Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
A Powerful Partnership
Principal and external provider lead the turnaround at a low-performing urban school
By Learning Forward
April 2013
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Analyzing and Applying Data
| Once the instructional learning team has collected the walk-through data and integrated it with student achievement data, the team analyzes the combined data to better understand instructional practices at Dixon, their impact on student achievement, and how to improve instruction in every classroom by posing five key questions and guiding the discussion with prompts such as those that follow: | ||||
| What do we see in these data? | What can we do about it? | What evidence will tell us our interventions are working? | What professional learning do we need to support this improvement? | What other questions do we have about these data? |
| What are the patterns?
Is there a difference among and/or between grades? What are the month-to-month and year-to-year changes? What do these data tell us about individual student learning? |
What improvement areas do these data define?
What is already in place and working in these areas? What are we lacking? What specific actions can we take to address the improvement areas identified? How do we allocate time and human resources to instructional improvement? |
What will the data show?
How will we collect these data? How do we incorporate the faculty’s professional voice? What will be the impact of the improved practice? How will we know? |
What knowledge and skills are needed to implement the identified improvements?
Who, among our faculty, already possess these? How can we scale that person’s expertise? What resources — human and technological — will support the professional learning? How will we determine success of the professional learning efforts? |
To what degree do these interventions support the Common Core standards?
How can we use evaluations to promote effective professional learning? What children are successful with which type of intervention? What else can we do? |
Coalition Cites Dixon as a Top School in Detroit
A Detroit organization dedicated to ensuring excellence in education has cited Dixon Educational Learning Academy as one of the top K-8 schools in the city.
Excellent Schools Detroit, a coalition of Detroit leaders focused on making sure every child in the city attends a quality school, released the results of its 2013 School Quality Review this month. The report identifies the top 20 K-8 schools in the city, including Dixon Educational Learning Academy, recommending parents send their children to these schools in the coming year.
To determine the rankings, the coalition reviewed this year’s MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) performance and year over year MEAP performance of 126 K-8 schools.
References
Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2010). Driven by data: A practical guide to improve instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Halverson, R., Grigg, J., Prichett, R., & Thomas, C. (2007). The new instructional leadership: Creating data-driven instructional systems in school. Journal of School Leadership, 17(2), 159-194.
Learning Points Associates. (2004). Guide to using data in school improvement efforts: A compilation of knowledge from data retreats and data use at Learning Points Associates. Naperville, IL: Author. Available at www.learningpt.org/pdfs/datause/guidebook.pdf.
Schmoker, M. (1999). Results: The key to continuous school improvement (2nd ed). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Supovitz, J.A. & Klein, V. (2003). Mapping a course for improved student learning: How innovative schools systematically use student performance data to guide improvement. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.
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