Data News from MassCUE

I attended one day of the fabulous MassCUE conference at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday 10/28, and wanted to share some of the things I learned. I will come back and post links to the session resources here once they are up on the MassCUE Web site.

I attended a session entitled, "Formative Assessment using Google Apps," presented by the Harwich Public Schools. They have used Google Forms to easily create online quizzes to check student understanding...with instant results tallied to a Google spreadsheet! I have used Google Forms for surveys and the like (similar to Zoomerang and Survey Monkey, but free and unlimited, with data automatically collected in a back end spreadsheet) but it was interesting to see it used to check student understanding and used immediately to inform instruction.

Jeff Comenitz from the ESE's Data Warehouse team had a plethora of information about the DART tool, the growth model, the SIF project, and the new Student Course Schedule (SCS) data collection. (Of course, if you're a follower of this blog, none of these topics are new to you!) He shared some sample teacher-level Data Warehouse reports which are being developed for next fall, once the teacher and student data are connected in the Data Warehouse.

Associate Commissioner Bob Bickerton spoke on "Using Data and New Tools for Decision Making and Continuous Improvement." He highlighted not only the various data collection initiatives (SIMS, EPIMS, SCS, SIF) but also plans for the RTTT-funded "teaching and learning system." He acknowledged the performance challenges that the Data Warehouse is currently encountering, and described how the SLDS grant funds are being used in part to re-architect the Data Warehouse to improve performance and support wider use of the tool.

I spoke with many of the student information system vendors as well as some vendors offering data management tools. I would like to better understand the capabilities of the various systems to handle local data, so that I can help districts in our region understand what options are available to them based on the tools that they may already have in place.

We did get to hear from Jonathan Kraft at lunchtime, however, rain prevented the Patriots from taking the practice field so, sadly, I don't have any Tom Brady sightings to report.

More Growth Resources from the State

As you may know, there is now a new Data Warehouse course which focuses on the Growth Model (DW203 - Using MCAS Student Growth Percentiles). As with the other DW courses, all the materials can be downloaded from the "Training Materials" link on the Welcome page of the Data Warehouse.

As part of the development of this course, there are several brand-new video tutorials which help stakeholders understand and interpret some of the new growth reports. These videos may be useful for you to use with stakeholders (administrators, teachers, school committees, parents, etc.) as you share information about the state's new growth model.

These tutorials are different from the "growth model basics" and "parent report" video tutorials that I have posted about previously; both the new and older video tutorials can be downloaded from the main Growth Model page on the ESE Web site. Scroll to the bottom of the Growth page for both the Flash videos and static Word documents containing the information for the following:

• Introduction to Student Growth Percentiles
  
• Using MCAS Growth Reports: Scatter Plots
  
• Using MCAS Growth Reports: Stacked Bar Charts
  

As a side note, I will be teaching the DW203 half-day course through the Bi-County Collaborative at Norton Middle School on Friday, October 29 from 9-12. Spots are still available (no cost); please contact Joni Larsen at jlarsen@bicounty.org.

Performance Distribution Comparison Graphs Update

Several days ago I posted an entry containing a link to an Excel file which allowed for the creation of performance distribution comparison graphs (school/district/state) using the data in the Profiles area. I have updated that Excel file based on feedback (a special thank you to Tom Lamey, data specialist in the Central region!) and the link is now updated here.

Creating Customized Student Roster Reports

I hear it all the time: "But in TestWiz, we used to be able to run reports by classroom!" While it's true that the data warehouse doesn't technically have this feature at this time, you can certainly produce reports for any list of students (including a classroom roster) with a few extra steps.

The 600-level (student) reports in the Data Warehouse include a feature which allows the user to customize the report for a specific roster of students. This roster can be created in several ways: by choosing students from a list, by using a series of prompts to identify the students, and in some cases, by incorporating a list of SASIDs.

Some 600-level reports will produce one page (or more) per student, which can make for a very lengthy report. Reports that include the word “Roster” in the title (for example, R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster) will produce a compact format report which will include all selected students on a single page (or several pages, depending on the length of the list.)

Attached is a document which explains how to customize these student reports in a variety of ways. It is much more manageable (and secure!) to look at a student report that only contains the desired students...rather than going through, say, an entire grade-level list with a highlighter (trust me, I've been there.)

Performance Distribution Comparison Graphs

I heard from an assistant principal in the region who was looking for visual graphs which compared the performance distributions for a school, the district, and the state. While this info is available in the R-403 School Performance Distribution report, it only provides a graphic visualization for the school-specific data.

The data is easily accessible through the Profiles area, but not in a visually pleasing way. So I created an Excel tool that anyone can use to produce these graphs quickly by just copying and pasting your school's data from the Profiles area. You can then print the resulting graphs or paste them into PowerPoint.

Just click this link (updated 10/20/10) to save the Excel file to your desktop, and then follow the instructions provided on the "Data Source" tab. If you have ideas for other Excel display tools like this, I'll take requests! Please let me know if you find this tool useful. (laura.tilton@dsacma.org)

October Workshop Spots Available

The following workshops are being offered at no cost through the Cape Cod Collaborative (taught by Laura Tilton, Data Specialist, Southeast DSAC). Spots are still available for all three workshops, which will be held at Bourne High School. You may register online; for questions please contact Sheila Murray at s.murray.ccc@comcast.net.

Thursday, October 14, 8:30-2:30, Data Warehouse Basics and More
This workshop will combine the essential elements of the DW101 and DW201 courses from the ESE, including the cycle of inquiry and use of the pre-defined reports. The new Student Growth Model and related reports will also be explored. While sample data will be used for the introductory activities, participants will have the opportunity to begin to investigate data for their own schools/districts.

Thursday, October 21, 8:30-11:30, Using Student Growth Percentiles (DW203)
This NEW course for district/school leaders and teachers will present an overview of the Growth Model and focus on the use of MCAS growth data and reports. In the course, participants will learn about growth data, identify district and school uses for growth data, and apply the inquiry process through hands-on activities using MCAS growth reports. Requirement: DW101, Introduction to the Data Warehouse. (Note: October 14 participants will have already had much of this material.)

Thursday, October 21, 12:00-3:00, Multi-Dimensional Analysis (DW202)
Participants will learn how to access and use the Cognos® PowerPlay tool to engage in multidimensional analysis through cubes, pre-defined data tables that make on-the-fly data manipulation possible. Participants in this workshop will use training accounts containing sample data but will be provided an opportunity to work with their own district's data as well. Requirement: DW101, Introduction to the Data Warehouse

A PLATE-ful of Literacy Information!

I wanted to take an opportunity to share information about a new blog that has been started by my colleague, Mary Ellen Caesar, Literacy Specialist for the Southeast region. She recently posted about the scoring of open response questions (something I am often asked about but defer to her expertise) and includes information about an instructional routine that supports proficient response to text.

You can find her blog here: http://literacyplate.blogspot.com/ (PLATE: Practical Literacy Aids for Today's Educators...yes, we are the queens of acronyms). I hope you'll check it out and share with your colleagues ... Mary Ellen has lots of valuable information to share around literacy!