A new toolkit from REL West at WestEd helps educators productively engage students in school improvement efforts, including generating and analyzing data. The Speak Out, Listen Up! toolkit offers strategies for eliciting student voice, or perspective, about education challenges — a perspective that is beneficial in rethinking policies and practices. The toolkit provides instructions and Read more about New Toolkit Helps Educators Engage Students[…]
This past July, the U.S. Department of Education released the Transparency Best Practices for Schools and Districts, a new set of guidelines created to improve relations between school districts and parents surrounding school districts’ collection, maintenance, and distribution of student data. The new guidelines seek to keep parents more informed and if properly implemented, such Read more about U.S. Department of Education Issues New Guidelines On Collecting Student Data[…]
Most personal student information stays local. Districts, states, and the federal government all collect data about students for important purposes like informing instruction and providing information to the public. But the type of data collected, and who can access them, is different at each point. Explore how student data—from schools to the US Department of Read more about Who Uses Student Data?[…]
This free professional development package features everything you need to facilitate a three-hour presentation on using student achievement data to support instructional decision making. Produced by the Doing What Works (DWW) project at WestEd, this “one-stop-shop” professional development package contains: A sample workshop agenda; presentation slides; facilitator’s checklist; an optional set of slides about the Read more about Doing What Works: Using Student Achievement Data[…]
IES has recently released its Projections of Education Statistics to 2022. This edition of the report provides projections for key education statistics, including enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary public and private schools, as well as enrollment and degrees conferred at postsecondary degree-granting institutions. Included are national data on enrollment and graduates Read more about NCES releases “Projections of Education Statistics to 2022”[…]
How are states defining and applying Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) in their teacher evaluation systems? That is the question that a new report from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands answers. The report provides an overview of how states are using SLOs, based on a review of state education websites. SLOs are an alternative Read more about REL Northeast Explores SLO Implementation[…]
States should promote data use skills, ease of access to data, and the use of a common language about data literacy to support strengthening data literacy among the nation’s educators as an important lever for improving student achievement, according to a new policy brief, Data Literacy: It’s About Time. The policy brief looks at current Read more about Action Needed to Improve Educator Data Literacy[…]
Florida has joined New York and Ohio as states to publicly release value-added data on teachers’ performance, despite litigation from the Florida teachers’ union and opposition from such notable education heavyweights as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. What is most contentious is that 70% of teachers in Florida do Read more about Florida releases value-added data despite objections[…]
Can big data and predictive analytics help school leaders hire better teachers? That’s the new pitch being made by two companies: TeacherMatch, from Chicago, and Washington-based Hanover Research. Both claim that their new algorithm-driven teacher-selection tools can predict the impact teacher candidates will have on student test scores should they be hired, which they argue Read more about Data Tools to Predict Teacher Candidates’ Impact[…]
Teachers now have more education data at their fingertips than ever before. Through powerful technology solutions, they can aggregate, disaggregate, and parse data; generate reports; and examine trends. But what should educators do with the data now that they have it? In this month’s issue brief, we focus on data-driven instruction, pulling together resources for Read more about November Issue Brief: Data-Driven Instruction[…]
A new guide from Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Pacific provides a framework, suggested activities, and activity forms to build capacity among teachers, administrators, staff, and other stakeholders for using data more comprehensively and effectively in education decision making. The Regional Educational Laboratories partner with states and districts to build capacity. They conduct applied research and Read more about Five Key Steps for Structuring Conversations about Data[…]
A new report from Ed Money Watch explores the use of student achievement data to improve classroom instruction. The paper, Promoting Data in the Classroom: Innovative State Models and Missed Opportunities, highlights examples from two states, Oregon and Delaware, of federally funded, state-driven efforts to equip teachers with the tools they need to utilize student Read more about Report Explores Opportunities to Promote Data in Classrooms[…]
The Spencer Foundation, an organization that investigates “ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world,” is seeking research studies to inform the current push for data-based educational reforms. Here is more from the press release: We announce a second-round Request for Proposals (RFP) to promote research that examines the assumptions underlying Read more about Spencer Foundation: “Evidence for the Classroom” Request for Proposals[…]
The National Center for Education Statistics, in conjunction with the Institute of Education Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education, has recently released the Forum Guide to Taking Action with Education Data. The goal of the new Forum Guide is to give educators practical ideas about how they can process data and implement concrete changes Read more about Education Department releases Forum Guide on education data[…]
Matthew DiCarlo of the Albert Shanker Institute has developed five recommendations for reporters who write stories on state test scores. But these recommendations are not only useful for reporters – educators also would benefit from understanding the nuances of these numbers that are increasingly used to judge worth. 1. Look at both scale scores and Read more about Five Recommendations For Reporting On (Or Just Interpreting) State Test Scores[…]
Education Week is again offering new “Spotlights on Education” for free. Spotlights are collections of recent articles grouped by theme to give readers an in-depth look at education issues. Featured Spotlights include: The Education Week Spotlight on Personalized Learning – a collection of articles hand-picked by Ed Week editors for their insights on: Digital badges Read more about Featured Education Week ‘Spotlights’[…]