District Administration - December 2012 - (Page 33)

sponsored web seminar digest Using data from continued, timely assessment can strengthen teacher effectiveness and increase student achievement Cathy Groller Superintendent Milton (Penn.) area School District At Milton Area School District, when we were working on improvements, the first thing we did was examine our mission statement. We feel it is important for schools to be focused on worthy outcomes and to address these outcomes with coherence and consistency. Our mission statement drives our purposeful actions. Our first step in making change across the school district was to analyze data and prioritize needs. We wanted to focus on student progress and performance through a transparent, systemic approach. Various tools such as standardized test scores and eInstruction’s assessments help us gather data to drive our decision making. We then built districtwide data teams. At the high school level, the teams are department based; at the middle and K5 level, they are grade-level based. The elementary teams are supported by technology integration and literacy coaches. We utilize all available options to collect data and disaggregate and examine the results. Specifically, we are looking at the behaviors and evidence that are correlated with student performance. We try to identify trends and patterns in both performance and the factors the school controls. The goal setting model we selected for Milton allows for specific, measurable goals that are challenging but attainable for students. As these goals address an urgent need, change is expected. Timely dates are selected for the measurement of goals. Building time into the schedule for teachers to review data and revise student goals is necessary. There is always the chance for a teacher to stop, examine data, and change his or her practice if necessary. Our high school teams meet every six weeks to analyze benchmark data and determine if mid-course changes are necessary. To see if changes have been successfully implemented, there should be an observable change in teacher and student behavior. The degree of effectiveness tells us if we have successful goals or we need to revise our strategies. Milton’s end is student performance. This is why we find it necessary to review results indicators for every assessment in every class. Interim assessments and results indicators are reviewed by data teams, coaches, and administrators. We have “war rooms” that contain student data and indicate where students are and where we need to move them to. We also have an online, collaborative space shared by all educators. This space was essential to our culture of trust. There is no judgment held against a student or teacher. Rather, we take an offensive, proactive approach on changing behaviors and increasing learning and engagement while moving student progress and performance ahead. Our long-term goal is to help students become selfmanaging in their learning. We believe that reflection is a large part of our professional practice and by using this type of data-driven model with formative assessment, everyone from the student to the board of directors is engaged. Not only is everyone in the school engaged, but there has been a creation of real collaboration between the teachers and administrators. Our holistic approach has allowed for a shared understanding of the sense of urgency for student progress and achievement. To schools thinking of moving to a data-driven model, I urge you to think about how your leadership would monitor school plans, how mid-course corrections would be made, and what process you would use to make revisions. Most of all, consider how you would stop and celebrate those incremental results.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - December 2012

District Administration - December 2012
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Special Education
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Fab Lab: Using Technology to Make (Almost) Anything!
Neuroscience in Schools
Three Squares at School
Top 100 DA Readers Choose Innovative Products of the Year
CIO News
Problem Solution
Crisis Response
Online Edge
Going Mobile

District Administration - December 2012

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