Professional learning about data review and use
As mentioned in the section on common benchmark assessments in Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention, effective middle grades teachers develop common assessments so they can ensure that all teachers evaluate student work by using the same measures. District specialists can be very effective in helping a new school team to develop and then analyze the results from common assessments. Steps include the following:
- Establish pacing guides for one year or one semester of grade-level course work.
- Set a vertical articulation planning day for all academic teachers to meet and discuss the pacing, expectations, and preparation needed for students to move from one grade level and to the next (for example, to move from fifth through eighth grade in English language arts).
- Using the pacing schedule for one grade, establish a four- to six-week assessment calendar.
- Using the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) CST blueprints as a guide, develop a pacing guide for the standards-based concepts that must be covered within each unit.
- Establish proficiency levels for each standard.
- Develop an assessment for each unit of study or use the embedded assessments in the state-adopted instructional materials.
- Develop (or adapt) a standards-based grading rubric (Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention).
- Set a calendar for dates when the teams will analyze results from each assessment (by grade and content level—i.e., seventh grade social science).
- After analyzing results by classroom and by question, discuss how to adjust instruction to:
- Help students who did not master the concepts.
- Reteach concepts that most students missed.
- Improve instruction by teachers whose students did not reach proficiency.
During data analysis discussions, members of PLCs examine how well each subgroup of students is progressing toward mastery of the standards. The team members learn from teachers whose students made significant progress and collaboratively design new lessons to assist students who struggle or those who need more challenge. (See the discussion about differentiated instruction in Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention”).
In the Spotlight
Lee Mathson Middle School, Alum Rock Union School District, a 2006 On the Right Track school
The staff and students at Mathson Middle School made a 198-point gain on California’s Academic Performance Index over three years and moved from a statewide decile ranking of 1 to a 5. Ongoing improvement at the school included Mathson’s extensive staff collaboration around data and changes to their instructional program based on test results.
Related Links
- Data management, Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention, TCSII.
- Lead data analysis, Recommendation 9—Leadership, TCSII.
- Local assessment data collection and analysis, Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention, TCSII.
- Test interpretation, Recommendation 2—Instruction, Assessment, and Intervention, TCSII.
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