let’s talk about data-driven
instruction
F
or the past year, the constant talk in schools has been about the shifts in curriculum and instruction created by the Common Core. But there’s another Common Core shift that’s not being talked about as much – collaborative, data-driven conversations between students and teachers. These conversations are starting in schools across the state, but some schools in the region got a jump start on incorporating them into their school culture.Utica schools are among them. Donovan Middle School Principal Anne Marie Palladino said her staff has been using data to engage students in their learning for a few years now through student self-reflections and self-analysis.
“They’re pretty insightful at this age about what they know, and they’re pretty honest,” she said. “More and more, we’re seeing students asking for help in class, being comfortable asking for help, staying after school without a teacher telling them to. They’re taking ownership of their learning.”
And that’s exactly the point of the collaborative conversations, MORIC Data Analysis Team Leader Deb Duffy said. Just as the Common Core is emphasizing higher-level thinking, analysis, collaboration and understanding of content, these conversations are intended to use real, current student data to drive a collaborative and productive conversation between students and teachers about how students can succeed in the classroom, she said.
“It’s important for students to have access to their own data and to get that feedback from teachers so they can start to direct their own learning,” Duffy said.
Palladino said these conversations in her building were ushered in by a total culture shift. The teachers expect a high level of engagement from students and from each other – and they expect data to be infused everywhere.
“If we’re giving assessments and don’t use data, how can we drive instruction?” she said. “We would just keep teaching what we’re teaching and never close gaps.”
Morrisville-Eaton
Morrisville-Eaton is making that shift this year. Principal Chris Brewer has been leading his middle and high school staff on implementing a data-driven instruction process, beginning with the development of interim assessments and writing test questions
inside...
cognos ...3
data dashboards
overview ...6-7
data security. ...10
data tools...11
Professional
development...12
Savannah Leo, a teacher from Conkling Elementary School in Utica, talks with student Tyheim Holland about his progress.
Educational Technology Trends
data services
a PubliCation oF tHe MoHaWk reGional inForMation Center
schooltool
taCkles student learninG
objeCtives
S
tudent Learning Objectives, or SLOs, are a major focus for teachers and administrators under the new Common Core Learning Standards. SLOs are used to measure student learning growth in classes where there is no state assessment offered. schooltool now offers a new feature that allows educators to keep track of SLO targets and results. Dan Chmielewski, Data Programming and Integration Team Leader at MORIC, answers your questions about the new feature.Q: What is new about schooltool’s SLO feature?
A: Mindex has built in functionality to allow districts to track much of the data-centric portion of SLOs. You can input pre,
target and post score information for any class section in schooltool. At the end of the year, you can run a report to find out what percent of a teacher’s students met the target. From there, a district can use their HEDI scales to get the teacher’s score.
Q: How will that help with my school and district data?
A: One big way is that it helps districts identify their SLO sections. The SLO process requires that each teacher writes SLOs
for 51% (or more) of the students they teach. This can be challenging to determine sometimes. The SLO Gradebook offers a report that can, with one click, suggest the best arrangement of courses to meet this 51% requirement without any extra math being done.
Q: How is this better than what we’re doing now?
A: Many districts are using Excel spreadsheets to track all this information. This puts added pressure on secretaries and
administrators to update and maintain these spreadsheets as testing goes on. It’s also a less secure way to store what is important data. With the SLO Gradebook, teachers can input scores themselves, right from their Gradebook area. As the year goes on, their access to input Pre and Target scores can be removed.
Q: What are some ways to look at and utilize the data schooltool is showing us?
A: The primary means is through the schooltoolIQ add-on. Districts that have schooltoolIQ can utilize the SLO dashboard
to analyze the data put in here. It can be a huge help in setting targets more precisely in future years. There are also several reports that can be run from schooltool that can be used to keep track of who has put their scores in.
Q: How does this relate to the Oasys and Teachscape software tools for APPR?
A: OASYS and Teachscape both offer areas to store the 3 ‘main’ scores (Evaluation, Local and Growth) that are part of the
evaluation process. APPR vendors have recognized the huge role SLOs play in this process and have been developing features to meet those needs. OASYS, for instance, has built an SLO tool which dovetails nicely with the features in schooltool. I often recommend districts use OASYS to write their SLOs, and schooltool to manage the data collection for SLOs. They can then easily use the evidence submission area of OASYS to store the final numeric results from schooltool. This reduces the need for other systems, and since teachers are now used to using programs like schooltool, OASYS and Teachscape, it increases their confidence in the entire process.
MoriC Provides Multi-reGion
exPertise
on CoGnos
M
ORIC has solidified its reputation as one of the region’s primary experts on using Cognos, the comparative reporting and analysis software used by schools in the MORIC’s four-BOCES region. Last year, the Northeast Regional Information Center and the Mid-Hudson Regional Information Center began providing theirdistricts with Cognos reports through MORIC. They cited the size of MORIC’s data team and the extensive experience
of team members as key reasons for joining the service. MORIC’s Cognos
reporting service now serves 238 school districts and 15 BOCES across 25 counties in New York State!
Here’s WHat’s neW WitH
cognos 10.2
T
he MORIC will soon release a new version of Cognos. The upgrade has several exciting new features:aUse any Internet browser (including Firefox, Chrome and Safari) to view and save your reports!
aAn all new mobile platform to allow you to run and save reports on mobile devices, including an iPad App designed specifically for Cognos!
aNew reports based on the Common Core Learning Standards
aNew regional reports to compare your data with other districts in your region Check out the MORIC Data Analysis web page for more on how to access the new site, and look for a Cognos 10.2 workshop coming in December.
RIC TIP:
You can save quick links to key reports to make them easier to get to.
Navigate to the report you’d like to mark • Click ‘More’ next to the report
•
Select ‘Create a shortcut to this entry’ on the next screen • You can leave the name the same or rename it • On the bottom of the screen, in the Location area, choose ‘Select My Folders’ • Then click ‘Finish’ When you want to run the report, click the ‘My Folders’ tab at the top of your screen (Next to ‘Public Folders’). Your selected reports are all listed there, ready to be run again without searching!Meet
Jesse irwin
data analyst, MoriC
W
hen MORIC Data Analyst Jesse Irwin began working with the Remsen district last year, teachers were already giving students quarterly benchmark exams to gauge theirperformance and progress. But they didn’t have an efficient way to gather and analyze that data. Irwin began creating numerous Excel templates and using Scantron software to generate reports for teachers and administrators to see where students met standards and skill mastery and where they fell short.
“A test is a learning experience for both the student and the teacher. Teachers should be able to use it as a learning tool to improve their instruction and improve the experience of their students,” said Irwin, who also works with the Adirondack school district.
Irwin, a former technology teacher, knows how important it is for teachers to have good data – and how technology can help provide key data and details for instructors. He also knows how busy teachers are without adding another task to their to-do list.
“With data, leveraging the power of technology is important because it makes the data-gathering process easier,” he said. “But for me to expect these teachers to dedicate two to three hours a week for data reports would be a tough sell. I tried to streamline the process so they are able to get this information with minimal effort.”
Irwin also helped streamline data flow in Adirondack, particularly around schooltool, the student management software, and teacher-student data linkage. He spent the past year working with school and building leaders to create a process for gathering and reporting data.
During the coming year, he will provide technology training and guidance to faculty and administrators so they are more comfortable with the tools they’re using, including training at a third district, Indian River, on eDoctrina local assessment software.
tsdl:
onCe is never enouGH
C
ontrary to popular belief, reporting and verifying teacher-student data linkage (TSDL) information should not be a one-time task. The accuracy of TSDL information depends on correct data being stored in the school or district student management system and being exported from those systems for reporting to NYSED. Due to the complexity and importance of TSDL information, data should be reviewed and verified throughout the year.So how do I know if my TSDL information is correct?
RIC TIP:
Consider
developing and
using a form to
assist in monitoring the
TSDL process in your
district.
Visit the Data Analysis
webpage at www.moric.
org to download a sample
form.
Teachers should:•
Check the Teacher Student Roster Verification site regularly.•
Verify all your course section(s), start and end dates and minutes are correct for each student.Administrators should:
•
Verify data using L2RPT Reports.•
Remember to include ALL staff (principals, long-term substitutes, AIS teachers).•
Work with your DDC regularly to correct errors.. . . continued from front page
based only on the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
“The goal is that if they know how to write these types of questions, then they can write units and lessons based on what skills they’re asking the students to demonstrate. It’s a little backward from how lessons and tests have traditionally been done,” he said.
Brewer said this method shouldn’t be confused with “teaching to the test.” Students aren’t being asked to simply recall information from class, but rather apply information in a real way on the exam and demonstrate their ability to think, evaluate and solve, he said. Students’ results on those interim assessments will provide key data for refining future lessons.
“Every 10 weeks, we’ll come together as a grade level and discuss what students were asked to do, how they did, and where our focus will be for the 10 weeks based on the data we got back from those assessments,” Brewer said.
The interim assessments Brewer’s teachers are using are being designed with LinkIt! software. Over the course of the year, Brewer said teachers will use LinkIt! Data to design summative and formative assessments to help ensure students have mastered the information presented.
“That information will help the teacher to know if they’re on the right track and students got it or if they need to redirect their instruction the next day,” he said.
That feedback for teachers, he said, will lead to more a more data-based culture and data-driven conversations with students about how they’re doing and where they can improve.
South Lewis
That culture shift around data that Brewer is hoping to instill is evident in the South Lewis district. What began as a top-down, administration-led effort to utilize benchmarking assessments to gauge students’ progress is now primarily teacher-driven, said Kristy McGrath, the district’s Curriculum and Data Coordinator. The district required teachers in K-8 to do these benchmarking exercises, but many high school teachers decided to join the endeavor as well, she said.
“At this point, the teachers completely own it,” she said. “They know what data they want to see, they know when they need to give assessments, they know what data they’re missing. That is an area we are very proud of.”
McGrath said a visible benefit to their work over the past few years was that it laid the foundation for their Student Learning Objectives (SLO) creation. Going forward, she said the district will work on moving all their data into schooltool so it can be more easily accessed and analyzed.
“We want teachers to be able to access all that critical data with one click,” she said. “It’s going to be a huge asset.”
West Canada Valley
Over in West Canada Valley, Elementary Principal D.J. Shepardson has data meetings by grade level and subject three to four times a year to review a variety of assessment data. He said he also works with MORIC each September to create data sheets in preparation for the first grade level meeting, so teachers can see the most up-to-date data available. Over the summer, teachers receive end-of-year data on the students who will be in their class the following year, to provide them with a starting point, he said.
Shepardson said they use several different data tools and software to create a broad picture of the school.
“It’s important to use multiple data points, not just one tool,” he said. “It allows us to look at trends and helps us focus on what we’re doing in the classroom, not just one test score.”
Morrisville-Eaton Middle/High School teachers work on developing interim assessments using LinkIt! software.
sCHools FoCus on
collaborative
Conversations
at a glance:
educational data dashboards
Everyone’s talking about educational data dashboards, software that houses and presents the multitude of data schools collect on students, teachers
and courses. Here’s a quick guide to the major solutions being used regionally.
cognos
Analysis of district and regional data to help improve student instruction.
Key Features:
• Regional reports offer a comparison
of testing results across BOCES and
RIC regions to show districts in their
area who they might collaborate with
to improve instruction.
• Reports can be saved for quick
viewing later (See ‘Did you Know’.)
Not recommended for:
Tracking student discipline or period attendance
information
target audience:
Administrators
(Data Updates Nightly)
Parent Portal
Giving parental access to student data.
Key Features:
• Daily and Period attendance,
Assignment and Marking
Period Grades
• Parents can use an email
function within the system to
send messages directly to their
student’s teachers.
Not recommended for:
Graphical/Data analysis, aggregating data
target audience:
Parents
at a glance:
educational data dashboards
Everyone’s talking about educational data dashboards, software that houses and presents the multitude of data schools collect on students, teachers
and courses. Here’s a quick guide to the major solutions being used regionally.
schooltooliq
Analysis of data to help improve student instruction.
Key Features:
• Easily manipulated graphs give users
the ability to focus on student
performance and identify students
who may need help.
• 3-8 Common Core Learning Standards
skill information is available for the
2013-14 tests.
Not recommended for:
Regional analysis of data. The information is
district-centric
target audience:
Administrators,
Teachers
(Data Updates Nightly)
datacation
State level data analysis and comparisons.
Key Features:
• Learning maps allow teachers to find
resources connected to key Common Core
Learning Standards based on student test
performance.
• Early Warning Indicator Flags identify students
based on predetermined metrics and goals.
Not recommended for:
Regional analysis of data or daily monitoring of
student performance
target audience:
Administrators,
Teachers
MoriC’s annual testinG
calendar
Think standardized testing only happens for a few weeks out of every school year? Think again!
The MORIC’s Datawarehouse and Testing Services team works all year to prepare answer and score sheets and return testing data to districts.
sePtember
• NYSAA (NYS Alternate Assessment) testing period begins
december
• January Regents order forms are sent to HS Principals – Districts are asked to provide student info for walk- ins and course information if testing entire class
January
• RIC compiles final list of NYSAA eligible students (from Level 2) for each district in preparation for printing answer sheets
• Regents answer sheets are printed and shipped to the
Regents contact at least 1 week before testing • Regents answer sheets returned to RIC for scanning – Districts opting for 48-hour turnaround must return tests to be scanned during Regents week (soon after they are scored each day)
february
• RIC prepares data for 3-8 ELA tests – Answer sheets are printed based on enrollment records reported in Level 0 • NYSAA answer sheets are printed, packaged and shipped to each appropriate BOCES scoring site
march
• 3-8 ELA answer sheets are printed and shipped to testing coordinator in each district
• RIC prepares data for 3-8 Math tests – Answer sheets are printed based on enrollment records reported in Level 0
aPril
• 3-8 Math answer sheets are printed and shipped to testing coordinator in each district
• 3-8 ELA and Math tests are administered in school districts • 3-8 ELA answer sheets due to RIC (date subject to change) • RIC prepares data for NYSESLAT (NYS English as a Second Language Achievement Test) – Answer sheets are printed, packaged and shipped to testing coordinator in each district
• NYSESLAT Speaking section administered in districts • RIC prepares data for Gr 4 & 8 Science tests – Answer sheets are printed based on enrollment records reported in Level 0
may
• 3-8 Math answer sheets due to RIC (date subject to change) • NYSAA answer sheets due to the RIC
• Gr. 4 & 8 Science answer sheets printed, packaged and shipped to Testing Coordinator in each district
• Gr. 4 & 8 Science tests (Performance) administered in in districts
• NYSESLAT Listening, Reading & Writing administered in districts
• NYSESLAT answer sheets due to RIC
• June Regents order forms are sent to HS/MS Principals – Answer sheets will be pre-printed based on Teacher/ Course information that has been collected in Level 0
June
• Gr. 4 & 8 Science tests (Written) administered in districts • Gr. 4 & 8 Science tests due to the RIC
• Regents answer sheets printed and sent to districts at least 1-2 weeks before testing
• Regents answer sheets returned to RIC for scanning – Districts opting for 48-hour turnaround must return tests to be scanned during Regents week (soon after they are scored each day)
July
• Districts are canvassed regarding August Regents and summer school sites
• August Regents order forms sent to Summer school site contacts – Summer school sites are asked to provide student information for students taking exams – Districts administering tests should also order answer sheets
august
• Regents answer sheets printed and shipped to each Summer school and/or District site
• Regents answer sheets returned by the end of Regents
week for scanning – Results will be available to districts within 48 hours of tests being returned to RIC
• 3-8 ELA & Math scores available from SED (subject to change)
HoW Many state
assessments
did you sCore?
O
nce students finish taking their state assessment exams – Regents, 3-8, NYSESLAT, NYSAA – the MORIC’s Scanning and Verification efforts get underway. Here’s a look at the volume of work the team did during the 2012-2013 school year.127,325
Total number of
state assessments
scored by MORIC
5
Number of scanning sites
(4 BOCES, Glenfield)
76,139
3-8 exams (ELA, Math, Science)
48,757
Regents exams (August, January, June)
1,960
NYSESLAT exams
469
NYSAA exams (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies)
Performance Data Is the analysis recommended at this level? Student Classroom School District
ELA: Informational Standards vs. Literary Standards Y Y Y Y Math: Performance on each Major Cluster Y* Y Y Y ELA or Math: Performance Grouped by Standard N Y Y Y ELA or Math: Performance on Individual Released Tests N WSC WSC WSC ELA or Math: Performance on Individual Non-Released Tests N N N N Note: Y = yes; WSC = with strong caution; N = no; * = recommended when there are 9 or more questions in a cluster.
WHat Can i do WitH tHese neW 3-8
assessment scores?
The New York State Grade 3-8 Common Core Tests are designed primarily to classify student performance into four levels (find level descriptions at EngageNY.org). But once you have that information, what can you do with it? NYSED recommends the following approaches to analyzing state test data. In addition, it is recommended that strong caution is used when interpreting classroom, school and district performance on individual test questions. As the chart shows, there are several areas where analysis is not recommended as the results may be misleading.
laW, PoliCy and data
security
T
he State Comptroller has said that a school district’s data is one of its most important assets. What are some of the legal responsibilities that a school district has for using and protecting this asset? What questions are raised by the migration from “records” to “data”?FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act)
• Student information must be kept confidential. If teachers use cloud apps (Dropbox, etc.) to store student information, they should make certain that the application used is, in fact, secure.
• Parents must be given access to the education records of their child. Can a district provide access to all student records stored in the cloud or in e-mails, texts, and tweets?
• Video camera images are “education records” of each identifiable student. Are these kept confidential, and are they properly redacted when disclosed to parents?
FOIL (Freedom of Information Law)
• Any person may request that a copy of any existing “record” be provided in any medium. Does the district have a routine for responding to requests, producing pdf-format copies on USB drives or CDs (if requested), and determining what, if anything, may be charged for the copies?
• Are e-mails among board members subject to FOIL? (A: Generally, yes, if they deal with district business, even if sent from a non-district domain.)
Open Meetings Law
• School boards may not meet by telephone, but may meet by video conference if the public is offered access at each video location. Must the public be able to view the video feed from other locations (e.g., board member using Google Hangout to attend meeting from home)?
• When does an exchange of e-mails among board members constitute a “meeting” in violation of the OML?
Document Retention and Destruction (Schedule ED-1)
• Schedule ED-1 is a 128-page list of documents found in school districts, with a required retention period for each one. The State Comptroller has said that document destruction is an essential part of a school district’s document retention plan. Does a district retain its digital records (including e-mail) in accordance with ED-1? Does a district “destroy” its digital records (including e-mail) in accordance with ED-1 or its Board Policy?
Internet Safety
• To qualify for the E-rate discount on internet access, a school district must comply with statutory requirements, including filtering. As districts are providing mobile devices to students, ensure safeguards are inplace so these devices are secure and in compliance with CIPPA regulations.
• The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) requires school districts to provide instruction in “the safe, responsible use of the internet and electronic communication.” What should this instruction look like?
21st Century Personnel Files
• The implementation of Education Law Section 3012-c (APPR Plans) generates significant data regarding a teacher’s
performance in digital form. The law requires that this information not be “released” to the general public in personally identifiable form. Establish appropriate procedures and train those with access to the data, to ensure the data remains secure. • Many labor agreements contain language providing that there will be one “official” personnel file, which has historically been a paper file. How does a district comply with this requirement when so much personnel information is stored in digital form? David M. Pellow, Esq., is a School Attorney and Labor Relations Specialist with Madison-Oneida BOCES.
data tools
to suPPort ddi
There are many tools available to districts looking to turn student data into meaningful and relevant information to enhance data-driven instruction. Here are a few being used in the MORIC region:
