Rock Springs, September 25, 2009 Dr. Mark J. Stock University of Wyoming Educational Leadership 307-766-5649 office 307-460-0292 mstock1@uwyo.edu With support and contributions from Dr. Robert Cockburn Mr. Phil Metcalf

You will be able to describe multiple ways of using data in your classrooms, grade levels/departments, schools and board rooms. You will create data displays intended to clearly, simply and professionally communicate a concept or trend appropriate for your intended audience.

Assessment Notebooks: Data by school Data by grade level Data by team Data Dashboards: School Grade level Team

Guilt-free assistance Unlimited phone calls, faxes and emails to help individual teams and teachers Calls or phone conferences with individual teams to help them with their data notebooks and data dashboards Additional site visits as available and warranted at no extra charge.

Help you do your work, not create more work What it’s not: It’s not a new training It’s not a new program It’s not a new technique It’s just a slightly different way of viewing the work you already do!!!!

Individual student level Classroom level Grade / department level School level District level

Reflect on this question for one minute, then share with those at your table When your world shrinks to the size of your classroom, and the door goes shut, what frustrates you the most inside the classroom? When your world shrinks to the size of your school, what frustrates you most about moving forward with school improvement?

When you leave today you will be able to: Describe multiple ways of using data to help communicate the values/goals of your classroom or grade level Develop a school building or district data display to communicate key concepts to the public

“Most data require only the ability to count and calculate percentages. Any conscientious teacher or team of teachers can do this.” Schmoker 1999

Butcher paper on the walls Peters’ describes this data as “back of the envelope” calculations Wall Street may never see it – but it’s the data on the shop room floor that really improves the bottom line

Discussion: At your table, make a list of data points that you currently have available District Level School Level Professional development data Student data Grade Level or Department Classroom Level Student Level

Find another team at your grade level and go through the lists How close are they? Are there any “data points” that were unusual or that tracked something besides academics?

Selected data tools taken from “Tool Time for Education: Choosing and Implementing Quality Improvement Tools” By David Langford

Simple Comparative Data Displays multiple factors Displays highs and lows

Simple Comparative Data Shows the trends Compares multiple factors

Compares performance against some predetermined standard or indicator Compared to other classes, other students, other schools, state averages etc. Could be graphed using bar graphs, line graphs etc.

Used to determine how often an event is occurring. Turns opinions into verifiable facts Helpful in finding and recording multiple occurrences of an event Example: Interruptions

Sample the square root of your total items once a week Example (100 most important spelling words in the 3rd grade) Sample 10 words a week Sum the total correct for the whole class Graph each weeks total

Used to show the variation in scores Example: Class writing rubric scores

Also called a line graph or time chart Used to monitor progress Examples: Monitor missed class time due to tardies

Take each data tool Take turns with a partner explaining each tool Have your partner give an example of that tool in use in the school

The following slides show examples of various data tools displaying School-wide data Grade Level or Department Data Classroom data Individual student data

Post a school-wide data board in your school’s entrance to communicate school-wide goals and measures Post graphs that display progress with various interventions

Don’t forget….

Most of us love kids, not charts and graphs And….our only goal is to improve the skills and knowledge of our students But….is it wrong for society to ask us… “How do you know if you have?”

“It’s about the kids stupid!” (James Carville reinterpretation) Personalize the Data (School board ISTEP/PAWS data example) Put a Human Face on the Data “Our test scores went up!”

Collective data that is compiled by the grade level, department or team It could track the groups progress It could compare one grade level or department to another It could compare individual classrooms

We have not yet addressed a ROOT problem in trying to raise student achievement…. The psychological and emotional engagement of our students

Lee Jenkins: “We have to get them to understand how their individual efforts contribute to overall classroom improvements.” The intentional use of individual and classroom graphical displays of data can encourage psychological and emotional engagement

Classroom data boards communicate class goals and measures Tests Quizzes Behavior Progress

Data Notebooks Test scores Homework scores Attendance Grades

Classroom and school-wide examples

These tools are designed to be applied to any problem you are trying to solve or idea you are trying to communicate They could be District School Grade level or department Classroom Individual

Guided Practice

Who do you want to communicate with? Parents? Wider community? Staff? Students? Central Office? School Board? Media?

Is there a trend or a key idea that you want them to know about you? (Something they should know) Is there something THEY want to know about you? (Something you need to explain to them) Is there something YOU want to know about yourself? (Something your staff needs to find out about themselves)

In groups by grade level teams, discuss steps one and two and decide who you want to communicate with and what you want them to know. In approximately 15 minutes we will have each team report out what they are trying to communicate and who they are going to communicate it to.

In your groups, make a list of data sources that would most likely contain the information that would answer your questions. After selecting each source, identify the actual data that you would use to display. (Percents? # of students? Grades? Test Score Data?)

Which data tools are the easiest and most understandable tools to use to answer or explain your choice from step two?

Where is the data that will be used to create the graph? Who is best able to put the data into readable and usable formats so the graphs can be created and displayed?

Using the chart paper, scissors, markers and other materials, put together a mock display for sharing with the group. Follow all the steps provided Make up the data unless you have easy access to the real numbers Lay out sample graphs and charts that could be used to answer the essential question

Is it simple? Is it easy to read from a distance? Is it attractive? Can it be interpreted in 30 seconds by someone walking by? Does it answer the essential question? Is it titled clearly? Is it jargon-free? Are the bullets and talking points clear and simple?

Is the central message easy to get? Can a lay person who walks by “get it?” Can they get it in 30 seconds? Is the display colorful? Is it simple? Do they know how to “feel” as well as what to “think?”

“Numbers have the power to reveal slow but steady improvement, and combat the fatalism prevalent in schools.” Schmoker

Build your data display within your team Work on getting students involved and engaged Take digital photos Have someone collect the photos and put into a PowerPoint “Show and Tell” on October 23rd. What was your purpose? What data did you collect? How did you seek to engage the students? What were the difficulties?

Dr. Mark J. Stock University of Wyoming Educational Leadership 307-766-5649 office mstock1@uwyo.edu With support and contributions from Dr. Robert Cockburn Mr. Phil Metcalf