Three New Data Sets – Now Available in Profiles

Per the latest Commissioner's Email Update, ESE has recently added the following three new data sets to School/District Profiles.

• 2012-13 Enrollment: New district and school reports to reflect 2012-13 enrollment include enrollment by grade, race/gender, and selected populations.
• Attrition: This data set looks at attrition across school years. Users can filter the data by school year, district or school levels, and various subgroups. Clicking on an individual district or school will show all of the subgroups for that entity. To view the data, go to http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/attrition.aspx.
  
• MassCore Completion: This data set reflects the percent of graduates who have completed the MassCore curriculum as reported by districts. While we acknowledge there are data quality issues within this data set, by publishing the data, we expect the quality of the reporting will improve. In future years, ESE will use its own course scheduling data collection to supplement the district-reported data. The data are online at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/masscore.aspx. 

Please note that the links above will take you to the state report showing the data for all districts/schools. From an individual school or district Profiles page, these new reports can all be found under the "Student" tab.

The Education Data Warehouse is now Edwin Analytics

Today's announcement from ESE:

As of today, the Education Data Warehouse (EDW) can be accessed through the Edwin Analytics link on the ESE’s Security Portal.

Edwin Analytics is accessible using the EDW login roles. These roles should be assigned to district and school users in accordance with the rules set forth in the Department’s Data Access Policy for the EDW.

Edwin Analytics includes:

• All EDW state data (MCAS, Growth, SIMS, EPIMS, SCS) and all personal content saved to a users’ ‘My Folders’, district, and school folders.
   
• Six new Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) and Postsecondary Outcomes reports located on the District, School, and Student tabs. (The same 5 district and school level reports are on the District and School tabs and one student level report is on the Student tab.)

Contact for Support:

• For access to Edwin Analytics, contact your district’s Directory Administrator (DA). If you already have access to the EDW, you automatically have access to Edwin Analytics and the specific reports available for your level of access.
• For technical support questions, please contact the Data Warehouse Contact person in your district. A list can be found at Profiles: People Search and choose Data Warehouse Contact in the ‘Function’ dropdown.
• If you are the district’s Data Warehouse contact and need additional technical support, contact the EDW team at datawarehouse@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6820.
• For data issues including analysis, please contact the team responsible for data content:
• MCAS and Growth reports: Student Assessment Services at mcas@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3625. 
• EWIS and Postsecondary Outcomes reports: edwin@doe.mass.edu. 
• For general Edwin questions, please contact edwin@doe.mass.edu 

I am also happy to answer questions or provide guidance, so please don't hesitate to contact me! Your questions help me understand how districts are using this new data resource. I hope to offer some "Edwin Analytics" workshops this spring as well.

More About Our New Friend Edwin

Edwin is certainly a popular guy these days -- he's everywhere!

As you know by now, "Edwin" (which is not an acronym, by the way) is the name of Massachusetts' comprehensive integrated suite of tools and resources to help educators at every level to improve teaching and learning. Edwin has two main parts:


Edwin Analytics will be a suite of analysis tools, including the Massachusetts Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS), college and career readiness reports, and the Education Data Warehouse, all available through the security portal. Today was the first of several Webinars which focused on this portion of Edwin - additional Webinars have been scheduled in order to accommodate all the folks interested in learning more! We will start seeing new reports and Edwin interface changes within the security portal toward the end of the month. All districts will have access to Edwin Analytics through the security portal.

Edwin Teaching and Learning will provide online curriculum and assessment tools for educators aligned to the 2011 MA Curriculum Frameworks in English Language Arts and Literacy and Mathematics, which incorporate the Common Core State Standards. Yesterday I had the opportunity to join the pilot districts to learn more about the Thinkgate system upon which Edwin Teaching and Learning will be built. I was very impressed by the curriculum and assessment tools it offers! You can see a quick demo of the system and learn more about upcoming Webinars related specifically to Edwin Teaching and Learning at http://thinkgate.net/ohma/. Edwin Teaching and Learning will first be implemented in districts that are part of RTTT (projects 5A-5E plus project 3A.)

For additional information on Edwin, please continue to visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/edwin/.

Edwin Update and Webinars

From the 1/4  Commissioner's Weekly Update:

Massachusetts and Ohio have chosen Thinkgate as the vendor to develop an instructional improvement system (IIS) for both states in support of Edwin Teaching & Learning.

ESE has scheduled three "Get to Know Edwin" webinars to introduce some of the functions of the platform, with a focus on Edwin Analytics. To register for one of the webinars on Jan. 16-17, go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=1465.

Commissioner's Weekly Updates

Just an FYI, for those that haven't heard: ESE has started publishing a Commissioner's Weekly Update, which is delivered by e-mail on Fridays (not currently available on the Web site, as far as I know.)

If you don't currently receive these, and want to subscribe via email, here is the information:
-------
Subscriber Information: Superintendents, principals, and charter school leaders will receive the update automatically. For others wishing to subscribe, send an email to imailsrv@list1.doe.mass.edu with the following information in the body of the email: subscribe ESEUpdate Your Name. (Example: subscribe ESEUpdate John Smith) To unsubscribe, send an email to the same address with the following information in the body: unsubscribe ESEUpdate Your Name. (Example: unsubscribe ESEUpdate John Smith)

Coming soon -- Edwin!

Happy New Year! Most of you have heard that ESE will soon be releasing Edwin, an "integrated suite of cutting-edge tools and resources to promote best practices in classroom instruction and assessments." Edwin will have two major components: Edwin Analytics and Edwin Teaching and Learning.

Edwin Analytics will be a suite of analysis tools, including the Massachusetts Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS), college and career readiness reports, and the Education Data Warehouse, all available through the security portal. According to the information provided on this week's EDW conference call, we should start to see minor branding and interface changes to the EDW/portal within the next month, with some more major user interface changes and additional tools in the spring (eventually with teacher-level access to reports!)

Edwin Teaching & Learning will provide online curriculum and assessment tools for educators aligned to the 2011 MA Curriculum Frameworks in English Language Arts and Literacy and Mathematics, which incorporate the Common Core State Standards. Massachusetts is working toward procuring an instructional improvement system (IIS) with Ohio and we look forward to hearing the vendor selection in the near future.


Opportunities to pilot new Edwin resources as they are developed will be provided to districts who have been participating in identifying requirements for the system as well as those who have identified project 5a (Teaching and Learning System) in their RTTT applications. For more information, please contact edwin@doe.mass.edu.

Stay tuned for additional information on the launch of Edwin in the coming weeks. For additional information about Edwin, including an extensive FAQ, visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/edwin/.

Data Warehouse Updates

The following information was shared during last week's “EDW User Group” webinar. See the bottom of this post to learn how you too can be part of the user group and hear this information first-hand!

Additional Data Now Available

With the addition of the 2011-12 End-of-Year Student Course Schedule data and EPIMS data:

1. The Classroom reports now have two years of data available. These reports currently include:

• Classroom Item Analysis Roster (IT516)                         
• Classroom Results by Standard (PE506)
• Performance and Growth by Teacher (PE520)

These reports are only available to users who have been assigned the "DW-Evaluator" role. ESE has developed guidance around assigning this role, available on the "Home" tab within the EDW. 

2. The Student Profile report (PR600) now displays two years of course data for the selected student(s).

Additional Functionality

1. The ability to view your data either by the  “old” MA2004 standards or by the new Common Core standards has been added to the Student Assessment Detail report (PE606) and the Student Item Analysis Roster report (IT616), bringing the total to six EDW reports with this option (the Test Item Analysis Summary reports (IT301/IT401) and the Results by Strand and Topic reports (CU306/CU406) already had this option). This option will soon be added to the Classroom Item Analysis Roster (IT516) and the Classroom Results by Standard report (PE506).

2. The Student Assessment Detail report (PE606), which previously printed one page per student, now has the option for a roster display (list of many students on one page).

3. The Growth Distribution reports (GR302/GR402) now have an option to display multiple years of data for a particular grade level for trend analysis.

Reminders

1. The EDW Team at DESE holds webinars twice a month (1^st Wed at 11am, 3^rd Wed at 2pm) to share information regarding new features and data in the EDW. Participants have an opportunity to share comments, questions and/or suggestions. To join the listserve and receive reminders about these webinars, please see the bottom of the EDW home page.

2. The supported browsers for the EDW are Internet Explorer and Firefox. You may experience issues with other browsers. It is expected that at some point in the future Safari and Chrome will also be supported.

3. The old EDW (v2.6) will be put out to pasture after this month (i.e. no longer available). Is anyone still using the old version??? 

(Thank you to Paula O'Sullivan, Data Specialist for the Greater Boston DSAC, for sharing this summary with me so that I didn't have to re-invent the wheel.)

DART Updated; Elements Now in Profiles

The folks at ESE have now integrated the DART (District Analysis and Review Tool) into the School and District Profiles Web site. All of the functionality built in the DART for Districts and DART for Schools spreadsheets is available online. A tab labeled “Analysis – DART” now appears on each organization’s profile page. Comparisons can be made with respect to enrollment, curriculum/instruction/assessment, achievement gap, and finance/management.

The Excel-based versions of the DART, including the DART Detail tools (for ELLs and Staffing/Finance) have been updated as of October 2012, and can be found at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/dart/.

2012 MCAS Data Now in the EDW Cube

The Education Data Warehouse "cubes" were updated this week to include 2012 data. (Cubes are predefined data tables in the EDW that make on-the-fly data manipulation possible.)

The cubes can be accessed from either the District tab or the School tab in the EDW, near the bottom on the left side of the page, under the header Data Analysis Cube. Clicking the link ESE Cubes will open a folder with both the cubes and supporting documentation (a handbook and an up-to-date FAQ). The MCAS Default View cube allows users to start from scratch to analyze data for a particular school or district. The folder Starting Points (Cube Views) provides cube starting points that have already been manipulated and saved to present the data in a particular way. The currently available cube views include:

• MCAS % Correct by Strand and Topic Trend
• MCAS CPI Trends by Grade Level
• MCAS Demographic Trends
• MCAS Performance by Grade Level
• MCAS Performance by Year
• MCAS Performance by Gender by Subject
• MCAS Special Education Performance Gap Trends
• MCAS Subject, Strand, Topic, Question Type, % Correct compared to State by Subgroup (SPED)
• MCAS Weighting by Strand and Topic Level

The State MCAS Default View cube is available for training purposes and contains only state-level data.

To save a cube view, click the Save As icon in the lower right corner and save it to the My Folders tab or your District Folder. (Don't worry, you can't accidentally overwrite the public cube views.) This is similar to saving Report Views. To convert the cube view to PDF for printing/saving outside of the EDW, click the File button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen (looks like a page) and choose Export PDF. The File button will also allow you to export the data into Excel.

I will offer a regional workshop on using the Data Warehouse cubes if there is enough interest - please email me at laura.tilton@dsacma.org if you're interested in a workshop.

2012 MCAS and Accountability Data Available in Profiles

The 2012 MCAS and Accountability information for Massachusetts public schools and districts is now available through the School and District Profiles page on the ESE Web site. (http://profiles.doe.mass.edu)

The easiest way to find a school or district is by using the "Quick Search" box in the upper left corner of the Profiles page. After clicking the name of the desired school or district, the "Assessment" tab will provide information about MCAS performance and growth for 2012. The "Accountability" tab will provide information about the school/district accountability/assistance level and the data behind the PPI calculations.

For detailed information about the calculation of PPI and the new accountability system, please refer to the About the Data page linked to the accountability reports as well as the Interpretive Materials, including the School Leader's Guide to the 2012 Accountability Determinations. Of particular value in the Guide are the Level explanations on page 5, and the PPI breakdown on page 10.

I am more than happy to assist you in finding answers to questions about the new data so please don't hesitate to contact me at laura.tilton@dsacma.org.

Accountability Resources Available

DESE has posted several documents on their public Web site that may help people understand and explain the new state accountability system:

• School Leader's Guide to the 2012 Accountability Determinations (updated 9/4/12)
• Summary of Changes to Annual Accountability Determinations as a result of Massachusetts' Approved ESEA/NCLB Flexibility Waiver
• District & School Accountability & Assistance Levels & Required Actions
• Methodology for Identifying Level 3 Schools, Level 3 "Focus Schools" & Level 4 Schools
• Glossary of 2012 Accountability Reporting Terms

As most of you know by now, preliminary 2012 accountability data was made available in the security portal last week. It is expected that the official 2012 accountability data (along with overall MCAS data) will be made available publicly next week.

There is certainly a lot to understand in this new accountability system! Please don't hesitate to contact me (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) with any questions.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/accountability/default.html

2012 Accountability Webinars

Representatives from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be holding three webinars to assist district and school leaders in interpreting the preliminary 2012 district and school accountability data which was made available in the security portal yesterday.

Webinars will be held on the following dates and times: Tuesday, September 11 at 10:00 a.m.; Wednesday, September 12 at 12:00 p.m.; and Thursday, September 13 at 3:00 p.m.

Topics will include: changes to annual district and school accountability determinations beginning with the 2012-13 school year as a result of Massachusetts' approved ESEA/NCLB Flexibility waiver; the Progress and Performance Index (PPI), school percentiles, and their relationship to district and school level classifications; and how district and school accountability results will be reported.

Please register at the following link: http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=1390.

MCAS Data Investigation Activity Ideas

Last week I posted information about an activity focused on the exploration of classroom growth data through the paper-and-pencil creation of a scatter plot of growth and scaled score for a given instructional group. One colleague asked me, "I wonder if people will be able to see how cool the activity is just by reading about it...or maybe it's only people like us who get excited by scatterplots??"

So, I'm posting this follow-up because I bet there are folks out there who missed the post last week, but I know you'll agree that the activity is worth investigating! Hope you'll check it out once you come up for air during this busy time of year. I also wanted to link back to some previous years' blog posts with additional MCAS data investigation activities...some ideas for digging in to the data during fall staff meetings or PLC's!

• Exploring Classroom Growth Data (August 2012)
• MCAS Item Analysis and the Standards for Mathematical Practice (August 2011)
• Engaging Staff in MCAS Data Exploration (September 2010)

Happy first days of school!

Embargo Reminder

Just a follow-up to my earlier post regarding the incorporation of information from the EDW into PowerPoint or other documents. The 2012 data in the EDW is preliminary and currently embargoed, so it is not permissible to present aggregate 2012 MCAS information to groups at this time. The Commisioner's May memo stated that, "since these are preliminary data, you may NOT release any aggregate data to the public until the official release of school and district results in September." I hope you will find the PowerPoint tips helpful at that time for presentations on the 2012 MCAS to staff, school committees, and other groups.

Putting EDW Information into PowerPoint

I often get asked about the best way to get information (such as the graph from PE405) from the Education Data Warehouse into PowerPoint or another document. Folks often want to share the data or graphs from reports in a presentation for district or school staff, school committees, and others (after the data becomes public and the embargo is lifted!)

There are several ways to go about this and it mostly depends on the technology you have available to you. I apologize that these are not the most formal "how-to" directions (they will vary slightly depending on your system) but I hope one of these options will work for you.

1) Screen Capture Software (puts the display in as an image)

If you have a screen capture software such as SnagIt or the Windows Snipping Tool, you can select/copy the part of your screen that you'd like to include, and then paste it into your document. However, SnagIt is not free (though there may be similar software that is free), and the Windows Snipping Tool is only included in Windows 7, 8, or Vista (look under "Accessories.") So these may not be options for many school users.

2) Screen Shot / Cropping Option (puts the display in as an image):

• Take a screen shot of the report by pressing the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. This copies the screen image. (Alt-Print Screen will copy the active window only.)
• Then open your PowerPoint slide and choose Paste (Ctrl-V).
• Double-click the screen image you just pasted, look for a "Crop" option in the toolbar, and choose it.
• Use the "handles" that appear around the image to crop the image appropriately; hit the ESC key when you are done.
• To resize the image, click it and drag the corners (not the sides) to re-size.

3) Excel Option (puts the display in as an Excel object):

• At the top of the report page, look for the icon that looks like a little page with the globe on it (same place you go to convert to PDF)
• Click the icon and choose "View in Excel Options" and then "View in Excel 2007 Format"
• You will get a prompt asking if you want to open or save the file. Choose "Open."
• The report will open in Excel and you can copy and paste the graph, or any tables, from Excel to PowerPoint
• Note that this may not be straightforward on all computers. If it doesn't work for you the first time you try it, try choosing "Save" instead of "Open." Or choose Excel 2002 Format  instead of 2007. And if it still doesn't work, try holding down the Control key while opening/saving the report. Sometimes pop-up blockers get in the way.

I hope one of these options will work for you. If you have come up with a simpler/easier way to get information from EDW reports into PowerPoint, please let me know!

Exploring Classroom Growth Data

A favorite EDW report of many folks is the GR601 report, the Student Growth Scatter Plot. It displays a dot for each student showing his or her SGP (x-axis) and scaled score (y-axis) for a given MCAS test for an entire grade level. Wouldn't it be great to have this same scatter plot for a single classroom of students? There isn't currently an EDW report like this, but creating one by hand is a fantastic exercise for engaging with student data, particularly since student growth data is a piece of Massachusetts' new Educator Evaluation model.

You'll need a student data set (scaled score and SGP for each student for a given test) and a blank copy of the scatterplot document. I've written out some more detailed guidance for those that are interested, but this could be as formal or informal an activity as you like, as long as the participants have a working knowledge of SGP and how it is determined. Creating this type of graph by hand provides an opportunity for teachers to really engage with the data, student by student, and to reflect on the story the data tells for both individual students as well as groups or classrooms.

The activity I am sharing has evolved over time, and I would like to acknowledge Paula O'Sullivan (Data Specialist, Greater Boston DSAC), Mary Fredrickson (Assessment Specialist, Quincy Public Schools), and the educators at the Marguerite E. Small School in Yarmouth for their contributions to the development and refinement of this activity and related materials. I would love to hear from you (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) if you give this activity a try - feedback is always welcome!

Item and Task Prototypes from PARCC

As we take the time to examine the preliminary 2012 MCAS results, we also know that next-generation assessments will be coming our way in the next few years. Today, PARCC released samples which represent the types of items and tasks that may appear on state assessments in the future.

According to the release, 'The prototypes are a first step in demonstrating what is possible with new assessment technology that captures students' application of knowledge and skills that are essential to success in the 21st century," said Massachusetts Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, chair of the PARCC Governing Board. "The prototypes are illustrative of the  next-generation PARCC assessment system that reflects the Common Core State Standards."

Please visit the "Item and Task Prototypes" area of the PARCC web site for background information as well as sample ELA and Math tasks and items.

TELL Mass Survey Results Released

The 2012 TELL Mass Survey (formerly known as MassTELLS) was administered this past spring and provided an opportunity for licensed school-based Massachusetts educators to share their perceptions on teaching conditions such as time, leadership, facilities, resources, professional development, and supports needed for educators to do their jobs well. Approximately 52% of Massachusetts K-12 educators responded to the online survey.

The results of the survey (by school and district) have been released to the public, along with resources for the use of the survey data. One way that school leaders may wish to think about the data is through the lens of the Conditions for School Effectiveness.

MCAS and Accountability Teleconference Highlights

I know that many readers of this blog attended this week's teleconference related to the release of the preliminary 2012 MCAS results and related accountability reports but I thought I would provide some of the essential information for those that were not able to attend.

MCAS Results and Discrepancy Reporting
Earlier this week, the preliminary MCAS data files were posted in the ESE Security Portal for review and discrepancy reporting. Some preliminary EDW reports are expected to be available in the Education Data Warehouse by this Friday, August 10 (ELA long compositions can be downloaded from the MCAS Service Center.)

As a reminder, the preliminary data is embargoed - Commissioner Chester has given the following guidelines for the use of preliminary data:  “I want to encourage schools and districts to use the preliminary… student data for educational planning purposes. Preliminary student results can and should be shared with teachers, parents and instructional leaders who are making decisions about Individual Education Plans, summer programs or decisions about the scope of services needed for English Language Learners.” The folks from ESE expect that the 2012 MCAS and accountability results will be released publicly on or about September 19, 2012. 

Accountability Reporting

In June, districts received their schools' provisional PPI data and accountability and assistance levels, which are based on data from 2009, 2010, and 2011. During the week of August 13, districts will receive their preliminary school-and district-level PPI data and accountability and assistance levels based on four years of data (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) for review (also embargoed). The official results will be released in mid-September.

Education Data Warehouse Updates

There are lots of excellent new updates in the Education Data Warehouse just in time for the busy season! Here are some highlights:

• The EDW Home page is now standard for all EDW users without needing to be configured as previously discussed. It contains information about recent updates and improvements as well as what's coming down the pike. 
• All of the reports from version 2.6 have been migrated to the new EDW. Please note that although the link is still available from the landing page, EDW 2.6 is no longer being updated and will be retired in October.
• The Test Item Analysis reports now have the option to map the test items to EITHER the old or new curriculum frameworks for Math and ELA. 
• There is a "Super" student profile report which provides SIMS, attendance, course, MCAS, and CD status information for any selected student.
• There are several new classroom-level reports which utilize SCS data for a given instructional group (classroom, course section, etc.) These reports are only available to users who have been assigned the "DW-Evaluator" role. ESE has developed guidance around assigning this role to EDW users which they will post on the EDW home page shortly. (Watch for a more detailed blog post once this guidance document is available online.)

It's That Time of Year: Student Claiming

If this blog post seems like deja vu, it probably is...the student claiming process needs to take place annually!

By default, the Education Data Warehouse allows schools and districts to access data for tests administered only in those schools or districts. The student claiming process enables schools and districts to access to ALL historical MCAS data for their enrolled students, regardless of where the test was taken.

This means that Data Warehouse users can view historical data for students who are new to the district OR new to a school, if those students have been “claimed.” For instance, a middle school principal would (by default) only be able to view data for students who took the MCAS at the middle school. After the student claiming process has been completed, he or she would be able to access the data for students entering from the elementary school, as well as data for students who have come in from other districts.

The student claiming fields in the EDW have had their annual re-set as of July 12, 2012. So, once your district has "rolled over" the student information system to the 2012-2013 school year, a "claiming file" of all currently registered/enrolled students can be uploaded to the warehouse. Once you have successfully uploaded and accepted the data, users will then be able to access MCAS and SIMS history for all students registered to be in your schools this September. It's a great idea to do this now, if possible, before the preliminary data is released in August!

Generally, the student claiming process is handled by the person in your district who manages the SIMS data and involves creating and uploading a file containing a subset of the most recent student data. Information on the process for student claiming can be found at the end of Chapter 3: Basic Access of the EDW User Guide.

Please note that for those districts currently using SIF for claiming, this process should happen automatically. For further information, please contact your ESE SIF representative.

2012 MCAS and Accountability Data Release

The recent Commissioner's Update contained an announcement regarding the release of the 2012 MCAS and accountability data, including a release schedule, MCAS discrepancy reporting information, review of provisional and preliminary accountability data, EDW updates, and reporting teleconferences on August 6 and 7.

The full announcement is online here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=6928.

2012 School Leader's Guide to Accountability

The School Leader's Guide to the 2012 Accountability Determinations is now available publicly on the ESE Web site at http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/accountability/default.html in either Word or PDF format.

"The primary purpose of this guide is to help district and school leaders understand the key changes to the Massachusetts School and District Accountability and Assistance System resulting from the state receiving flexibility from certain No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirements. This guide may also be used to aid leaders in communicating these changes to parents/guardians, teachers, staff members, and other stakeholders."

This document provides extensive detail about the NCLB waiver request, the Progress and Performance Index (PPI), the Composite Performance Index (CPI), the Student Growth Percentile (SGP), and the system for classifying schools and districts to "levels" for accountability and assistance purposes.

It's a great beach read!

Growth and EDW 3.0 Workshops August 2012

The Southeast DSAC (Laura Tilton, Data Specialist) will be offering the following no-cost workshops on Thursday, August 16 at Pembroke High School. Workshops require a minimum of 12 participants (maximum of 24) and priority will be given to participants from regional Level 3 districts. (Customized in-district workshops are also available upon request for Level 3 districts.)

Getting to Know Data Warehouse 3.0 (2.5 hours, 9:00-11:30, August 16)
The workshop will provide a structured environment in which to explore data using the pre-defined reports in the new Education Data Warehouse, including the Growth Model reports and NEW classroom-level reports. Participants will access their own district or school’s data, and will have time to run and save reports for use in planning for the 2012-2013 school year. This workshop is appropriate for both new and previous users of the Education Data Warehouse; all attendees must have been assigned appropriate Security Portal access to the EDW by their district's Directory Administrator.

Exploring MCAS Growth Data (2 hours, 12:00-2:00, August 16)
This workshop (suggested as an extension to the previous workshop) will go beyond an overview of the Growth Model and focus on the use of MCAS growth data and reports at multiple levels (district, school, classroom/group, and student). Participants will deepen their understanding of the growth model and how to interpret growth reports (with connections to the new Educator Evaluation System), engage with school/district growth data following a data analysis protocol, and learn what growth reports are available and where to find them.

Please register via this form to reserve your spot. Thank you!

EDW 3.0 Report Basics Handout

After mentioning that there are new 2012 pre-preliminary reports in the EDW, I realized that it would be helpful to post a copy of the EDW 3.0 Report Basics handout. This handout walks through the necessary steps to:

• Log in to the EDW
• Create a folder in "My Folders"
• Run reports and convert/save a to PDF

PDF files are much more manageable for printing, saving, and sharing (especially for multi-page reports) - although please remember that reports containing confidential data (student names and scores, etc.) should not be shared via email or stored to unsecured flash drives. The My Folders and District Folders areas of the EDW are secure and a better choice for storing files or sharing them with others in your district with EDW access.

I hope this is helpful!

EDW 3.0 Report Basics Handout:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bw5VovkMQ3FFaHQwd3lJWEVxa2M

Preliminary MCAS 2012 in EDW 3.0

The following EDW 3.0 reports are now available with preliminary MCAS 2012 data:

District-Level Reports

• MCAS District Results by Subgroup (PE304)
• MCAS District Results by Strand and Topic (CU306)
• MCAS District Test Item Analysis Summary (IT301)
• MCAS District Test Item Analysis Graph (IT302)

School-Level Reports

• MCAS School Results by Subgroup (PE404)
• MCAS Detailed School Performance (PE408) and its drillthrough
• MCAS School Results by Strand and Topic (CU406)
• MCAS School Test Item Analysis Summary (IT401)
• MCAS School Test Item Analysis Graph (IT402) 

Student-Level Reports

• Assessment Detail (Individual Student)(PE606)
• Assessment History Summary (Individual Student)(PE613)
• MCAS Student Item Analysis Roster (IT616)
• MCAS Student Roster (All Subjects)( PE617)
• MCAS Student Growth Scatter Plot (GR601) (ELA only)
• MCAS Student Growth Roster (GR602) (ELA only)

Please remember that there is an embargo in place for preliminary MCAS data. While this data may be used for instructional planning, it may not be discussed with the public or press.

See the bottom of the “EDW Home” tab within the EDW for additional features and functionality that have been added to the EDW 3.0. The "EDW Home" tab can be added as the default home page in your EDW account by following the steps outlined in the May 17 blog post.

Upcoming MCAS and MEPA Data Releases

A previous blog post provided some of the preliminary release dates for MCAS results, but I wanted to provide links to two ESE memos containing additional details.

Preliminary 2012 MCAS Data:

• June 12th - ELA Composition images posted electronically for principals
• June 15th - Portfolio Feedback Forms for MCAS-Alt posted electronically for principals
• June 22nd - Excel data files and school roster reports with preliminary student results to Dropbox Central.
• June 29th - Preliminary school and district reports to Dropbox Central.
• June 29th - Selected EDW reports posted.

See the Commissioner's May 21st memo for more details.

Spring 2012 MEPA Data:

• June 7th - Parent/Guardian reports received by schools via UPS.
• June 7th - Various data reports posted to http://www.mcasservicecenter.com/.
• June 25th - Student data file with 2011 and 2012 MEPA and MCAS scores will be posted at the Department's Security Portal.

More details on the MEPA release can be found here.

Growth and EDW 3.0 Workshop Offerings Summer 2012

The Southeast DSAC (Laura Tilton, Data Specialist) has set aside July 24 and August 16 to offer the following set of workshops. Workshops require a minimum of 12 participants (maximum of 24) and priority will be given to participants from regional Level 3 districts. However, we anticipate that we will able to accommodate educators from all interested Southeast districts.


Getting to Know Data Warehouse 3.0 (2.5 hours, 9:00-11:30, July 24 or August 16)
The workshop will provide a structured environment in which to explore data using the pre-defined reports in the new Education Data Warehouse, including the Growth Model reports and classroom-level reports. Participants will access their own district or school’s data, and will have time to run and save reports for use in planning for the 2012-2013 school year. This workshop is appropriate for both new and previous users of the Education Data Warehouse; all attendees must have been assigned appropriate Security Portal access to the EDW by their district's Directory Administrator.

Exploring MCAS Growth Data (2 hours, 12:00-2:00, July 24 or August 16)
This workshop (suggested as an extension to the previous workshop) will go beyond an overview of the Growth Model and focus on the use of MCAS growth data and reports at multiple levels (district, school, classroom/group, and student). Participants will deepen their understanding of the growth model and how to interpret growth reports (with connections to the new Educator Evaluation System), engage with school/district growth data following a data analysis protocol, and learn what growth reports are available and where to find them.

Please register via this form and let us know which workshops interest you and whether your district may be able to host the workshop. Thank you!

2012 Preliminary MCAS Release and EDW Updates

Yesterday's regularly scheduled Webinar on the Education Data Warehouse shared an excellent new feature - an EDW "Home Page" which will keep us updated about new features, data releases, and additional resources.This home page is now available, but does not currently appear automatically as a tab at the top of the screen after you log in. You can follow the steps below to add this tab as the default so that you will see the latest information when logging into EDW 3.0.

To add the EDW Home Page tab:

• In the upper left corner of the screen, under the “Data Warehouse” banner, click the “Tab Menu” button, and choose “Add Tabs.”
• Under “Available Entries,” navigate to Cognos > Public Folders > Pages.
• Click the checkbox next to “EDW Home” and then click the green arrow in the middle of the page so that “EDW Home” moves from “Available Entries” to “Selected Entries.”
• Click “OK” at the bottom of the page.

To make the EDW Home Page your default tab:

• In the upper left corner of the screen, under the “Data Warehouse” banner, click the “Tab Menu” button, and choose “Modify the Sequence of Tabs.”
• Select “EDW Home” and then click “To top.”
• Click “OK.”

One very important piece of information that was provided during the Webinar is that the preliminary 2012 MCAS data is expected to be released via the Dropbox on June 22, and then in the EDW on June 29.


The EDW Webinars are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 11 am and the third Wednesday of the month at 2 pm. Please email datawarehouse@doe.mass.edu if you would like to be placed on the notification/reminder list for these calls.

Emerging Practices in Rapid Achievement Gain Schools

The ESE recently published a study entitled, "Emerging Practices in Rapid Achievement Gain Schools: An Analysis of 2010-2011 Level 4 Schools to Identify Organizational and Instructional Practices that Accelerate Students’ Academic Achievement."

The goal of this study, undertaken by the The Institute for Strategic Leadership and Learning (INSTLL, LLC) was to identify significant common characteristics in school turnaround practices and/or structures between the Level 4 schools making rapid achievement gains in 2010-2011 versus those schools that made little if any gains. The analysis identified three such areas of significance:

• The school has an instruction- and results-oriented principal who has galvanized both individual and collective responsibility for the improved achievement of all students through a variety of deliberate improvement structures, expectations, practices, and continuous feedback.
• The school has created instruction-specific teaming and teacher-specific coaching for pursuing ongoing instructional improvement.
• The school has developed a well-orchestrated system of ongoing data collection and analysis that informs a continuously responsive and adaptive system of tiered instruction directly attentive to students’ specific academic needs.

The report is 22 pages but definitely worth the read (or at least a quick skim!) The presence of effective use of data is embedded in all three of these common characteristics. The recent NCLB waiver presentations discussed options for the use of reserved funds to help districts' lowest performing schools make their targets, and pointed to the Level 4 study as a place to identify high-leverage strategies for use in these efforts.

NCLB Waiver Materials

Additional materials regarding the Massachusetts NCLB flexibility request (as discussed in a recent blog post) are now available on the ESE Web site.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/titlei/default.html?section=GI

Farewell, AYP....hello, PPI!

I had the opportunity to take part in both a webinar and a face-to-face session in the past week to learn more about the changes to the state's accountability system given the the flexibility that has been granted to Massachusetts under the NCLB waiver.

The waiver has given Massachusetts the flexibility to implement a system that unifies both federal and state accountability requirements, rather than separate systems for each. The major changes, as outlined in the presentations, are as follows:

• The NCLB goal of 100% proficiency has been replaced by a new goal: reducing proficiency gaps by half by 2017. This goal is the same for all districts, schools, and groups...but the targets are different since the starting points will be different.
• The NCLB accountability status labels (Corrective Action, Restructuring, etc.) have been eliminated. The "Level" designation will now be used to identify both federal and state accountability status (and corresponding assistance levels) for schools and districts.
• AYP will be replaced with a new performance measure, known as PPI (see below) that incorporates student growth and other indicators.
• There is an enhanced focus on subgroups, including a new "high needs" group (students who fall into one or more of the following categories: special education, low income, or English language learner/former English language learner.) While all subgroups (minimum 30 students) will be reported, only the "All Students" and "High Needs" groups will be used for classification for the majority of districts.
• SES and school choice requirements for federal funds are replaced with options for flexibility to address identified needs.

So what is PPI? It stands for Progress and Performance Index. Each district, school, and measurable subgroup will  have two different types of PPI; an annual PPI as well as a four-year PPI. For elementary and middle schools, the PPI incorporates five elements:

• Progress on CPI gap-closing in ELA
• Progress on CPI gap-closing in math
• Progress on CPI gap-closing in science
• Student Growth in ELA
• Student Growth in Math

PPI measures for high schools will include these five elements, plus graduation rates and annual drop-out rates. In addition, it is possible to improve a PPI rating through decreases in %W/F and increases in %Adv.

This is just the tip of the iceberg! The ESE presenters have indicated materials from the workshops will be available online in the near future. I will post the link here when I have it.

Update 5/9/2012: Materials now available, see blog post here.

The 2012 TELL Mass Survey

The 2012 TELL Mass (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning in Massachusetts) survey will collect valuable feedback from educators on key educational issues including available time, facilities, resources, community engagement and support, instructional practices and more. The survey is funded through DESE's Race to the Top (RTTT) grant and is a required project for all RTTT districts. 

The online survey is being administered starting today through Friday, April 6, 2012. The survey is confidential and anonymous, and takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Educators can use a unique, anonymous access code provided to schools to complete the survey. The survey, along with up-to-the-minute response rates by district, is available online at www.tellmass.org.

Accessing Blog Archives

Just a reminder to readers that ALL the blog archives are posted online at http://southeastdata.blogspot.com/. I know that since many of the blog's readers only see the content as it gets e-mailed, you might forget that the blog archives are available online as well.

You can search blog posts from the link above by typing in a keyword (box at top of page), clicking on a label (right side of page), or browsing by date (also on right side of page).

For those that are new to the blog, you may wish to go back and browse some of the archives...and for those that aren't, you can go back and revisit topics as they come around again.

Data Warehouse Update Webinar

A Data Warehouse Update Webinar will be presented this Wednesday, March 28, at both 11am and 2pm. (Information about upcoming updates to the EDW were shared in a previous post of an email from ESE.) The ESE folks have requested that districts sign up for only one session as each session is limited to 80 connections. You can signup online at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=1295

PARCC Technology Readiness Tool

Massachusetts is a member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), one of two multi-state consortia funded by the U.S. Department of Education to develop the next generation of student assessments.These assessments are being designed to be given online (see the January 25th blog post entitled "PARCC Assessment Update" for links and information regarding the solicitations for both the development of test items as well as technology infrastructure to support this new system.)

The March 15 Commissioner's Memo shared information about the announcement of the PARCC Technology Readiness Tool, which will collect a variety of data from schools and districts, including information about available devices, numbers of devices, network infrastructure, and personnel. This information will help districts (and the state as a whole) assess their current level of readiness and plan for the transition to these next-generation assessments.

Data Warehouse Update

The following email went out to the Data Warehouse contacts list this afternoon, so I thought I would share it here for anyone who is interested.

Dear Data Warehouse Contacts and Tech Coordinators,

In August of 2011, the DESE released the new EDW v3.0, Phase 1. This new version contained some of the prior information and reporting capabilities and three important advances:

• The MCAS tables were redesigned for better reporting performance;
• The user interface was redesigned to make locating reports more intuitive; and
• Security was streamlined to enable a simpler interaction with the DESE’s Directory Administration (DA) application.

Subsequent to that release the EDW team has continued to work on additional releases, adding reports and functionality, with the ultimate goal being to phase out v2.6.

EDW v3.0 Phase 2, September 2011 included:

• Additional MCAS reports were released

EDW v3.0 Phase 3, January 2012 included:

• A new Competency Determination (CD) report

EDW v3.0 Phase 4, March 2012 (estimated completion March 30th). will include the following:

• February Biology MCAS data
• SIMS data and reporting
• SCS and EPIMS data and reporting
• MCAS reports by classroom
• Additional report improvements to close the gap between v2.6 and v3.0 MCAS reports.

With the release of Phase 4 in March, MCAS and other state data will no longer be loaded in EDW v2.6. This version is being phased out and will no longer be available by the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

EDW v3.0 deliverables that still need resolution before v2.6 is retired:

• An MCAS cube or acceptable replacement;
• A means of assisting districts in migrating locally authored reports and other content;
• The best tool for districts to use in continuing to create custom reports;
• An answer to the question: Will districts be able to load ‘local data’, such as formative assessments, into v3.0 or will this functionality be handled by the Teaching & Learning system?
• And the loading of MCAS data prior to 2006 into version 3.0.

These solutions are still being assessed in view of the ongoing development of the PK-20 and Teaching and Learning systems. Access to existing reports developed by districts and the ability to load local data will remain as is through the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year.

If you have any questions or comments please respond to DataWarehouse@mass.doe.edu or (781-338-6820).

Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) Webinar: March 1

DESE will be hosting a webinar on March 1 (2:00-3:30) to provide more information about the Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) that is currently in development (expected to be available in 2012). The EWIS will "provide risk levels for all students K-12 on their likelihood of reaching important education milestones along the academic continuum."

For more information about the webinar, please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=1264.

Commissioner's Update: February 16, 2012

An update from the Commissioner is now available on the ESE Web site. Topics include the Model System for Educator Evaluation, the TELL Mass survey, DART Detail: ELLs, a Race to the Top Newsletter, EPP plans and spring 2012 assessments, and more. There sure is a lot happening in Massachusetts schools!

DART Detail: English Language Learners

The ESE is has introduced DART Detail: English Language Learners, the second of a series of dynamic Excel-based data investigation tools. This ELL-specific tool includes data such as enrollment, primary languages, countries of origin, MEPA performance, achievement gap information, MCAS performance, student indicators, staffing data, and Title III allocations. (Note: this version of the tool has been updated since the pilot release of DART Detail: ELLs in December and a User's Guide is now available.)

PARCC Assessment Update

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) recently released a solicitation for the development of items for its next-generation K-12 assessments in English and math.

The solicitation's summary document and FAQ provide us with a glimpse into what these assessments will look like, including more information about:

• Diagnostic assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. 
• Mid-year assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics. 
• Performance-based assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics. 
• End-of-year assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics.

Massachusetts is one of 24 states in the PARCC consortium, working together to build a shared assessment system that will be ready for use in 2014-15.

Southeast Data Coach Network 1/27/2012

The Southeast DSAC Data Coach Network is an opportunity for school-based data coaches (and others who support collaborative inquiry) to participate in a regional professional learning community focused on building structures of collaborative inquiry. Monthly network sessions focus on sharing best practices and building upon skills and knowledge gained in the Data Coaching course from Research for Better Teaching.

The Network is intended for participants from Level 3 districts and "legacy" Level 3 districts who have taken the Data Coaching course from RBT. These districts were provided with a previous opportunity to register, and we have determined that there are openings for a few additional participants. The next meeting is scheduled for this Friday, January 27, from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm in Plymouth, MA.

I apologize for the last-minute announcement of openings, but would be happy to hear from additional district or school-based data coaches (or those that serve in a data coach role) that would be interested in participating. You may register at this link. Thank you!

1/13/2012 Commissioner's Update

The recent update from the Commissioner shared information about the materials for the Educator Evaluation Model System that were released last week. As I digest these new materials I will share relevant resources on the blog, as there are many references to the use of data in this new system.

In addition, the Commissioner announced that the 2012 Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) rosters are now available in the Security Portal (Accountability 2011 Data Dropbox) for those who have been assigned the district accountability security role.

A Holiday Gift for You

I have been working with a fellow data specialist to create a how-to guide on Creating Student Growth Rosters for Instructional Groups. If you're interested in generating growth/performance reports in the EDW for a specific classroom, intervention group, team, etc., this is the process to follow. Basic knowledge about the use of the Education Data Warehouse and Microsoft Excel are required to complete this process.

The document focuses on the G-602 Student Growth Roster (in the older EDW) which provides three years of MCAS performance data (scaled score) and the most recent student growth percentile (SGP) for each student for both Mathematics and ELA. The report also provides a median SGP for the group, if there are 20 or more students with SGPs in the group.

Please refer to my previous blog post on Examining MCAS Growth Data by Classroom for more thoughts about the opportunity to engage staff in discussions about growth data now as we move toward the new educator evaluation system.

I shared this process with a district colleague earlier in the week, and she sent me an email the next day saying, "I think I love you!!!!...Our secretary was able to get 3 years instructional groups for me with state IDs. The reports are soooooo easy to do and save!!! You saved me tons of time. I am very excited." So I hope there are other readers out there who will have the same reaction.

Happy Holidays to all!

Educator Evaluation Resources Coming from ESE

The December 8 Commissioner's Update included (among many other important bits of information) several resources under development related to the state's new educator evaluation system. The Model System will be released in January, accompanied by a webinar and regional rollout meetings for Race to the Top districts. Later this spring, there will be a set of training materials and other resources available to support districts as they implement this new system.

Updated Profiles Reports: Student Indicators and Graduate Information

The following School and District Profiles reports were recently updated to include the latest available data.

• Student Indicators (attendance, suspension, retention, and truancy data by school or district, 2010-2011)
• Graduates Attending Institutions of Higher Education (by school or district, 2009-2010)

Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) Pilot

DESE is creating the Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS), a data-driven system designed to identify students kindergarten through high school that are potentially "off-track" for grade-level or developmental age, including those students that are off-track for high school graduation (potential dropouts).

There will be an informational phone conference held on Monday, December 12, and applications are due Friday, December 16. Districts interested in finding out more about participating in the EWIS Data Pilot can read more about the project and fill out an application at http://www.doe.mass.edu/dropout/ (scroll down for the info about the pilot.)

Southeast Data Coach Network

The Southeast DSAC Data Coach Network is an opportunity for school-based data coaches to participate in a regional professional learning community focused on building structures of collaborative inquiry. Network sessions will focus on sharing best practices and building upon skills and knowledge gained in the Data Coaching course from Research for Better Teaching.

The Network is intended for participants from Level 3 districts and "legacy" Level 3 districts who have taken the Data Coaching course from RBT. These districts were provided with a previous opportunity to register, and we have determined that there are openings for a few additional participants. The first meeting is scheduled for this Friday, December 2, from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm in Plymouth, MA.

The highlighted topic for this Friday's meeting will be "Using the Data-Driven Dialogue Process to Explore Student Growth Data." The RBT course highlights a process of drilling down to strand/item/student work, but did not touch on exploring Student Growth Data. This measure will be a piece of the new Educator Evaluation Framework from ESE (where applicable) so reflective conversations about this measure now will certainly benefit schools in the long term. We will also take some time to explore selected resources from the Data Coach materials that we did not spend time on during the course this summer and plan for future network meetings.

I apologize for the last-minute announcement of openings, but would be happy to hear from additional district or school-based data coaches (or those that serve in a data coach role) that would be interested in participating. You may register at this link: https://docs.google.com/a/dsacma.org/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGs4TDZWOVhDckprQ3JhQTRDQXZqSWc6MA#gid=0

If you or others in your district have taken the RBT Data Coaching course, but are not able to attend this first meeting, please don't hesitate to contact me to share your interest. (laura.tilton@dsacma.org)

Examining MCAS Growth Data by Classroom

One message about the new educator evaluation system that comes through loud and clear is that student growth data will be an important measure considered (where available). This school year is a great opportunity to provide more information to staff about MCAS growth data in order to have folks become more comfortable with this measure and what it tells us.

As a reminder, the median student growth percentile for any group is the midpoint of student growth percentiles in the group (which must be >20 students), where half of the students have student growth percentiles higher than the median; half have lower. (It is not appropriate to use the average or “mean” when comparing percentiles.)

Last week, I visited an upper elementary school and presented an overview of the growth model to the staff. After sharing some of the basics, I asked the staff to share with me ways that they would like to look at growth data for their students. Teachers responded that they would like look at median growth for particular groups of students (subgroups, interventions, programs) but also that they wanted to see the median growth for their own classrooms over time. (And yes, I'll be working with the principal to help get this information to the teachers!)

I've been hearing people ask for a while now how they can more easily calculate the median SGP by group, especially by classroom. The Student Growth Roster (G-602) report in the older version of the EDW (2.6) will display a median SGP for a custom roster of students as long as at least 20 students are selected. In the next few weeks I'll be putting together some revised instructions on how to do this (students can be selected using a list, filters, or SASIDs) so stay tuned for more resources on this front!

MassCUE Conference Happenings

Wednesday I attended Day 1 of the 2011 MassCUE conference at Gillette Stadium, and it was exciting as usual! Lots of great presenters, vendors, and opportunities to share ideas with colleagues made for a productive and engaging day.

The Spotlight Session entitled, "MA New Educator Evaluation Regulations: Opportunity and Challenges" presented by Karla Brooks Baehr provided an opportunity to learn more about the details in the developing story of the new educator evaluation regulations (with specific discussions about positions such as technology integration specialists that work with both staff and students). Two major takeaways from this session were that (1) both teachers and administrators should be taking time to become VERY familiar with the state's growth model, since this is one of the measures that will be used (where applicable) for educator evaluation; and (2) the Commonwealth's Model System is on target to be available for review on January 10, 2012. A variety of resources, including a version of the PowerPoint that was presented at the conference, are available on the ESE's Educator Evaluation web page.

Associate Commissioner Bob Bickerton and Director of Information Services Rob Curtin presented "Next Generation Supports for Teaching, Learning, and Student Success" which highlighted a variety of initiatives within ESE, including the new Curriculum Frameworks, PARCC, and many RTTT projects, especially the Teaching and Learning System which is currently under discussion. The ESE Showcase area provided an opportunity for conference attendees to learn more about initatives including the Education Data Warehouse, Thinkfinity Partnership, PBS LearningMedia Partnership, and the Teaching and Learning System.

The final session of the day entitled, "The Paperless Classroom: Tips and Tricks for the 21st Century Educator" was fascinating and introduced attendees to a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools I had not seen before. While these tools are not data-specific, I'd like to share some them here for those of you with an interest in staying current with educational technology. The presenter, Melissa Panchuck from the Fessenden School, was incredibly passionate and engaging about her use of Web 2.0 tools with her 5th grade students, including:

• Glogster - virtual posters
• Google Sketchup -
• Pixton - online comics
• Blabberize - talking pictures
• Go!Animate and XtraNormal - animations
• Screenr - instant screencasts
• diigo - link collections and highlighting
• issuu - digital publishing

 So many new and exciting tools (both inside and outside the classroom!) that can be used to improve teaching and learning!