Solutions for School-Age Students

Using Data to Improve Teaching, Learning, and Results, Pre-K–12

The assessment mandates of NCLB imply that schools have an abundance of test data to use to inform teaching and learning and improve student achievement. While these test data are available and necessary, the question is whether they are sufficient to make the powerful data-driven decisions that actually inform instructional planning and improve student outcomes.

This solution defines data as formal benchmark testing and annual assessments, but does not limit it to these data points. For this solution we are defining data as ongoing evidence of student learning that includes class discussions, group and individual projects, responses to questions, homework and seatwork, classroom assessments, interviews, and many other data sources. And, while use of all of this offers a compelling picture of student learning, this solution also focuses on the classroom conditions and the teaching strategies that shaped student learning. Enabling a comprehensive and robust approach to collecting and using student data to improve achievement requires:

• Deepening teachers' understanding of formative assessments and how to use these data to inform teaching
• Promoting self-assessments and goal setting by students
• Building a culture of inquiry and continuous improvement

These solution strategies will be developed through face-to-face and online professional learning sessions, outcomes-focused coaching designed to inform teaching practice with student learning data, and ongoing classroom walkthroughs to monitor implementation of data-informed practices and assess their impact on student learning.

Deepening Teachers' Understanding of Formative Assessment Data: Most teachers recognize that there is a range of data available to them every day, but they don't always take advantage of opportunities to organize, aggregate, and analyze the data in order to use the data to inform their teaching. To ensure that teachers take advantage of the opportunities available to them, Teachscape coaches will provide face-to-face and online professional learning to teachers and instructional leaders to enable them to:

• Use questioning, classroom discussions, and other formative assessments effectively to inform teaching and to raise student achievement. The coaches will inform the professional learning with Teachscape online resources, focusing on the use of multiple sources of formative data and how to analyze these to develop class learning profiles and differentiate instruction to accommodate the identified learning strengths and needs. Emphasis will be placed on using the aggregated data to guide teaching practice.
• Deepen teachers' understanding of student thinking to better understand student learning gaps and needs. Using Teachscape learning resources, participating teachers will build their capacity to analyze and address student thinking as a way of understanding students' learning strengths and needs. To apply this learning, teachers will identify 3 focus students, assess their learning strengths and needs, and develop strategies to inform their teaching practice with this information.
• Identify classroom practices that support/constrain student achievement. The coaches will help teachers use the learning profiles and analysis of focus student thinking to identify basic instructional strategies that might support/constrain student learning and achievement. Using customized walkthrough tools, teachers will assess their classrooms or, as critical friends, classrooms of peers, for evidence of these practices. Following the analysis, teachers will develop plans to replace practices that constrain achievement with those that support student learning.

Promoting Self-Assessments and Goal Setting by Students: Engaging students in the process of assessing their progress relative to goals and setting/revising their own learning goals helps to put the youngsters in charge of their learning. Teachscape coaches will enable classroom teachers to develop student self-assessment and goal setting by ensuring they can:

• Engage students with appropriate strategies identified by Marzano that will promote self-assessment and goal setting. Teachers will use Teachscape online resources to understand the impact of student self-assessment and goal setting and, with coaching support, implement these strategies in their classrooms.

Putting It All Together: Building a Culture of Inquiry and Continuous Improvement: Ultimately, sustainability rests on the efficacy of the data process to align and focus the efforts of the entire school community—teachers, students, and leaders—on continuous improvement of student outcomes. The Teachscape coaches will support the development of this culture by:

• Using the Classroom Walkthrough tools and process to identify implementation and monitor the impact of the data-informed teaching practices on student learning and achievement. In addition to providing walkthrough data themselves, the coaches will train instructional leaders to use the tool and process to shape a culture of inquiry and continuous improvement.
• Engaging leaders in the process, through classroom walkthroughs and through collaboratively developing data-informed improvement plans with the teachers. Engaging the leaders will help ensure sustainability as they develop and support a culture of continuous improvement and rigor.