school was significantly lower than other schools implementing the same curriculum. Was the curriculum implemented with fidelity? How will we know if we are making improvements in this area? ID10: The school’s Leadership Team regularly looks at school performance data and aggregated classroom observation data and uses that data to make decisions about school improvement and professional development needs.

Targeted Interventions Required Improvement Indicators for All Schools in Improvement School leadership teams must assess and include the three targeted interventions indicators below in their improvement plans. Targeted Interventions TA01 The school uses an identification process (including ongoing conversations with instructional leadership teams and data points to be used) for all students at risk of failing or in need of targeted interventions. TA02 The school uses a tiered, differentiated intervention process to assign research-based interventions aligned with the individual needs of identified students (the process includes a description of how interventions are selected and assigned to students as well as the frequency and duration of interventions for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students). TA03 The school uses a monitoring process (including a multidisciplinary team that meets regularly to review student intervention outcome data and identifies “triggers” and next steps for unsuccessful interventions) for targeted intervention students to ensure fidelity and effectiveness. How will the school improvement team involve the entire staff in the selection of rapid improvement indicators that address the needs of the school? What data will be used to determine the needs of the school? How is the data aligned to selected indicators? How will consensus be reached regarding the indicators that are ultimately selected?

How does data lead to improvement? Questions to consider throughout the year . . . Based on universal screenings and other assessments, are all students showing growth? Who are students being monitored? Tier 2 students? Tier 3 students? What is being done for these students, and is it making a difference? What instructional trends is our walk-through data showing and where do we need to focus attention? Does our data correlate? For example, do our grades align with our other assessments? What does the work of the PLC look like? Does it demonstrate academic rigor? What are the key elements? Is behavior getting in the way of learning? If so, for whom? How? Is attendance getting in the way of learning? If so, for whom? How? Are we on track for meeting/ exceeding benchmarks? How do we know?

The right data is predictive . . .

Drum Roll Please . . .

“How High-Poverty Schools are Getting it Done” 1 – Their beliefs about potential drive their work. 2 – They put instruction at the center of their managerial duties. 3 – They focus on building the capacity of all the adults in the building. 4 – The monitor and evaluate what leads to success and what can be learned from failure.