AXL Academy and Data: Working Towards our Vision Through Data Present Use and Possible Potential for Students and Teachers

AXL: A Revolution in Learning *** Our Vision*** College Preparation Active Teaching and Learning Strong School Culture Extending Learning Meaningful Relationships

How Can Data Take Us There? Baby Steps… AXL Academy has made a concentrated effort to use data in meaningful ways to direct instruction…

What This Looks Like: Teachers “Teachers use a variety of evaluation tools — including Colorado-mandated tests, nationally standardized tests, authentic assessments of students’ knowledge and skills, and portfolios of students’ work over time — to monitor students’ progress toward world class standards of achievement. Performance data from these assessments drive AXL’s ongoing curriculum development, training for teachers, and individualized supports for students’ learning.”

What We Are Doing Intervention Coordinators – This year AXL has introduced a “Director of Student Achievement.” In our school the DSA’s responsibilities are to oversee Special Education, Challenge, Response to Intervention (RTI), and Differentiation implementation school wide. Pathways – A system by which the teacher is “graded” on their performance based on student achievement. See What I’m Talking About: Pathways Pathways Leadership Teams- All teachers are assigned a Leadership Team that requires them to meet with a team leader once a month to discuss data and determine how to readjust instruction.

What This Looks Like Students “Students are assessed frequently against explicit learning targets to measure their progress toward Colorado Content Standards through standardized tests, value-added growth measures, teacher-developed instruments, and student portfolios. AXL tests both students’ increasing knowledge and skills, as well as their ability to integrate and apply them to solve real world problems. Student performance data drive continuous curriculum and teacher development.”

What We Are Doing -Achievement Reports – At the end of each trimester all students participate in Student Led Conferences. At this time students review their Achievement Report with their teachers and parents. These conferences differ from traditional conferences because the student is in charge. The student describes why they received the grades and describes what they are doing well and what they plan to work on. -Progress Monitoring – All students at AXL Academy are able to monitor their progress via the mandatory DRA and Galileo trackers that are displayed in the Great Room. Each student at AXL is given a letter that only they know. This way they are able to watch their progress build towards their own personal goals in math and reading. -Quiz tracker – My middle school Spanish student are given a quiz tracker to track their individual scores on our weekly quizzes. At the end of the unit they track their unit test score. Based on their scores, at the end of each unit, students set a quantitative goal for the following unit. Additionally, at the end of each unit the student is required to reflect on their performance by answering several questions designed to promote metacognitive thinking. They decide if they need to improve upon knowledge, study habits, or classroom behavior in order to reach their goal.

Success?

The Reality… We have a long way to go. Most of are students a still only considered “partially proficient” according to recent CSAP scores. AXL CSAP PERFORMANCE

Challenges Using “authentic assessments” vs. using traditional assessments How do we get our CSAP scores to match the genius we see in our classrooms everyday ? AXL has indeed set out to be a “revolution in learning” -AXL Academy is one of the only schools in the United States that has set out to use the Expeditionary Learning model with a student population that is considered to be “at risk.” AXL struggles to find the balance between teaching “deep content” and critical thinking skills alongside traditional “test taking” skills.

Hopes for the Future Effective Instructional Practices: Although AXL has taken enormous strides towards this goal, will we be able to work together as a community to formulate instruction and leadership that is both genuine and effective? Based on our school wide data, AXL has developed a growth plan designed to move our school in a positive direction Data-driven decision-making: Teachers, students, and administration collaborating effectively to formulate next steps Transparent leadership and decision-making: The goal is that every member or our learning community will have a voice and decisions regarding instruction will be made as a “team.”

Lingering Questions How and when can Leadership Team/ Admin help teachers deconstruct CSAP item analysis data? What is the best way to use individual student performance data to plan for instruction? What is the best way to determine school wide quantitative goals?