Assessment Data
Wouldn't it be fantastic if every educator could guarantee instructional quality for each and every student?
Assess Instructional Quality
The collection of data through assessment can do just that, quantify instructional quality. Data is the heart of the educational problem solving model. It is used to monitor student progress, diagnose problems and make decisions regarding student response to intervention.
According to the Colorado Basic Literacy Act assessment guidelines:
School districts are responsible for selecting assessments in accordance with the criteria outlined in the rules. Assessments must:
- Align with state and local standards
- Align with the five components of reading, as defined in May 2004 Rules
- Include multiple measures over time
- Include a variety of text structures, response formats, and administrative procedures
- Be supported by adequately validated accepted scientific standards
Assessment is used for three different purposes:
- Screen all children and identify those who are not making progress.
- As a diagnostic tool in order to determine what students can and cannot do in academic and behavioral domains.
- Monitor the progress of students and help determine the effectiveness of the intervention being used.
Other Forms of Data
School Data
There are many types of educational data available. School-Wide Information System tracks a wide range of school data. To examine broader school issues school leaders can look at graduation rates or demographics such as gender, ethnicity, language proficiency, and socioeconomic data. Parental involvement, perceptions, and beliefs can be collected through surveys. Most of the data that has been mentioned is already collected by the school system and is an important aspect of data driven decision making and response to intervention.
Academic Data
Academic data is captured through assessment or test scores. Assessment is used for three different purposes. First, assessment can be used to screen all children and identify those who are not making progress. It can also be used as a diagnostic tool determining what students can and cannot do in academic and behavioral domains. Finally, assessment can be used to monitor the progress of students and help determine the effectiveness of the intervention being used.
An example of a reading screening would be the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). The Colorado Student Assessment Program,Basic Early Assessment of Reading, or any other standardized assessments would be good examples of summative academic assessments determining what students can and cannot do. The Progress monitoring assessments like the DIBELS Test of Oral Reading Fluency (OFR), can be administered repeatedly through out the school year to chart a student’s development in oral reading fluency. Grades and progress reports could be considered to be data.
Behavioral Data
Behavioral data includes discipline records like office referrals, suspensions and attendance. When intensive interventions are being considered, behavioral data can also be gathered through a functional behavior analysis. This is where the observer searches to uncover why the behavior is occurring. Gathering data through observation and charting the undesirable behaviors throughout the student’s day, help discover the function of the behavior. The observer should focus on the frequency and the intensity of the student's behavior.
Create Your Own Data
Educators have the ability to drill deeper and collect their own data around behavior and academics in order to further explore problems. They can chart behavior or use curricular-based assessments to compare to the data that is already collected in order to substantiate the existence of a problem or monitor the progress of a student’s intervention.
