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At the Lewis and Clark School in Jefferson City, Missouri, looking at
data to improve equity is a top priority. Recently, the School Reform
Committee at Lewis and Clark began to grapple with the fact that last
year only, one of the 90 students enrolled in the upper level, eighth-grade
algebra classes was a student of color. With students of color making
up 12 % of the student body, Bob Steffes, the principal at Lewis and Clark,
believed this situation was unacceptable. The committee created a plan
to determine why students of color were not enrolling in advanced math
classes and what could be done about it. They interviewed eighth graders
of color who were doing well in math about why they did not enroll in
the upper level class. At the same time, committee members talked with
seventh graders of color who excel in math and encouraged them to register
for the advanced classes.
While they made strides in closing the achievement gap between white students
and students of color, the committee also discovered that many of the
students did not have the necessary skills to qualify for the algebra
class. This led math teachers to look at the skill levels of their own
students by ethnicity. After a test, one teacher simply separated the
work of the students of color and the work of white students into different
stacks.
According to Steffes, this teacher was very distraught when she found
that the students of color in her class had done poorly. This inquiry
has generated many questions about teaching and learning styles, the need
for improving homework skills, and trying new teaching strategies. Until
the data emerged, the faculty thought they were doing a good job of meeting
the needs of students of color, Steffes says. Now teachers are more consciously
encouraging students of color to succeed and focusing on changing their
instructional strategies so they can better prepare students of color
for advanced math classes. Turning Points schools ask questions and use
data thoughtfully to understand what they are doing, find ways to improve
the schools, and promote equity among students.
Today's middle schools are busy places engaged in a wide variety of activities,
with increasing pressure to do more with less. Parents, community members,
and politicians are all concerned with quality, standards and accountability.
In order to negotiate the challenges associated with school reform efforts,
Turning Points schools use a process called Data-based Inquiry and Decision
Making.
Data-based Inquiry and Decision Making is a deliberative process in which
teachers, administrators, students, parents, and other community members
examine and analyze a range of data relating to problems and challenges
of their school, and develop action plans to address them.
In order to get a complete picture of how they are doing, Turning Points
schools disaggregate all data by race, gender, and socio-economic. Disaggregating
data in this way helps schools enact changes in practice to ensure that
every student learns at a high level. Turning Points schools use a wide
variety of data including student achievement data, input from students,
teachers, families, and the community, state and national tests, student
work, the Turning Points Self Study Survey, and the Turning Points benchmarks
to gauge their progress.
In Turning points schools people are always using data to ask questions
about how the school is doing so they can make things better. Are students
really building literacy skills? What do student work and statewide test
scores reveal about equity for all the different groups in the school?
Is the time scheduled for teacher team meetings adequate? Are the meetings
productive? This constant questioning or inquiry occurs in classrooms
with students, at Leadership Team and full faculty meetings, and when
parents and community are involved. The focus of inquiry is always to
improve teaching and learning for all students.
Used thoughtfully and consistently, Data-based Inquiry and Decision Making
results in higher student achievement and an improved school climate.
This practice includes five components:
- Setting a school-wide vision
- Collecting and analyzing data from a variety of sources
- Identifying strengths and challenges and investigating underlying
causes of problems
- Creating and implementing action plans to address priorities within
the challenge areas
- Setting annual goals and assessing progress
Click on the links below to learn more about other Turning
Points practices.
Improving Learning, Teaching, and Assessment
for All Students -->
Building Leadership Capacity and
a Collaborative Culture -->
Data-based Inquiry and Decision Making: How Are We Doing?-->
Creating a School Culture to Support High Achievement
and Personal Development-->
Networking with Like-minded Schools -->
Developing District Capacity to Support School
Change
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