1. Introducing the on-line course and standards-based reform

This topic orients participants to the on-line course and the facilitation process as well as reviews key concepts inherent in data-based decision making.

Outcome
School team members will increase their capacity to lead discussions with their school teams about standards-based reform as it is occurring in Maryland

Key concepts

• Definition of standards-based reform
• Critical elements of true school improvement
• Definition of data-based decision making
• Benefits of data-based decision making
• Why schools often avoid data-based decision making
• Making data-based decision making happen
• Relationships of the recommendations of the Visionary Panel for Better Schools to data-based decision making
• Action steps to true accountability
• Major impacts of NCLB and Achievement Matters Most

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Outcomes for Training Program (Power Point Presentation 36kb)
• Outcomes for Session One (Coming Soon)
• Good Things Are Happening in Student Achievement (Acrobat 8kb)
• Three Key Questions to Keep the Focus on Student Learning (Acrobat 28kb)
• Site Map and Navigation of the On-line Course
• Setting the Context (Power Point Presentation 248kb)
• Think and Share with Your School Colleagues (Acrobat 8kb)
• Creating the Framework (Power Point Presentation 49kb)
• Sample Participant Feedback Form (Acrobat 8kb)

2. Using the standards to drive instruction

This topic identifies the implications of a standards-driven program for classroom instruction in the state.

Outcome
School team members will increase their capacity to understand Maryland’s content standards and to use them to drive instruction.

Key concepts

• Differences between content standards for students and performance standards for schools
• Maryland’s performance standards for elementary, middle, and high schools (to be revised)
• Maryland’s content standards for students (what students should know and be able to do)
• Implications of content standards for Maryland’s classrooms and schools
• Increasing staff understanding of, teaching to, and assessing state content standards

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Many Meanings of Standards (Acrobat 12kb)
• Mizell quote, "Standards have created a kind of vacuum" (Acrobat 4kb)
• Power Point Presentation: Why Have Data Become So Important in Education (Coming Soon)

3. Developing a monitoring plan that is aligned with the standards

This topic provides the rationale for and examples of monitoring plans that may be used by teachers to track student achievement and that are aligned with the state standards and indicators.

Outcome
School team members will increase their capacity to monitor student achievement on a daily basis in ways that are aligned with the state standards.

Key concepts

• Alignment of monitoring plans used to track student achievement with important indicators
• Establishing and communicating clear expectations for how frequently data need to be collected, organized, and shared with the principal and the school improvement team
• Establishing and communicating expectations for how teachers should use their assessment results to inform instruction
• Developing a game plan for using regularly scheduled time during the school day for teachers to discuss data results as well as to determine and implement the curriculum modifications and student interventions that they will put in place in response to the emerging data

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Outcome for Session and Facilitation Tools (Power Point Presentation 32kb)
• Sample Participant Feedback Form (Acrobat 8kb)

4. Using the results from teacher-developed assessments as a source of data to make instructional decisions

This topic identifies the characteristics of quality teacher-developed assessments and shows how the results of assessments can be used to increase student achievement.

Outcome
School team members will increase their capacity to use teacher-developed assessments as effective formative data.

Key concepts

• Alignment of classroom assessments with: (1) state standards and indicators, (2) the scoring tools used on the state assessment, and (3) the rigor expected on the state assessment
• Using ongoing assessment results diagnostically

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Collecting Data in the Classroom (Power Point Presentation 59kb)
• Using Formative Assessment Data to Align Instruction in Your School with Maryland’s Standards and Indicators - Discussion Guide (Acrobat 24kb)
• Using Formative Data (Acrobat 4kb)

5. Examining and analyzing student work as a source of data to make instructional decisions

This topic introduces the value of a structured process of analyzing student work by teachers as well as several collaborative protocols that might be used.

Outcome
School team members will increase their capacity to use a variety of collaborative protocols to collect and analyze student work and to draw conclusions about the alignment, rigor, and continuity of student work in the school.

Key concepts

• Pathologies of the existing educational system (particularly teacher isolation) and their consequences
• Assumptions underlying the examination of student work
• The big picture: the walk-through
• The close-up view: analysis protocols
• Key components and important considerations in examining student work

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Monitoring Student Performance (Power Point Presentation 48kb)
• Types of Walkthroughs (Acrobat 12kb)
• Reflecting on the Walk-through Experience (Coming Soon)
• "Seeing Through New Eyes" - Article by Joan Richardson

6. Leading a problem clarification process and completing a needs assessment based on the data collected

This topic enables participants to analyze the extent to which five key processes integral to standards-based education are in place in their school:

• Teachers understand the meaning of and the knowledge and skills embedded in the indicators (standards).
• Teachers know the indicators for which they are responsible and teach them in an organized and sequential way.
• Teachers assess the indicators with the same rigor and in the same format that the indicators will be assessed on the state assessment.
• Teachers monitor student progress and report it to parents based on the indicators.
• Teachers intervene with students not succeeding by focusing interventions on student improvement on the indicators.

When members of school teams understand the extent to which these key processes are currently being implemented at a high level of quality in their school, they are ready to identify the high impact problem to be attacked in their school improvement plan.

This analysis process should lead to a data-based needs assessment that addresses:

• The priority areas of need
• The processes used to engage staff, parents, and students in identifying problematic areas
• A summary of the status of the school in relation to the five key processes
• The highest impact problem area
• Evidence used to support these hypotheses

Outcomes
School team members will increase their capacity to:
• Lead their staffs in the problem clarification process
• Complete a data-based needs assessment

Key concepts

• Key processes to align curriculum (standards), assessment, and instruction
• Identifying the high impact problem to address in the school plan that will most likely increase student achievement
• Developing a data-based needs assessment

Resources (Complete set of resources - ZIP 412kb / SIT 460kb)

• Five Conditions for Hitting the Target (Power Point Presentation 28kb)
• Mining the Data: Wicomico County (Power Point Presentation 168kb)
• Key Processes in Collecting Data on Your Instructional Program Survey - Discussion Guide (Acrobat 12kb)
• Needs Assessment Assignment (Coming Soon)
• Needs Assessment Feedback Tool (Acrobat 12kb)
• Sample Needs Assessment from School (Coming Soon)

References
Beebe, Robert J., et al. "Build It and They Will Not Necessarily Come." T.H.E. Journal (June 2002): 58-63.
Richti, Wendy P., and Michael R. L. Odell. "Comparison and Evaluation of Online and Classroom Instruction in Elementary Science Teaching Methods Courses." http://nova.georgefox.edu/nwcc/arpapers/uidaho.pdf