Achievement Network Scores

Activity Description and Summary

I met with the director of curriculum to determine the school’s needs based on content area data and the schools mission. The meeting brought to light the need to address the area of English Language Arts -reading. According to the Achievement Network Scores (Anet) (2014), the children have been receiving scores below 60% and these grades keep fluctuating.

The process through which data is shared and analyzed is a simple one in my school. A special date and time is usually given for the data meeting and teachers access their class data before each meeting. At the meeting the teachers are joined by the principal and coaches to have the discussion on the results. The result for each grade is examined to

see where the children shine and where they need the help. After the presentation, teachers then plan lessons for the re-teaching of these areas.

Program Outcome Rationale
The overall school –wide data analysis process is related to Outcome 2 – Visionary Leadership in different ways. Firstly, analyzing and using data properly result in the improvement of students’ learning as well as teacher performance. When teachers use the data to inform their teaching they are better able to meet students’ individual needs. As a leader with vision one is able to use the data to not just transform the individual child but by extension the whole school.
Further, the use of data to motivate change is an important one. This is so because data can be used to motivate children to take responsibility for their learning. Teachers are able to use the data to point out to children their areas of weakness and to set goals in order to improve these areas. Teachers are also able, through data analysis, to determine which strategy works better for a particular child. The leader with vision is competent in using data to succeed at different issues.
Data Analysis
The school has been experiencing difficulties in having 100% of the children reaching proficiency on their Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) – reading test- for close to three (3) years. The data that we examined was the School’s Anet Score which shows test scores taken three times throughout the year. The data from the report shows varying degree of fluctuation as children were examined in each interim test. A closer examination of the data shows that children find it hard to use the information given in passages to answer questions. This shows that throughout the school, there is a weakness in the children’s comprehension skills. Therefore, whatever is done must address the children from 2nd - 8th grade.
Administrator plans special days for the reviewing of data.

On these days children’s scores are reviewed to see where they are weak and why the weakness is occurring. Teachers also have to plan lessons for the re-teaching of the topics where the children are showing weaknesses. The principal at my school is using data in the correct way in that time is set aside for the data discussion and plans made as teachers use the data to answer questions. However, what I would do differently is not just analyze data from immediate test scores but I would add data that speaks to the whole child. That is, I would include data collected from parents, data on behavior, and data from previous years and so on. This data, together, give a clearer overall picture of the child and so would provide a clearer answer to questions as to why a child is having difficulty performing. Positive change can only occur when answers to questions are

obtained.

Progress Monitoring Plan
The area to be addressed in this plan is reading comprehension. However, with deeper examination it was found that the children were having difficulty comprehending non-fiction material. This is so because the passages on their test were non-fiction. As a result, the plan will be to equip children with the necessary skills to access non-fiction text. We met to decide on several areas. These include: choosing a particular grade, the goals that we wanted to achieve, and the percentage of students that should achieve mastery at the end of the assigned time after implementation. The next meeting was to decide on Development Reading Assessment (DRA) passage and to plan a unit around the skill that we wanted to work on. We planned a five day unit that would focus the children on learning the organizational structure and the unique features that are common to non-fiction text.
A grade four class was chosen. The reason for this is because there is much more fluctuation happening in their scores. The overall plan for them begins with the (DRA) test and a pretest for the unit that would be taught. The unit test includes a passage with different text features and the children would decide how to use each. Next, there is a power point that explains each feature with examples. For day 2-4 formative assessments, in the form of quizzes/worksheets, would be done and this is used to graph students’ performance as they progress through the unit. There are also daily exit tickets which leaves room for children to express what they have learned or ask questions about what they are learning. A performance tasked will also be given on the second day and there would be discussion on the rubric for the task. The end product would contain text features as well as use of text organization. For day three of the unit the topics on text organization would be introduced. Children would examine text to see how authors use different kinds of paragraphs to convey message. Throughout the week the children would also monitor their learning with checklist, teacher observation and class buddies. Day five would include a summative assessment, the DRA test and the unit test that was given as pretest. The children will also present their performance task. Pretest and posttest result would be compared along with the data that was collected throughout the week to see the outcome of the monitoring and intervention.

Impact on Student Achievement
This activity impacts students’ achievement in many different ways.

This is so because progress monitoring, when used correctly, is an effective tool. Firstly, learning is accelerated as areas of weaknesses are addressed using appropriate instruction. Secondly, the decisions that teachers take are not ‘willy, nilly’ but they are informed - in the sense that- the progress monitor informs the teacher as to how a strategy has worked or did not worked. Further, it “increases students’ awareness of their own performance” (Myers, 2015, p.3). Finally, this activity impacts student achievement because it provides regular assessment of the children’s progress rather than having to wait for the end of a year or quarter to see how children are performing in a particular area. Progress monitoring is, therefore, paramount to students’

achievement.
Progress monitoring is a relevant part of the instructional process. It means that every child is given the opportunity to achieve excellence. Margot Filipenko (2004) reiterates that “knowledge of children’s information literacy development is crucial for teachers if they are to help children to cultivate the skills necessary to become information managers” (p.1). Thus, as teachers teach and monitor children’s individual needs – in this case reading comprehension needs- they are creating children that are literate and children that are able to access information for themselves.
Reflection
I find this activity very informative. This is so because the area of progress monitoring is an integral part of the teaching learning process. Progress monitoring helps teachers see how well strategies are working and how well children are achieving in short intervals. Subsequently, teachers can make adjustments as the need arises. Thus, I am exemplifying excellence when as a leader I am cognizant of how well progress monitoring works and how best to support my colleagues as they utilize this tool.
Progress monitoring is also essential because it provides the data that is needed to assist in the decision making process. It also guides the instructional process and so will help students who are not profiting from typical instructional process. When I use progress monitoring data to plan effective instructional program for the students, when students are aware of how they are performing and what they need to do to improve, then I am exemplifying scholarship as I am committed to students having the skills needed to function not only as students in the classroom but as individuals in the wider community.