Jeff Hunt discussed the impact of assessment as a tool for teaching standards. He specifically used the term “testing against the standard.” Many of the assessment tools available through EduSoft offer common assessments and benchmarks. This data has shown his teachers exactly where students perform and how to support growth better. Hunt mentioned how assessment data has helped close the gap between special and regular education students. The data is shared with parents so they can see exactly how their students are doing in comparison to the standards, which is a more thorough snapshot of academic performance than a numeric grade, Teachers can better use consistent assessment data to inform instruction rather than one test. Consistent assessment data builds a better case for Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions. This is especially true if interventions require support from a reading specialist, special education teacher, language learning specialist, math specialist, or any position for student support. Schools can more effectively use these resources because they know which students need support and what skills they need. Sometimes students perform poorly on a single high-stakes test at the end of the year for various reasons and are placed incorrectly. I taught a few gifted students last year who were invited to the remediation after-school program based on their reading or math state testing from the year before. Their parents declined and our team monitored their progress specifically with math, reading, and writing skills. We soon saw that the single test score our after-school program was based on did not accurately reflect their progress or skill level. These students excelled throughout the school year. I would use assessment data as a tool if I were an administrator. While I would encourage teachers to use state testing data, data collected from common assessments would be our main focus. Teachers would work in grade level/ subject level PLCs to create a common body of formative and summative assessments using software like MasterConnect. Beyond using assessment data to provide interventions beyond the classroom for students below grade level, I would encourage teachers to identify students approaching proficiency. Teachers could use this data to inform differentiation within their classrooms by grouping students who need to review a particular skill into homogenous groups for remediation. Skill-based remediation could help students who are on the cusp of proficiency. I would also work with teachers to determine how we could grow our gifted population. Using assessment data to monitor student progress is how we inform a growth mindset.
As mentioned in the video, the collaboration between faculty and staff on the data for academic standards is paramount for progression. Not only is it important for the continued education of the students, but also for the development of effective teaching strategies in the classroom. In this interview, Jeff Hunt emphasized the importance of data analysis and how it allows other aspects of our instructional planning to be executed optimally. For instance, Jeff mentioned that pacing guides are only effective if educators are able to analyze the data from formative assessments, recognize the trends, and discuss the results of their assessment with their colleagues. It is this self-reflection and collaboration amongst professionals that allows educators to differentiate their lesson objectives and plan for the academic success of their students. Analysis of the right data allows teachers to identify contributors to student success and failure. Once those contributors are located, teachers can devise solutions to address them (American University, 2023). From my perspective, instructional data is like a roadmap. This roadmap tells which direction is necessary to foster the academic success of our students. Furthermore, without this roadmap, the academic development of our students is unknown. Data and analytics are also crucial in identifying inequalities and achievement gaps. Significant achievement gaps persist between students from low-income households and those from high-income households, and with an increasing wealth disparity, the number of children deprived of equal opportunities in education grows (American University, 2023). Knowing this, I would make it a standard practice for faculty and staff to analyze and review classroom data. Additionally, I would make it a consistent focus point throughout the entire semester. I believe consistency is one of the most important factors in the effectiveness of data analytics. I would encourage teachers to step outside their comfort zone, embrace change, and challenge themself to try new teaching strategies in their classroom. I believe this mindset will foster a similar approach in our students, to challenge the way they think and strive for new ways to learn. Lastly, I would implement professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to learn how to create and analyze their very own data for review. I would provide them with the latest software to track and record their progress in the classroom. For instance, PowerSchool is a website which allows teachers to identify and monitor student needs, implement interventions, and assess the effectiveness of the framework for ongoing enhancement.
References
American University. (Ed.). (2023, January 5). Data-driven decision making in education: 11 tips: American University. School of Education Online. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/data-driven-decision-making-in-education/