Decision Making for ResultsData Teams

Des Moines Public SchoolsAugust 1-2, 2011

Blame it on Wisconsin!

Blame it on Wisconsin!• Monitoring ratio of mosquito bites to

horsefly bites• Daily naps justified as an “intervention”• Volunteering as a “meat and cheese

only” control group• Differentiated based on “readiness” for

2 daughters who wanted to kayak• Missed SMART goal of running at least

3 miles for five days straight.

If it’s all about “achievement”…

what do we mean?

WTL: Quick-write, whip-around, consensus

Learning Targets• I can select relevant data to track progress

toward increased achievement• I can interpret data to reveal strengths and

targeted areas for growth• I can relate the impact of adult actions to the

learning of students• I can actively participate to keep our learning

moving forward• ???

Breaking News…• …on monitoring and responding to data

"I don't see any community doing that well," said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. "I am putting that back on the shoulders of teachers. This is a process of internal debate, conversation and thoughtful analysis and experimentation.”

July 26, DSM, Iowa Education Summit

Decision Making for Results

Principles ofDecision Making For Results

Antecedents

CollaborationAccountability

Becoming Data Driven

How are you currently embracing a data-driven decision-making process that leads to results?

Data DrivenDecisions

Results-Driven Schools• Where is the proof?

• 90/90/90 Schools, Reeves 2003• Education Trust, 2002• NCREL, 2000• Consortium for Policy Research in

Education, 2000• EdSource, 2005• Northern Illinois University Center

for Governmental Studies, 2004

Reflection

“The value of the data emerges only when analysis provides insights that direct decisions for students.”

White, 2005

DMR Building the Foundation

• Cause data and effect data• Continuous improvement cycle• Principles and processes of

Decision Making for Results: Data-Driven Decision Making

“Only by evaluating both causes and effects in a comprehensive accountability system can leaders, teachers, and policymakers understand the complexities of student achievement and the efficacy of teaching and leadership practices.”

Reeves, 2006

Definitions and Examples

Effect data: Outcomes or results

Cause data: Professional practices that create specific effects or results

The Leadership & Learning Center Matrix

Effects/Results (stud.out.)

LuckyHigh results, low understanding of antecedentsReplication of success unlikely

LeadingHigh results, high understanding of antecedentsReplication of success likely

Losing GroundLow results, low understanding of antecedentsReplication of failure likely

LearningLow results, high understanding of antecedentsReplication of mistakes unlikely

Antecedents/Cause Data (Adult Actions)

Leadership and Learning Matrix

WTL: Matrix Writing Frame

• Think of a grade-level team or a department in the building where you last worked.

• Identify where on the matrix you think that team or department resides.

• Write down at least three justifications for why you placed them there.

• Justifications must connect cause and effect data

• Find someone else in the room that placed a team in a different quadrant and share your findings.

Learning Targets• I can select relevant data to track progress

toward increased achievement• I can interpret data to reveal strengths and

targeted areas for growth• I can relate the impact of adult actions to the

learning of students• I can actively participate to keep our learning

moving forward• ???

The Process for Results

Analyze toPrioritize

Monitor & Evaluate Results

Treasure Hunt

SMART Goals

Specific Strategies

Results Indicators

Inquiry;Develop Questions

SIP

Inquiry“Data-driven decision making begins

by asking fundamental questions.” Doug

Reeves

• What do you wonder about achievement in your building?

• What specific questions about teaching and learning can be derived from these greater “wonder-ments?”

WTL: Inquiry Writing Frame

Step 1: Conduct a Treasure Hunt • Why? To gather

and organize data in order to gain insights about teaching and learning practices

• Considerations• Measures of data• Disaggregation • Triangulation • Reflection

Can You Identify with This?

“It is not so much a lack of data, but an absence of analysis, and an even greater absence of actions driven by the data.”

White, 2005

Step 2Analyze Data to Prioritize Needs

Analysis of 8th Grade School Data

Role-play

Analyze Data to Prioritize Needs

• Why? To identify causes for celebration and to identify areas of concern

• Considerations• Strengths• Needs• Behavior• Rationale

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Quality Prioritization

• Why? To take immediate action on the most urgent needs

• Quality prioritization requires a thorough understanding of:• Student population• Curriculum and Power/Priority Standards

(leverage, readiness)• Antecedents affecting student achievement• Quality of program implementation

White, 2005

Step 3Establish SMART Goals

• Why? To identify our most critical goals for student achievement based on the challenges that were identified through the inquiry process

• Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely

Step 4Select Specific Strategies

Let’s watch a leadership team as they enter this stage of the process…

Select Specific Strategies• Why?

• Adult actions will impact student achievement

• Strategies are—• Action-oriented• Measurable/accountable• Specific• Research-based

• Considerations: Instructional, organizational, leadership, programmatic

Research-Based Strategies • Reeves, D.B. (2003. 90/90/90 schools.

Retrieved from www.leadandlearn.com • Reeves, D.B. (2006). Ten things high

schools can do right now to improve student achievement. Retrieved from http://www.leadandlearn.com/resources/custom/Presentations/4.2.08.NY.NYC.pdf

• Learning 24/7 Observation Study (2005). What’s happening in schools? Or not?

Additional Evidence in Support of Research-Based Strategies

• Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (2005). Best practice. Portsmith, NH: Heinemann.

• Marzano, R. (2007). The art & science of teaching. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• Barr, R., & Parrett, W.H. (2007). The kids left behind. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

• Marzano, R., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Select Your Specific Strategies

1. Revisit your prioritized needs2. Research the best possible strategies

to meet the learner needs3. Classify each type of strategy:

Instructional, organizational, programmatic, and leadership

Step 5Determine Results Indicators

Why? To monitor the degree of implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies

Results Indicators

• Considerations• Serve as an interim measurement• Used to determine effective

implementation of a strategy• Used to determine if strategy is

having the desired impact• Help to determine midcourse

corrections

Results Indicator Application

1. Revisit strategies (Step 4)2. Develop results indicators

(“If --- Then” statements)

“Improvement cycles require leadership follow-up and relentless efforts to maintain the focus on data if decisions are truly going to be driven by informed data.”

White, 2005

Step 6Monitor and Evaluate Results

Why? To engage in a continuous improvement cycle that—• Identifies midcourse corrections

where needed • Adjusts strategies to assure fidelity

of implementation

Develop Your Monitoring Plan• Review your work from developing questions to

determining results indicators then determine how you will monitor the strategies. When you create your monitoring plan consider:• Teacher or administrator teams• Monitoring cycles• Goals• Strategies• Impact on student and adult behavior• Ability to make midcourse corrections

…After all these words, statistical analyses, and graphs,…

What we do matters.”Reeves, 2006

WTL – Lunch Exit Slip (leave at your tables)Based on your strengths as a leader and new learning up to this

point, what positive contributions are you prepared to make to the School Improvement process in your building?