Category: Using Data to Improve Student Achievement

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.

Glance inside the Comprehensive Needs Assessment Toolbook

It’s fresh. It’s new. It’s really quite good. If you are working on a Comprehensive Needs Assessment, this can be your number one go-to tool. It’s loaded with information for building data skills, while you work on your CNA.

Check out this link to see what’s included in the book.

Order the book here, – and enjoy getting data smart! And please, tell a friend!

Marketing Flyer Visual

Ten Reminders for a Stronger CNA

Ten Reminders for a Stronger CNA

The Quality of the CNA Matters

What we do as part of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment matters. It begins with the on-going analysis and review of data and should result with a plan that makes a difference in lives of students and those who support them (you).

We have a long way to go to truly build actionable plans that will make a difference. So many plans are designed to be more for compliance than for improving the lives of students.

The CNA process is where the school team figures out what to do about the issues it is facing. It’s about learning for all. It’s about opportunity for all. It’s about being intentionally inviting toward all.

It is a lot to think about, but that’s one of the reasons the CNA process is collaborative!

We can do this!

New Comprehensive Needs Assessment Toolbook

This toolbook is finally done. And I am sure proud of it. For a lot of reasons. First of all, it has just about everything a school team member needs to be successful working with the Comprehensive Needs Assessment process. Second, I developed the entire project in OneNote so you’ll be so organized you won’t know what to do with yourself. (Just pat yourself on the back, because you’ll be looking so durn smart.)

CNA Toolbook Cover

The ground-breaking tool not only has what you need to work through the CNA process, but I’ve also included all of the templates, too. Loads of them. Over 100 in all. Templates for data. Templates for problem-solving. Templates for Root Cause Analysis that you probably have not used before. Templates for name plates, agendas, sign-in sheets, school improvement plans, Smart sheets, and so much more.

And, the templates are so easy to retrieve. They are all right where I talk about them in the toolbook. There’s no going to the back of the toolbook, or another source, or a website – it’s all right there.

How about a quick preview?

Want your own copy? Here’s where to order.

You’ll be amazed at the power of the protocols you’ll have in your hands!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key Performance Indicators for a Content Area

As school teams work through their Comprehensive Needs Assessment process, an important task is that of determining the data points to consider for determining whether the objectives have been met. The challenge for school teams, is there is usually more than one data piece that can be tied in because we (1) want to triangulate data, and (2) can’t really say that one action led to one result. It’s more like, “We’ll be taking this set of action steps, and as a result, we expect to see differences in the data in these areas.” Rather than chug all the data together, I recommend school teams to organize data by content area. The accountability systems across the nation look at assessment results by content area, so schools are held accountable for those results. In all fairness to themselves, they need to see where they stand. More importantly, for many improvement efforts, the work is also planned and implemented through a content area as a natural organizer, such as reading.

For many school teams, figuring out what Key Performance Indicators to use is an issue that is easy to resolve. It starts with an understanding of the types of data that might be used for a content area. So today, I want to share a visual with examples of data points that could be used in the content area of reading, or English Language Arts.

KPI Reading, D Wahlstrom

I have divided the data into three categories: Learning for All, Opportunity for All, and Inviting for All. The purpose of the three categories is to ensure that a school is looking at required data for ESSA. So, under Learning for All, you’ll see data about proficiency and growth scores on state and benchmark assessments. This data is disaggregated by subgroup, and also looks at achievement gaps. This category can have other types of data as well including grades in courses and percentages of students earning successful scores on AP exams.

The Opportunity for All category provides data, related to reading/English Language Arts, that might show students have equitable opportunities. The data reflects enrollment in honors courses, AP courses, special education, and more. It also includes percentages of students receiving assistance, as that is what school improvement is all about.

In the Inviting for All category, the data includes climate data that matches well to reading. It reflects that inviting aspects of what a school team might like to see: students who love to read books and understand what we ask them to do. Students who feel like they are successful readers. Teachers who feel like they know what steps to take when students struggle – and have the tools they need to take those steps. And then parents who know the value of reading.

As what we work on year-in and year-out for students in the area of reading, these three categories reflect an overall picture – from the head to the heart – of how things are progressing.

 

 

 

 

Michigan’s New Reading Law

Get to Know Michigan’s New Reading Law – in this beginning-of-year activity, staff will learn key information related to the new reading law through a custom graphic organizer and a corresponding question set. (This is specific for the 2017-2018 school year.)  I actually had a lot of fun designing the graphic and I hope you’ll enjoy using this with your teachers. You know superintendents want you and your teachers to know this information!

Handouts

Additional Resources Cited in the Graphic Organizer

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.

Quick-Writes

A quick-write is a literacy strategy that can be used in any content area.  In this activity you give students a topic or let them choose one of their own and then give them five minutes or so to write quickly about the topic.

I’ve included brief directions for using Quick-Writes with your students and an example of how to have students fill in their writing logs.

Download the materials now and give the technique a try!

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!