datadriven

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How can you use this data to guide instruction? Student data on a specific item can be valuable to teachers. Inferences based on the data can be used to guide classroom instruction. Teachers might want to explore the following questions: What core learning goal indicator is this item testing? Is this indicator included in the curriculum in my local school system? To what extent is this indicator being taught? To what extent have I assessed this indicator? How do the results of my classroom assessment correlate with the field test? How familiar are the students with the rubric used to score performance (for constructed responses items only)? What common errors do you see in the way students respond? What do the distractors tell you about instructional needs?

"Data helps you make changes. And when you see data, it really puts [student achievement] right in your face." —Virginia Lawton, 6th-grade teacher in Wisconsin [|http://www.3d2know.org] Data-Driven Instruction 3D2Know: Data-Driven Decision Making CoSN launched the Data-driven Decision Making Initiative: Vision to Know and Do building upon its role in providing key K–12 school district managers with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective leadership. [|]

http://www2.edc.org/asap/ Getting Started with Assessment

"Effective educators make effective decisions, decisions based on accurate information. If knowledge is power, then studying the current abilities, skills, attitudes, and learning styles of students empowers educators to adjust the curriculum to achieve whatever goals the school and district have chosen. When educators study their schools and classes, they seek an answer to an ageless question: Is it good because we've been doing it for a long time, or is it good because we have tangible evidence of its worth? In many instances one must conclude the former because no evidence exists to support the latter." James Johnson

Assessment of learning vs. Assessment for learning Data can be used not only to evaluate and track student performance but also to assess instructional effectiveness and various other factors that influence student learning.

Data Quality Campaign (DQC) A national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. [|http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org]

Buried Treasure: Developing a Management Guide From Mountains of School Data This report (in PDF format) provides a practical discussion of what is required to develop a school district "management guide," along with an actual guide built on evidence-based indicators. [|] http://www.crpe.org/pubs/pdf/BuriedTreasure_celio.pdf

http://www.wcboe.org/teachers/cmolnar/data_driven_instruction.htm When I first started teaching, I would teach a lesson and assess my students to see if they had learned the objectives of the lesson. If they did, then I moved on. If they did not then I had to re-teach. That was the fledgling beginnings of data driven instruction. Using the data to make decisions about what is best for our students is what we are expected to do with increasing precision.

No longer can I look at my class as a whole and say, "Did they get it?" I have to look at each individual student and say, "What are his/her areas of strength and weakness?" "How can I improve those weaknesses?" "How can I use those strengths to the child's advantage?" I need to have data to support every lesson I teach. If I am re-teaching something, I should have data that supports that decision. When you stop to think about it, that is a daunting task.

For those elementary school teachers who have 20 - 30 students and teach them all subjects, and they are expected to know each child's needs in each subject. Or for the middle school or high school teacher who could possibly have 170 or more students and needs to know all of their specific needs. How to organize that information and what to do with it once it has been organized is overwhelming! One of the problems that educators face in this task is that there are many software programs that assist in organizing such information.

However, they, are not compatible, or do not all work together, which can create more problems than the program was intended to alleviate. In addition once a system of data organization is in place, all stake holders do not have access to all information which can make the teacher's job frustrating. I only teach one subject and this year alone I have already created many different spreadsheets using Excel. Excel has been a lifesaver for me for organizing and analyzing data.

NCREL: School Improvement Through Data-Driven Decision Making Designed to give educators—and others involved in using data in a classroom, school, or district—a variety of places to find resources, tools, and action steps to foster school improvement. [|] http://www.ncrel.org/datause/ http://www.ncrel.org/datause/howto.php

It has allowed me to organize the data for each student and their test scores. I have additional columns for the objectives that I will be teaching so that when I have that data, I can add it to the snapshot I am creating of each individual student. I can then use that snapshot to assess students' needs. I can create groups of students based upon their individual needs. Hopefully with this data at my disposal, I can increase my students' learning.

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program This website acts as a resource for grantee and non-grantee states regarding the grant program, and the development of longitudinal data systems in general. http://165.224.221.98/Programs/SLDS/index.asp

Guide to Using Data in School Improvement Efforts A Compilation of Knowledge From Data Retreats and Data Use at Learning Point Associates December 2004 by Learning Point Associates

http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/datause/guidebook.pdf

More… http://www.success.co.il/is/dik.html

http://www.fcrr.org/science/pdf/kosanovich/jrf_leadership.pdf

Spreadsheet Project Some sample projects that students can complete using spreadsheets: Collect, analyze and graph lab science projects. Setting up word problems (formula) and verifying answers. Collect coin toss results for demonstrating the laws of probability. Tracking stock market. Analyzing election data from the electoral college. Predict prices given the Consumer Price Index. Prepare a Profit and Loss statement for a mythical company. Prepare a home budget. Perform a comparative shopping demonstration. Keep a check register. Perform compound interest calculations. Perform statistical calculations (correlations, standard deviations)

Infusing Spreadsheets Spreadsheets can be used in an amazing number of ways, in virtually every subject area. This page and the next will provide you with some ideas. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_excel.htm North Carolina Education Lesson Plans http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/ A spreadsheet lesson plan for the appreciation for children's literature. http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/tdalton/lesson2.html TeacherVision Lesson Plans Weather Station (http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-331.html) M & M Math (http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-1.html) Star Magnitude Graphing (http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-1530.html) Country of Origin Comparison (http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-696.html) http://www.ncpublicschools.org/mentoring_novice_teachers/Module1/Math/MathHandouts.pdf