Using Data to Improve Student Achievement

1
Using Data to Improve Student Achievement

• July 2008

2
Outline

• Data-based inquiry does make a difference
  (Timperley Research 2003)
• Which data?
• Data-based decision making

3
NZ education research smartest in the world

• 7 January 2008
• A leading Canadian educationalist has hailed
  the Ministry of Education-funded Best Evidence
  Synthesis (BES) programme as state-of-the art
  saying no-one else in the world is doing work as
  good.

4
Assessment for learning

• Good assessment information allows for targeted
  teaching. It can only serve this purpose however,
  if teachers are focused on the teaching-learning
  relationship and how to improve it without this
  focus, assessment becomes a tool for labelling.
• (Timperley et al. 2003)

5
Evidence-informed conversations
6
Clarity of purpose

• I propose that the most important habit of mind
  involves a desire to find out how to improve
  instructional practices for those students
  currently underserved by our education system and
  to take the risk to have existing assumptions
  about these students and how to teach them
  challenged.
• 
  
• 
  (Timperley in Early Timperley, 2008)

7
(No Transcript)
8
Quality assessment data is crucial

• Assessment data
• Provides a catalyst for initial and ongoing
  engagement
• Identifies professional learning needs
• Identifies student learning needs through
  assessment of their understandings and skills in
  order to focus teaching
• Facilitates inquiry into the effectiveness of
  practice with particular students for the purpose
  of confirming or refining practice.

9

• Teacher Professional Learning and Development
• Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES)
• New Zealand Ministry of Education
• http//educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz/goto/BES/
• New Zealand

10
Which data?

• Data that answer the question
• Who are our students? (Demographic information,
  enrolment data, parent community interviews)
• What does our school stand for? ( School vision,
  beliefs about teaching and learning, levels of
  professional dialogue)
• How are our students doing? (Student achievement
  data)
• How well is our school achieving its vision?
  (Parent perceptions, staff perceptions, student
  perceptions.

11
Data-based decision making
12
Teamwork is more effective

• Teachers work collaboratively with other teachers
  and school leaders to develop documented patterns
  of evidence of student learning and to identify
  areas needing improvement.
• Teams might be specific to e.g. Phases, KLAs, or
  aimed at whole school or cluster improvement of
  student achievement data.
• Links with Professional Standards for Teachers
  Standard 11
• Contribute to professional teams.

Establish a team to improve achievement
13
Hypotheses- the starting point

• Hypotheses -based on achievement data that show
  patterns
• Guesses based on assumptions that need testing
• Links with Professional Standards for Teachers
  Standard 12
• Commit to professional practice.

Develop a hypothesis
14
Collecting data

• Good assessment information allows for targeted
  teaching that leads directly to improvement in
  student achievement in the Key Learning Areas.
• Disaggregate data by factors such as
  race/ethnicity, English proficiency and
  disability status.
• A balanced data collection should include
• School-based achievement
• School-based consultation
• State and National Achievement
• Links with Professional Standards for Teachers
  Standard7
• Assess and report on student learning.

Gather data to assess needs
15
Using data

• Data patterns
• It is important to look at trends over time.
• Consider the purpose of data analysis
• Patterns may be in KLAs e.g. science results,
  within KLAs e.g. problem solving in maths, in
  subgroups e.g. boys in English or students with
  English as an additional language or in the
  affective domain of the school e.g. parents dont
  feel welcome or teachers feel overloaded.
• Clarification
• It is useful to compare school data with
  like-schools
• What does the data tell us about our intervention
  choices?
• What does the data tell us about our PD needs?
• Links with Professional Standards for Teachers
  Standard 7 Assess and report on student
  learning.

Use data
16
Developing goals

• Brainstorm ways to improve student achievement
  with key stakeholders.
• Make goals specific from a baseline, and ensure
  progress is able to be tracked within teachers
  regular classroom practice.
• Make goals realistic and able to be achieved
  successfully within the context/constraints the
  school works within.
• Enlist the support of the community.
• Target strategies that are evidence-based, i.e.
  strategies that have a track record of successful
  student achievement data in like schools.
• Focus resources including teachers using data to
  redirect instruction.
• Links with Standard 7 Assess and report on
  student learning.

Develop a data-based plan
17
Monitoring improvement

• Monitoring tools need to be part of regular class
  teaching tools to be sustainable.
• A balance of monitoring tools provides the most
  reliable information for analysing progress.
• Involve all teachers in decisions about
  monitoring processes
• Documenting success
• The momentum for sustained improved practice is
  most likely when all stakeholders teachers,
  parents, students as well as school leaders visit
  the target data often, in ways that celebrate
  success.
• Links to Standard 7 Assess and report on
  student learning.

Monitor improvement and document success
18
Case studies

• For a series of case studies see the Guidelines
  Whole school intervention for improvement
  http//education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/framework/p
  -12/docs/guidelines-intervention.doc