Root Cause Analysis

Seven Common Traits Observed in Successful Schools

• Strong Leadership• Positive Belief and Teacher

Dedication• Data Utilization and Analysis • EffectiveScheduling• Professional Development • ScientificallyBased Intervention

Programs• Parent Involvement

Assessments

Assessments are designed to determine the student's abilities and needs in relevant aspects of the curriculum and instruction.

Educators need this essential tool to guide day-to-day instruction.

Range of Assessments

The range of assessments may range from classroom assessment practices all the way to district and statewide assessment programs.

The Four Types of Reading Assessments

Screening Assessment: (First Alert) These quick, easily administered assessments are used to identify those students who are at-risk for reading difficulties. (Dibels, AimsWeb)

Progress Monitoring Assessments: These assessments are used to ensure that students are making adequate reading progress. They must be easily administered and sensitive to growth over short instructional intervals. These assessments quickly determine the need for instructional change when progress is not at the expected level. (Dibels, AimsWeb, 4Sight)

Diagnostic Assessments: These in-depth assessments determine a student's specific instructional needs and what and how much intervention may be required. They measure the component skills of reading, and determine where in the scope and sequence of those skills the student falls. (Woodcock Reading Mastery Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test)

Outcome Assessments: These assessments are used to determine whether students have achieved grade-level or proficiency standard performance. (PSSA)

Data Process

Collect and chart dataAnalyze strengths and obstaclesEstablish goals: set, review, reviseSelect instructional strategiesDetermine results indicators

4 Kinds of Data

Demographic DataStudent Learning DataPerceptions DataSchool Processes Data

Student Learning Data

Standardized test scoresGrade point averagesStandards assessmentsAuthentic assessments

The Data PyramidSum

mative

distric

t and

state

assessments (aggregated, disaggregated; strand, item, and

student work)

Data

about

people, practices, perception

s (e.g. demographic,

enrollment, survey

, interview, observation

data,

curriculum maps)

Benchmark com

mon

assessments

(e.g., end of unit, com

mon

grade-level

tests

reported at item level)

Formative common

assessments (e.g., math problem of

the week, writing sa

mples, science journals,

other studen

t work)

Formative

classroo

m assessments for learning (e.g.

, student self-assessments

, descriptive

feedback

, selected response

, written

response

, personal communications, performance assessments

)

Annually

2-4 times a year

Quarterly or end of unit

1-4 times a month

Daily/ Weekly

Formative Classroom Assessments

Teachers must spend most of their time using this form of assessment Information is used to:▪ adjust teaching▪ provide feedback to students to help them

improve their learning

▪ Examples: descriptive feedback to students, use of rubrics with students, multiple methods of checking for understanding, examination of student work, and tests and quizzes

Formative Common Assessments

Frequently analyzed by the data team

Importance: Identifying student-learning problems Generate short cycles of improvement Frequently monitor progress toward the

overall student-learning goal

Benchmark Common Assessments

Administered at the end of a unit or quarter

Importance: Assesses the student’s mastery of concepts and

skills recently taught Excellent sources of student-learning data

because they are timely, closely aligned with local curriculum and has item level analysis

Can be used to immediately improve instruction Can be used to provide data for programmatic

changes.

Demographic data

Data about people, practices, and perceptions

Examples: Student populations Teacher characteristics data Course enrollment data Dropout rates

Summative Assessment Data

Includes state assessments and annual district tests

Data is used to: Determine accountability Identify a student-learning problem Set annual improvement targets

PSSA Testing Calendar 08-09            October 20 – 31, 2008 12th Grade Retest for Math,

Reading & Writing 

February 9 – 20, 2009 5th, 8th& 11th Grade Writing Assessment 

March 16 – 27, 2009 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th& 11th Grade Math and Reading Assessment 

April 27 - May 8, 2009 4th, 8th& 11th Grade Science Assessment 

“Drilling Down”

The process of looking more and more deeply at data to gather more information.

Love 2008

What is “Root Cause”

The deepest underlying cause, or causes of positive or negative symptoms within any process, which if dissolved, would result in elimination or substantial reduction of the symptom.

Pruess 2007

Why Root Cause Analysis

Helps dissolve the problemEliminates patching and wasted

effortConserves scarce resources Induces discussion and reflectionProvides rationale for strategy

selection

When is a Cause a Root Cause?

1. Would the problem have occurred if the cause had not been present?

No, then it is a root cause. Yes, then it is a contributing cause.

Root Cause

2. Will the problem reoccur as the result of the same cause if the cause is corrected or dissolved?

No, then it is a root cause Yes, then it is a contributing cause

Root Cause

3. Will correction or dissolution of the cause lead to similar events?

No, then it is a root cause Yes, then it is a contributing cause

Other Indicators

You run into a dead endEveryone agrees that it is the root

causeThe cause is logical, makes sense,

and provides clarity to the problemThe cause is something that you can

influence and control

Pruess 2003

RCA Tools

1. The Questioning Data Process2. The Diagnostic Tree Process3. The Creative Root Cause Analysis

Team Process4. The Five Whys5. Force Field Analysis6. Barrier Analysis7. Fishbone Diagram

Contexts for RCA

RCA can be used at any level within a school district or building A teacher working to improve classroom

instruction A grade level or department seeking to

improve learning School Improvement A council working to remove barriers to

student success at the district level

Sources

Love, Nancy; Stiles, Katherine; Mundry, Susan; DiRanna, Kathryn (2007).The Data Coach’s Guide to Improving Learning for All Students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Pruess, Paul G. (2003) School Leaders Guide to Root Cause Analysis Using Data To Dissolve Problems. Larchmont, NY 10538. Eye on Education.

Pruess, Paul G. (2007) Data-Driven Decision Making and Dynamic Planning. Larchmont, NY 10538. Eye on Education.

Reeves, Douglas B. (2008) Data for Learning. Englewood, Colorado: The Leadership and Learning Center.