Data Driven Decision Making Henry Abbott Technical High School

Data Driven Decision Making Henry Abbott Technical High School Professional Development October 24, 2007

Abbott Tech DDDM Team Jim Rizzio Isabel Barnett Bill Chamberlain Tonya Clark Kevin Killeen Iva Stoev

DDDM: Is this just another passing innovation ?

“Schools need to move away from continually adopting innovations” and instead “collectively focus on goals and regularly measure the impact of the methods.”Mike Schmoker, author: Results The Key to Continuous Improvement (Schmoker, 1999)

What is Data Driven Decision Making? • DDDM is a comprehensive plan to analyze student needs and progress school wide in a manner consistent with the program focus that a school has already agreed upon. • An effective plan will utilize programs and efforts that already achieve positive goals.

What data does DDDM analyze? • It analyzes Spheres of Data in the following areas: Demographics Student Learning School Processes Perceptions

The Vision . . .

Accountability in Action • In his “90/90/90” Doug Reeves of the Center for Performance Assessment identified 228 schools with 90% students in poverty, 90% minorities and 90% high test performance. • Schools shared at least 5 characteristics . . .

5 Successful School Characteristics • A strong focus on academic achievement • Clear curriculum choices • Frequent assessment of student progress and multiple opportunities for improvement • An emphasis on nonfiction writing • Collaborative scoring of student work with explicit guidelines

The most DOMINANT FACTORS in determining student success! • Teacher quality and effective leadership, determined student success not demographics. • Mr. Reeves identified 9 teaching and leadership characteristics that distinguished schools with the greatest academic gains.

Schools devoted time for teacher collaboration, focusing on student work and proficiency Teachers provided typically more feed back than typical report card Schools made dramatic changes to their schedules. Teachers engaged in action research and mid-course corrections Principals made decisive moves in teacher assignments. Schools included an intensive focus on student data from multiple sources, and teachers compared students to themselves rather than to other student groups. (continued) Distinguished Schools

Distinguished Schools (continued) • Schools consistently used common assessments (as opposed to tests) and quickly received feedback to help improve. Performance. • Schools employed the resources of every adult in the system (including bus drivers and kitchen staff) and provided appropriate professional development, especially around student achievement and disciplinary issues. • Schools stressed a cross-disciplinary curriculum integrating subjects currently downplayed.

References • Reeves, Douglas B., 2000 (second printing). Accountability in action: a blueprint for learning organizations, Advanced Learning Press, Denver, Colorado • Schmoker, 1999 The Key to continuous Improvement, ASCD, Alexandria Virginia • Slide 7: http://www.cttech.org/central/about-us/improvement/index.htm

Data Driven Decision Making Henry Abbott Technical High School