Category: data analysis

Does proficiency mean competency?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Just because students took a state test and scored proficient doesn’t mean they’re competent at what they were being tested on. As a leader making decisions with state data, it’s important to know what it takes behind-the-scenes to be considered proficient on whichever state assessment you use.

Let’s say you are in a school where 83% of your 5th grade students were proficient on the state’s math test. (Even the achievement gap has closed.)

And you and your team are feeling so. Darn. Good!

And thrilled that 5th grade math does not have to be a focus of your improvement plan the next time around.

But what if those students only had to correctly answer about 33% of the available test questions to earn proficiency? Would that be a win for you and your students? Would that be a demonstration of competency?

Probably not.

Some states have low bars for proficiency. What this does in school improvement world is it sets a false sense of accomplishment if staff members don’t really know what is behind the scores. If staff members don’t realize the proficiency bar is low, they are going to move on to other things, while students still need help and support. Proficiency does not mean competency, but if a school scores 85% proficient, staff may assume that all is well and good – and students are competent when they are not.

As leaders, it’s important to know what’s behind your scores. Know what’s in your dough. Your state assessments are going to be tests of accountability, but they may not be tests that really support school improvement. But then again, you may be in a state where the test supports both. Either way, just know what’s going on so you can steer your improvement teams in the right direction.

If the state bar is set low, here are a couple of things you can do:

  1. Make sure staff members are aware of how test scores are computed by your state department of education.
  2. If the percentage of students proficient is high, but the bar to make proficiency is low, keep the content area in the school improvement plan. Continue to monitor your state data because it is used for accountability purposes. The accountability for your school.
  3. Consider using a high proficiency score as an Evidence of Need in the data portion of your school improvement plan or Comprehensive Needs Assessment. You may want to make a note that the reason it is an Evidence of Need even though you have a good percentage of students proficient, is because of the low bar it takes to achieve proficiency.
  4. Remember to include, also in the Evidence of Need, any subgroups for which you are accountable in your school.
  5. If you use our SmartData reports, make sure to use the Curriculum Alignment reports that set the bar much higher and gives you a different look at performance in your school.

As the leader of a school or district, you can make a difference by encouraging your school teams to hold their own bars high, no matter the bar set by the state. And don’t forget to continue to use more than one piece of evidence to know how your students are truly performing.

Please email me at wahlstromd@successlineinc.com if I can answer questions about your state’s assessment; I’d be happy to do so!

On another quick note, it’s a short work week and many of you will have extended time to be with families. It’s Thanksgiving week, and I so hope each of you enjoys the special time you’ll help create with your own family and friends. So many of you reach out to others during the school year – with a helping hand, a supportive attitude, an empathetic ear. While you don’t need a holiday to remind you to give thanks and do good things for others, Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy and reflect on those things for which we are grateful: our America, your faith, and our blessings. May you each take the time to recognize the things that bring joy to your life and heart – and enjoy those things immensely during your short time off.

New Cut Scores for Michigan’s MEAP and MME

It’s official.  You have likely heard that the new cut scores were coming.  Well they’re here.

When the MDE sent a memo out this week reminding everyone that historical data with the new cut scores attached would be released on Novemember 3, 2011 – I jumped into action.

I’ve put together a few materials that should be useful to you as you get to know your new cut scores.

DOWNLOAD THE 14 PAGE PDF HERE.  And do let me know if there’s anything else you need.

Exit Slips

Exit slips are as tool to check for understanding and get a sense of where your kids are on just about any topic you want.  They are so easy to implement.

I’ve written basic directions and examples for using exit slips in your classroom.

Don’t let this idea slip away!

Click here to download the three-page document for working with exit slips.

Content Card – Line Graphs, Elementary Level

This content card is for the elementary level.  The content card shows the parts of a line graph, ideas for comparing data, the definition of a line graph, and common words for describing the amounts in a graph.

Download this two-page content card for line graphs.

Content Card – Adding Fractions With LIKE Denominators

Fractions, fractions, fractions.  For so many students, these are quite the challenge to learn.  One of the first things that adults should do when students struggle with an area of the curriculum is to make sure we’ve clarified the content that students are to learn.  As you know, one of the ways to do this is through content cards.

Download a full-size pdf of the fraction content card.

As always, please let me know if there’s anything that should be added to the card.

Analysis Questions – Bar Graphs

One of the simplest things you can do to help students think deeply about visual material is to write analysis questions for the different types of visuals you use with students.  This example is for bar graphs – and I’ve included two examples to give you an idea of how these questions might look.  (I’ll be adding a whole series of analysis questions for different types of visuals, so be sure to check back often and/or subscribe to this blog.)

Overview Sheet – Analysis Questions, Bar Graphs

Analysis Questions, Bar Graph, Band Instrument Choices

Analysis Questions, Bar Graph, 3D Movies

After students talk about the information in the graphs, based on the guiding questions you provide, have them write a summary of what the graph says.  You can make this a short and sweet summary that uses bullet statements or you can have students write a full paragraph.  When you give students a chance to talk about the questions BEFORE having them write, they’ll do a much better job with the summary.

Use the graphs.  Get students talking about the information in the graphs.  Watch them develop deeper understanding because you guided them through deeper thinking of the material.  And as always, don’t forget to add your own good questions.  You may even want to add some here!

Know Data, Know Answers

I want to share a piece I wrote a number of years ago.  I love the rubrics designed by the fine folks at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, but I wanted to unpack the rubrics.  By unpacking the rubrics, I can get to data that allows me  to see the specific parts of the problem-solving process in mathematics for which students need help.  I hope you’ll read the article and add an idea or two to your assessment toolkit.  Download the article here.

Download a copy of Northwest’s Mathematics Problem Solving Grid.

Using Data to Form Flex Groups – Kindergarten Writing

You’ve likely heard about using data to inform student achievement.  You’ve also likely used assessment data from your state tests to try and do that.  There are many ways to use data, including the kinds of data you collect in your classroom.  This short piece describes how to use data from a rubric to form flexible groups for instruction.  Download the pdf to learn more about how to use this data strategy.

You may also want to download a copy of the kindergarten rubric that is used in this strategy.

Kindergarten Developmental Rubric

This three-page handout has an example of a developmental rubric that can be used in kindergarten.

Download the pdf of the kindergarten rubric and ideas for its use.

You may also want to see my post related to using the data from this rubric to form flexible groups.

Setting Achievement Bars

With the end of the school year comes time for district and school staff to determine how well students have learned.  School Boards do this also.  If you want to measure student achievement at higher levels, one way is to look at how your state sets its achievement bar on the state tests your students take.  By law, the state tests must measure what it is the state determined that students will learn.  I know, I know – that is a novel concept.  But let me share with you what we’ve learned and how that impacts student achievement in your school, district, and state.

I’ll use an example from Michigan here.  Michigan gives its state test in the fall of each year.  One of the things the state determines is what constitutes proficiency for each test – in other words, how many questions a student must answer correctly in order for a student to be considered proficient.  In 7th grade, a student has to answer only 34% of the questions correct in order to be deemed proficient.  Do you think that’s a problem?  I certainly do.  If we have students who we report as proficient when they are performing well on only about one-third of the test, how are we preparing them for high school?  For college?  For work?

Look at the graph on the left.  The blue line on the graph shows the percentage of questions a student must answer correctly in order to be proficient in mathematics on the MEAP test for grades 3-8.  The bar is set lower than most would like.  (I have yet to talk with an educator in Michigan who thinks the bar is just right or too low.)  This can be an issue in terms of school improvement because we can have 90% of our students proficient, but if the bar is so low, what does that really mean the students know?  Are they really showing proficiency?

District staff, building-level staff, and school board members can step up to the plate here and raise the bar.  How do you do that?  In addition to keeping a check on the percentage of students who are proficient on the MEAP test by the state’s standards, you can raise the bar and add another measurement that reflects your own higher standards.  The red line represents a bar in which a district says that to show success on the MEAP test, students must answer 75% or more of the questions correct.

So consider raising the bar and expecting more from the students for whom you are responsible.