A Resource Summary and Shout-Out to SSESPA

I wanted to post a special "thank you" to the South Shore Elementary School Principals Association for inviting me to speak at their meeting last Friday. I am glad you've found your way to the SouthEast Educational Data (SEED) blog and hope you'll find the information here helpful.

Here is a brief summary of the resources I mentioned at the SSESPA meeting - some data related, and some general - which I hope will be useful for all SEED blog visitors.

Data Warehouse Resources (some very practical blog postings)

• Running Reports in the Background
• Creating Customized Student Roster Reports
• Engaging Staff in MCAS Data Exploration Activity
• Data Warehouse Report Summary Document (updated 10/20/2010)

The Growth Model - a new way to look at student performance

School and District Profiles - access lots of school/district data without logging in to the DW!

District Analysis and Reporting Tool (DART) - allows comparison with "like" schools and districts using a variety of indicators

Toolkits and Resources on the ESE/DSAC Web page

• Conditions for School Effectiveness Self-Assessment
• Professional Learning Communities Guidance
• District Data Team Toolkit
• Learning Walk-Through Implementation Guide
• Common Planning Time Self-Assessment Toolkit

If you're new to the blog, please check out the right hand side of the main SEED blog page for Email subscription options as well as access to previous posts through the Archives or Labels links.

Engaging Staff in MCAS Data Exploration

I recently worked with data team members at the Duval Elementary School in Whitman, who were looking for an activity to get staff engaged in exploring the 2010 MCAS data. Team members had all been to meetings where either (a) an administrator gives a big long data presentation or (b) each teacher is given a large packet of data without a whole lot of guidance on how to use it. This team wanted something different, and so we came up with an activity which engages staff in asking questions about data in a manageable way. (The activity has its beginnings in an activity that is part of the Data Warehouse 101 curriculum.)

The activity starts with teams of teachers exploring the R-406 report (School Standards Summary Report) for a particular test. They are asked to answer the question, "Now that you've seen this report, what else do you want to know?" and given time to generate clarifying questions which direct further inquiry.

I'm including the activity materials which contain more details and information.

• Facilitator Notes


• Guiding Worksheet


• Team Recorder Sheet

This is a somewhat open-ended activity, but can be modified to suit your group's needs. Please do send along your feedback and don't hesitate to contact me if you need additional information.

Now Available: District Data Team Toolkit

It was great to see so many folks at last week's rollout of the District Data Team Toolkit, presented by Andrea Condit from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. I am excited to hear from you about how you envision this valuable set of tools and resources being used in your district.

Among other things, Andrea shared an article entitled "The New Stupid" from the "Data: Now What?" issue of Educational Leadership (December 2008), which you can access here. This article is definitely worth the read as it provides suggestions and precautions to consider when using data for planning and decision-making.

While the District Data Team Toolkit is not yet available online, Andrea did send along the materials via email to those who attended last week's session. I will post the link here when it is up on the DESE Web site. In the meantime, I am happy to forward the materials to you upon request for those who have not yet received them. (laura.tilton@dsacma.org)

District Data Team Toolkit Overview

There are still spots available at the District Data Team Toolkit Overview, being held at North River Collaborative in Rockland on Thursday, April 15 from 10:00-11:30. More information and registration is available here:

http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=815