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The Toolbox contains a collection of articles with practical advice for school and classroom management.
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Start with Data
No time to interpret data? Ok, do that in June. But now is the perfect time to start the collection process. Proficiency results will be rolling in, and who hasn’t received a School Report Card from ODE?
Data on student performance will be the most accessible, so let’s start there. Look at achievement on grades and standardized tests, attendance, and behavior.
Student Achievement
Student information systems are required for EMIS reporting in Ohio. Your district can give you grade reports overall and disaggregated by curriculum area, grade level, failure rate. These can be real eye-openers when compared to student performance on the fourth- or sixth-grade proficiency tests.
Tip 1: Disaggregated data can be reported to you easily or not, depending on your district’s software. Lobby hard for up-to-date software.
Tip 2: EMIS reports reflect June data, and generally won’t be available until August. Check with your EMIS coordinator.
School Report Cards are out there, so you might as well use them. Go to http://ilrc.ode.state.oh.us/ to view Local Report Cards. The ODE site is loaded with these and other useful data.
Proficiency reports accompany your students' score rosters. If you haven’t seen your building’s report, ask your testing coordinator. Student performance is disaggregated every way you can imagine, and then some.
U.S. Department of Education has comparison data to download. See Nation’s Report Card > .
Off-year test data (CAT, Iowa, etc.) will help you compare students’ predicted performance with actual performance. They're good indicators of how effectively—or not—the curriculum is being taught.
Student and Teacher Attendance
Student information system can give you quarterly and final reports. Again, ask for reports that disaggregate, including reasons (excused, unexcused, suspended, or expelled).
Teacher attendance is reported overall on the Report Card, but ask your
district office for a year-end building report. A small piece of data,
seemingly, but it can help identify professional development needs for
the grant.
Student Behavior
Office referrals, detentions, suspensions (in-school and out), expulsions, and other discipline data can be powerful, especially for school climate grants. But only if you keep records. If you don’t, start today.
Enough for now. Even if you file this information away until June, don’t fret. You've taken the first step.
