Summer Data Warehouse Workshops and Refresher Courses

The following Data Warehouse courses are being offered (at no or nominal cost) in the Southeast region over the summer, and seats are limited. All workshops will be taught by Laura Tilton, Southeast DSAC Data Specialist. Participants must have been granted access to the Data Warehouse via the DESE security portal prior to arrival at these workshops.

Tuesday, July 13
Data Warehouse Refresher
Duxbury High School (8:30-11:30 with optional afternoon support)
Registration Contact: Laura Tilton, laura.tilton@dsacma.org
This session is intended for staff who have had previous Data Warehouse training (or have explored it independently) but need additional support in the use of this tool. The workshop will provide a structured environment in which to explore data using the pre-defined reports in the Data Warehouse, including the new Growth Model 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 2010-2011 school year.

Wednesday, August 11
Data Warehouse Basics and More (8:00 am - 1:00 pm with snack break)
sponsored by the Bi-County Collaborative (Franklin, MA) location TBA
Registration Contact: Joni Larsen @ Bi-County Collaborative, jlarsen@bicounty.org
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 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.

Monday, August 16
Data Warehouse Refresher (see description above)
Bourne High School (8:30-11:30)
Registration Contact: Sheila Murray @ Cape Cod Collaborative, s.murray.ccc@comcast.net

Thursday, August 26
Data Warehouse Refresher (see description above)
READS Collaborative (8:30-11:30), Middleborough
Registration Contact: Mary Keeler @ READS Collaborative, mkeeler@readscollab.org

New Data Warehouse Report Summary

I wanted to share a document I put together (Data Warehouse Report Summary.pdf, 4 pages, updated 10/20/2010) which summarizes all the reports that are currently available in the Data Warehouse. It includes all the reports that are currently available, including the new growth model reports, and briefly describes the uses for each report.

It also indicates which pieces of information are also available in the Profiles area of the ESE Web site (so that you don't have to log into the Data Warehouse when it's not necessary.) Please note that the Profiles area will not be updated with 2010 data until this fall.

The ESE's Glossary of Predefined Reports (17 pages) is also a useful document, and contains much of the same information, including screen shots of each report. However, at this time, this document does not include information about the growth model reports and several other new reports (and it's quite lengthy).

In summary, there are a lot of different reports and it is easy to fall into the "analysis paralysis" trap. The goal is that these documents will help you structure your inquiry within the Data Warehouse, in order to save time and frustration. We expect some of the 2010 data reports to be available in the Data Warehouse as early as Thursday, June 24!

MCAS Reporting Information, Spring 2010

For those who were not able to participate in the MCAS Reporting teleconference yesterday, I thought I'd post the exciting highlights.

• Preliminary student results for ELA (including scaled scores and performance levels) as well as Math (multiple choice results only) are NOW available through DropBox Central in the Security Portal. Reports will begin to be available in the Data Warehouse on June 24, with ELA growth reports available on June 25.
• Preliminary math and STE data will be available in early August (DropBox), with Data Warehouse reports available starting August 13 (August 17 for growth data)
• Official MCAS results will be accessible via DropBox by districts on September 8, schools on September 9, with public release of data following shortly thereafter.
• The ELA long composition data and MEPA reports will continue to be posted at the MCAS Service Center for now.
• The folks at the ESE would like to know ASAP if you are missing any data, or if there are major issues with the data you have received. The electronic discrepancy reporting period (through www.mcasservicecenter.com) will be from August 6 through August 12.
• Please note that students may appear twice in your data file, if there are SASID issues, but these will be resolved over the summer and do not need to be reported at this time.
• This year, scaled scores will be reported for Grade 3 tests.
• This year, some students who took MCAS-Alt and scored at the "Progressing" level will receive 75 CPI points rather than 100, due to changes in federal guidelines.
• This year's parent reports will include information about student growth, which will likely highlight longitudinal (3 year) student data along with growth numbers for the student, the school, and the district (for both ELA and Math). More information/guidance will be distributed to districts prior to the release of the data in September.

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

Spring 2010 MCAS Reporting Schedule

The Spring 2010 MCAS Reporting Schedule has been released (single-page printable copy here.) It outlines the what, when, and where (drop-box or Data Warehouse) the various pieces of MCAS data will be available for analysis and discrepancy reporting. If you have questions regarding the reporting and discrepancy reporting schedule, please plan to take part in the MCAS reporting teleconferences on June 14.

Student Claiming in the Data Warehouse

By default, the Education Data Warehouse allows schools and districts to access MCAS records for tests they administered only. 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.

The folks at DESE will be re-setting the student claiming fields on Friday, July 16, 2010. After you have rolled-over your student information system to 2011 (and after July 16th) districts may upload a new claiming file so that you can access the historic MCAS results for registered students that will be in your building for the start of the 2011 school year.

If you've haven't previously claimed students in the Data Warehouse, this summer (after July 16) would be a good time to do so!

Additional information on the student claiming process can be found at the end of Chapter 3: Basic Access of the EDW User Guide.

MCAS Reporting Teleconferences June 14

The ESE will be holding an MCAS reporting teleconference (45 minutes) on Monday, June 14, at either 10:00 am or 2:30 pm, to discuss the reporting of preliminary results from the spring 2010 MCAS tests.

More information, along with an initial MCAS release schedule for June, can be found in this ESE news item: http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=5537.

Registration for the conference calls can be done on the Measured Progress web site at www.measuredprogress.org.

The full schedule for reporting results from the spring 2010 MCAS tests will be announced in upcoming Commissioner's Updates, and I will post that information here as well.

DART Tool for Individual Schools now Available

A few weeks ago I shared information about the new DART Tool (District Analysis and Review Tool) that was developed by folks at the ESE.

A similar tool for individual schools has just been made available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/sda/dart/.
The Schools version of the DART Tool (I guess technically this would be the SART, but let's not add any new acronyms for now!) offers a snapshot of school performance, allowing users to easily track select data elements over time, and make comparisons to the state or to "comparable" schools statewide.

Data Warehouse "Refresher"?

I was thinking that some folks may be in need of a "refresher" on the Data Warehouse after the preliminary data is released in August. Please let me know if you or others in your district would be interested in taking part in a "refresher" workshop in August 2010. These would likely be half-day (morning or afternoon) sessions where folks could come and work in their own data warehouse accounts...there would be some instruction but also an opportunity for independent work time with support from me. If this is going to be a need, I'd like to try to be able to support it efficiently rather than juggling lots of "Help! How do I ..." calls and e-mails.

I'll look forward to hearing your feedback, either via e-mail (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) or through the online form. Thanks!

Summer Data Warehouse Workshops

I will be teaching introductory Data Warehouse workshops over the summer through both districts and collaboratives. These are not necessarily "open to the public" but there may be spots available. If you have a staff member or two who needs to attend this training, please let me know and I will do what I can to find a spot.

Data Warehouse Security Policy

Chapter 2 (Security and Training) of the Education Data Warehouse User's Guide states that "school districts shall adopt policies governing access and confidentiality of data maintained in the EDW." Many districts are looking for resources to help them abide by state and federal laws related to confidential student data, especially as more district personnel are given access to the Data Warehouse.

The state has a Statewide Educational Data Warehouse Project Policy Statement which is posted online at the ESE Web site (as well as from the Welcome Screen of the Data Warehouse itself.) This document summarizes the federal and state laws governing the access to data by Department and district personnel, as well as the general public.

In addition, some districts have created district-specific policy statements and/or agreements for staff members to sign to acknowledge their understanding of the regulations related to use of the Data Warehouse. Special thanks to the Middleborough Public Schools for agreeing to share two documents (which were developed in conjunction with Wareham and Plymouth).

- Middleborough Data Warehouse Policy Document
- Middleborough Data Warehouse Confidentiality Agreement

If your district has similar policy documents to share, please contact me (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) and I'll include them here.

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 Analysis and Review Tool (DART)

Last week, a new state tool known as "DART" (District Analysis and Review Tool) was introduced to the folks who attended a regional rollout session that was held at READS Collaborative. For those of you who were not able to attend the hands-on session, I'm happy to report that the Excel-based DART tool is now available online for everyone to access on the DESE site at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sda/dart/

The DART offers a snapshot of district performance, allowing users to easily track select data elements over time, and make comparisons to the state or to "comparable" districts. The data elements include a broad range of district and school interests including demographic, assessment, student support, educator, financial, and achievement gap data. The tool will be updated online as new information becomes available.

School and District Profiles: A Gold Mine of Data!

While the Data Warehouse is a great resource, there is quite a bit of district- and school-level data available through the School and District Profiles area of the DESE Web site. (http://profiles.doe.mass.edu) No login or report running required!

I found this out the hard way a few months ago - after spending hours creating item analysis reports in the Data Warehouse, only to find out that the same information was available in Profiles for anyone to access directly!

Here's how: Use the link above and navigate to your district or school using the pop-up menus. Click the "Assessment" tab, and you will see a list of the available data reports listed on the left.

The "Item by Item Results" pages are VERY similar to R-301 and R-401 (Item Analysis) reports in the Data Warehouse...with no report running required! The URLs for these pages can easily be pasted into an email for distribution to staff (unlike the Data Warehouse, since there is no teacher level access at this time.)

Lots of other general data available there as well!

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

Creating Customized Student Subsets in the EDW

Many administrators are asking, "What's the best way for me to put together a classroom-level report, since the state's Education Data Warehouse doesn't include teacher data at this time?"

The new R-611 report in the Data Warehouse can be used to save a roster of students and run any of the other 600-level student reports now or at a later time.

• R-602 Student Item Analysis Graph
• R-606 Student Test Results with Standards
• R-610 Student Test Results
• R-613 Student MCAS History
• R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster

The group of students can be selected either through a series of filters (for example, Grade 3 LEP students) or by copying and pasting a list of SASIDs for the desired group (useful when filters aren't relevant, like a class list.)

While this is still a bit of a manual process, it is much easier than going through each type of student report and "checking off" the students you want to include.

I've put together a handout which will walk you through the 611 report, although it is relatively simple. Please let me know if you find this useful!

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to the SEED page (SouthEast Educational Data), a resource to support school districts in Southeastern Massachusetts as they establish, grow, and maintain a culture of inquiry and data use. (Get it? SEED? Grow? I figured we needed more acronyms.)

I will be posting a variety of resources on this blog, from Data Warehouse updates, regional meetings, state data initiatives, and other resources. I know how busy many of you are and hope that this resource will provide a central location for these types of resources in our state/region. If you have requests for information you would like to see here, please don't hesitate to contact me!

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