1. Data Articles Reviews; EdPsy 510 Traci M Frank Solving the Data Puzzle

2. What The Right Data Can Do. Holmes, E This article articulated the necessity to use not only academic data but non-academic as well as student perspective to get a true picture of student growth. In addition, a focus should be made on using student data to design relevant professional develop for teachers. Agree Aspire Argue Multiple forms of assessments are a must including attendance, surveys, formative & summative. Need to be tied to ongoing professional development. Teachers must have time to learn what to do and how to do it. Create relevant professional development opportunities for staff using student data. Allow for open and transparent conversations Visit assessments every 6 weeks as RTI model. Make this a priority. When and how can this PD be scheduled? Allocating building funds for RTI, creative scheduling, guests. I question the anonymous data from teachers. 3. The Main Idea: Driven By Data Bambrick-Santoyo This article was a summary of the book, Driven By Data. It outlines the four components (assessment, analysis, action, and cultures) necessary for schools to implement a data-driven culture, changing a schools mindset from what was taught to what was learned. Agree Aspire Argue Frequent assessments with prior and current learning Assessments should mirror state-assessments, rigor, length, format Data needs to be in friendly language action plans Students must know what their expectations and goals are Add more individualized assessment criteria to reports (concept, skill) Continue working on making reports user friendly and creating a response tool. I never really thought of a Data-Driven Culture Predicting student results. *If you know a child wont get the answer, why are you not teaching/re-teaching the concept? Time. Where do we find it? 4. Multiple Measures, Bernhardt, V This article was the first article I read that really looked at factors outside the assessment realm. She introduces the need to look at demographics, perceptions, and school processes, in addition to assessments to gain a true perspective of the growth of a school in order to meet the needs of its students. Agree Aspire Argue Assessments are just one indicator of success. The school processes needs to be looked at closely to see if systematic changes need to occur. Although we might not have control over attendance, we have control over attitudes which can increase attendance. Engage the community in conversations about perceptions. Form relationships Schedule common planning for teachers Find ways to increase attendance through changing attitudes and perceptions State and Federal mandates have such a strong hold in community perceptions of schools. Until this changes, changing community perspective will be paramount 5. Building a High-Performance Data Culture Love, N This article focused on creating a high-Performing data culture. It highlighted several research results to show how implementing Using Data Process increased student achievement and created a data-rich culture. Agree Aspire Argue The need to minimize excuses of external factors and focus on what we have control of Collaborative efforts must involve all staff members The steps needed for improvement include leadership and capacity, collaboration, data, and instructional improvement Find common assessments for K-2 grades Common planning and release time for teachers to participate in data analysis, professional development, and collaboration Refer to the standards making sure our goals match the goals we are charged with teaching Instructional improvement is the last link on the bridge. I believe it needs to be a handrail or checkpoint that continuously improves as we move along. 6. Straw Men and Performance Assessment, Reeves, D This article was a critique of Professor E.D. Hirschs address focusing on performance assessments. Out of all the articles this one made me think the most, particularly with the notion of multiple choice vs. performance assessments and their reliability and validity. Agree Aspire Argue We need both types of assessments Teachers need to go through each assessment question methodically looking for the errors and the why. Increasing rigor is a must Create and implement professional development on item writing Create a cooperative learning culture for both staff and students. Not all performance assessments assess accuracy Developmentally appropriate questions can have high rigor. How many questions are needed to show rigor? 7. Coming to Terms with Classroom Assessment, Frey & Schmitt This article looked at various definitions of performance tasks, authentic assessments, and formative assessments stressing the importance of a common language. Varying definitions produce various results and confusion. Agree Aspire Argue Teacher preparation classes lack appropriate training in the area of assessment Performance assessments must be real-world in order to create relevance to students *Authentic assessments mean real-world context To be transparent with my own expectations. Create a culture of common language to minimize confusion of expectations Provide opportunities for discussions and collaboration to occur That authentic and performance assessments are different. Formative assessments are just for teachers. 8. Multiple assessments must occur to gain a true picture of growth. Assessments include surveys, attitudes, school processes, community perceptions and more. Culture of learning for all is paramount. Professional development must be aligned with and designed using student data. Trust, transparency, collaboration, objectivity, reflection and action are the foundation for this PD in order to create Data-rich culture. Is there access to deeper analysis for state testing? Do we have access to the State of the District report? What are some K-2 benchmark assessments that can be used? What are some strategies administrators use to deal with the time constraint issue? Article Summary Aspirations Themes Professional Development Wonderings Creating a culture of trust with staff and the community. Creatively find ways to bring all staff to the table when discussing student achievement. Collaborate with other administrators who are in similar situations or have proven success. Provide professional development for staff. Know that we are a team with a symbiotic relationship.