Massachusetts Teaching and Learning System

Last week's Commissioner's Update shared information about a RTTT project focused on the development of a comprehensive teaching and learning system that will provide educators an integrated suite of tools and resources, including:

• data dashboards and reports,
• an expanded early warning indicator system,
• a "test builder" for formative and interim assessments,
• model curriculum units and lesson plans, and
• compelling multi-media and print resources to support instructional lesson design and delivery.

The folks at ESE are seeking input and feedback from school and district representatives as they develop this system over the next few years, which has a major focus on timely and easy-to-access information that can be used to improve teaching and learning.. Please visit the Teaching and Learning System page on the ESE Web site for further details and information about how you can get involved.

Public 2011 MCAS Data Available

The 2011 MCAS data for all Massachusetts public schools/districts is now available in several places:

The Education Data Warehouse (in the Security Portal; https://www4.doemass.org/)

School and District Profiles (http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/)

• From the right hand side of the main Profiles page, you can access a variety of statewide reports which can be exported into Excel for further analysis and investigation.
• The easiest way to find school/district information in Profiles: use the Search box to locate a school or district's profile. The "Assessment" tab in a school or district's Profile will allow you to access a variety of reports, including annual comparisons, growth, and subgroup information.

Adequate Yearly Progress Information (http://www.doe.mass.edu/sda/ayp/2011/default.html)

• Under "Lists and Analyses" there is a document entitled, "2011 Lists of Massachusetts Schools and Districts by NCLB Accountability Status and Accountability and Assistance Level." This document provides a summary of 2011 accountability data, including lists of districts and schools by Accountability and Assistance Level and schools commended for narrowing proficiency gaps, high growth, and/or exiting NCLB Accountability Status from 2010.

I'm always interested in knowing different ways in which people are using - or would like to use - this data! If you have ideas for data displays or different ways this data could be analyzed, please don't hesitate to contact me with your ideas. I may be able to help you out with an Excel tool that could be used by others as well.

Creating Customized Student Roster Reports, September 2011

I know there are many folks who would like to create customized MCAS student roster reports "by classroom" or a variety of other groups - intervention group, performance level, subgroup, etc. This type of reporting is not currently available in the Data Warehouse. However, there are a few different options you can look into if you'd like to run reports this way.

The first option is to use the R-616 report (only available at this time in EDW 2.6, not EDW 3.0) to create a custom report either using filters or by choosing students from a list. This can be a bit tedious if you're creating reports by classroom but it's probably the quickest option at this time.

The second option is to start with the roster spreadsheet report from the Dropbox, and use Excel to add in a column for teacher or intervention group. The Filter option in Excel can then be used to create lists based on various criteria AND then Excel could be used to calculate group statistics such as median SGP (>20 students). However, entering the information into the teacher/group column could take a while.

For more advanced Excel users only: There is a function in Excel called VLOOKUP which would allow the automation of the addition of teacher/group data to a column in the roster spreadsheet. In order to do this, you'd need your Dropbox roster spreadsheet PLUS a spreadsheet that lists students (by SASID) by teacher/group. The SASID field will serve as a common data point between the two spreadsheets and allow you to bring data from one spreadsheet into another. Someday I'll write a tutorial for this, but for now, here's a link to a great VLOOKUP tutorial online for anyone would like a reference.

2011 MCAS Results - Statewide Overview

The ESE published a press release today with an overview of the statewide results of the 2011 MCAS exams. Highlights: The percentage of 5th graders scoring Proficient or higher in ELA and math increased by 4 points since last year, and 10th graders improved their ELA performance by six percentage points a year after a slight decline.

Press Release: Gains Made by 5th & 10th Graders Highlight 2011 MCAS Results

Full Statewide Report: Summary of 2011 MCAS State Results (PDF)

Public release of school and district MCAS, AYP, School and District Levels, and Commendations schools is anticipated to take place the week of September 19.

Correction on "High Needs" Subgroup Post

Yesterday's post summarized the definition of the new "high needs" subgroup and how it is being used. One small correction needs to be made to the content of the post as follows.

The information is correct except for the last sentence which describes two ways the subgroup information is being used.  The second item, "measuring progress for districts who are working to exit Level 4 status” should read “measuring progress for schools who are working to exit Level 4 status."

Apologies for any confusion!

"High Needs" Subgroup - What Is It?

The 2011 MCAS reports include a new subgroup designation called "High Needs." The Data Warehouse FAQ describes this group as "a new subgroup category that includes all students in one or more of the subgroups: English language learner (ELL)/former English language learner students, low income students, or students with disabilities."

A number of people have asked for more information about this subgroup - in particular, if/how it is being used for accountability/assistance determination.

The simple answer from the accountability group at ESE is that this "new" subgroup is NOT being used to determine AYP or state accountability/assistance. (The individual subgroups that make up High Needs, of course, are a continuing piece of this calculation.) The High Needs subgroup is currently being used in two ways: (1) determining schools commended for narrowing proficiency gaps, and (2) measuring progress for schools who are working to exit Level 4 status.

post edited 9/8/2011