Data, Data Everywhere by Victoria Bernhardt

Notes- Chapter 2 (Looking At All The School’s Data)
• Many educators believe that 50% of student achievement results can be explained by other factors than what goes on in school.
• We need to change what we do to get different results
• There is a need to gather data in more than one area
-As mentioned in Chapter 1 also: THE FOUR CIRCLES-Data collection must be based on Demographics-Perceptions-Student Learning-School Processes

• The intersections of the four circles help define the questions we want to ask and focus on why data is necessary in order to find the answers.
• Demographic Data- School community data such as enrollment, attendance, grade level, ethnicity and credential status.
• Perceptions- Data that helps us understand what parents, teachers, students, etc. think about the learning environment. (Questionnaires, observations, interviews, focus groups)
• Student Learning- The results of the educational system from standardized tests, grades, standards-based assessments and formative assessments.
• School Processes- What educators are doing to get the results and how they work. (C&I, instructional strategies, processes, programs, special education, gifted, bilingual education, AP, etc)
• ALSO: Enrollment changes over the past five years. Have perceptions changed? Are there differences in the standardized test scores? Is student attendance linked to individual test results? Is there a gender difference in student’s perceptions of the learning environment? Do the attitudes of the students yield better test results?
• Interaction of Two Measures- Will allow you to see trends that develop (disaggregated by ethnicity over the past three years).
• Intersection of Three Measures- Will allow measures at the school level like student learning disaggregated by ethnicity compared to student questionnaire responses disaggregated by ethnicity. Do students of different ethnicities perceive the learning environment differently and are their standardized test scores consistent with these perceptions? What instructional processes were used? Is there a different report of the results for students involved in extra-curricular activities? Which program is making the biggest difference in student achievement for at-risk kids?
• Intersection of Four Measures- The ultimate goal! Are there differences in achievement scores for eighth grade girls and boys who report they like school, or by the program they are enrolled in, or by the grade level they are in? (IDENTIFY TRENDS). Understanding the intersection of the four circles allows us to identify trends, understand how they learn, what programs they are in and are all students learning at the same rate?
• First- Know where the school is at the present time. We can’t change from where we think we are, we must be honest and accurate of where we actually are. In the study at Marilyn Avenue School the student population changed over time and the teachers stayed the same. This indicated a need for new professional learning.
• Summary- If we want different results we need to do things differently. Just looking at summative results only will focus teachers on those results. The focus needs to be on ways to provide a better learning experience for all students. We must closely examine all four types of data to determine the best practices to improve learning for all students.