what’s race got to do with it? looking at student achievement data through the racial lens equity...

What’s Race Got To Do With It?Looking at student achievement data through

the racial lens

Equity Alliance

Phoenix, Arizona

February 17, 2010

Session Outcome

Participants will be able to:

Use research-based practices to engage school districts/school communities/grade

level teams in the interpretation of standardized and classroom data to

improve instructional practices.

Here’s what today will look like:

Personal Cultural History

Data Analysis through the racial lens

Q and A

Personal Cultural History

Choose 3

• Race

• Region

• Religion

• Gender

• Language

• Age

• Socioeconomic Status

Data helps us to do many things in schools; understand where we are, define

where we want and need to go, and measure progress along the way.

(Holcomb, 2004, p. xv)

MSA Proficiency Levels Grade 3 Mathematics

Everybody Achieves ESAdvanced 19.4% 23.7% 24.8%

Proficient 55.3% 57.7% 54.8%

Basic 25.3% 18.6% 20.4%

2007 2008 2009

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Advanced Proficient Basic

StudentsStudentsStudentsStudents

MSA Proficiency Levels Grade 3 Mathematics

MSA Proficiency Levels Grade 3 Mathematics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Advanced Proficient Basic

AsianWhiteAfr AmLatino

Advanced Proficient Basic

Hispanic 6/31 18/31 7/31

African

American5/25 13/25 7/25

White 15/35 17/35 3/35

Asian 1/4 2/4 1/4

MSA Proficiency Levels Grade 3 Mathematics

Who Needs to Move?

Hispanic 18/31 – Rosa

African

American13/25 – Jamal

White 3/35 – David

Asian 1/4 – Tina

Leaders must come to grips with the reality that there are some staff members reluctant to use data:

Lack of proper training and/or time

Feast or famine

Fear of evaluation and/or exposure

Confusing a technical problem with a cultural problem

Session Outcome

Participants will be able to:

Use research-based practices to engage school districts/school communities/grade level teams in the interpretation of standardized and classroom data to improve instructional practices.

The Golden Question

How do I get started?

First, examine your own beliefs about students’ academic potential.

Next, help your school community face it’s problems and come up with a strategic plan of how to address each problem. PRIORITIZE!

Finally, make the consistent use of disaggregated data a non-negotiable for your entire school community.

The key here is not the kind of instruction but the attitude underlying it. When teachers do not understand the potential of the students they teach, they will underteach them no matter what the methodology.

Lisa Delpit, author of Other People’s Children

Questions

Resources

Bernhardt, V. (2004). Data analysis for continuous school improvement. New York: Eye on Education.

Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Holcomb, E. (2004). Getting excited about data: Combining people, passion, and proof to maximize student achievement. California: Corwin Press.

Lindsey, R.B., Roberts, L. M., CampbellJones, F. (2005). The Culturally Proficient School: An implementation guide for school leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.