Collaborative Inquiry via Professional Learning Communities MSDF Impact Assessment

1. Collaborative Inquiry via Professional Learning Communities MSDF Impact Assessment

2. Professional Learning Communities: OUSD-wide Strategy for Improved Performance • What? • Teachers engage in collaborative conversation, inquiry and planning that focus on the following four key questions: • What do you want students to learn? • How will you know if they have learned it? • What will you do if they have? • What will you do if they haven’t? Strategy: Focus on Effective Use of Data by Teacher Teams in Professional Learning Communities • How? • Provide teachers collaborative time to: • Map daily and unit lesson plans to key standards • Teach to mastery of key standards • Analyze and use individual student data • Create frequent, common assessments aligned to key standards to measure student learning and adjust instruction to address gaps • Create school-wide systems to monitor, diagnose and intervene early to help students in need get back on track towards mastery of key standards.

3. 2. Analyze assessment data to determine students’ specific needs relative to grade level standards. A CST assessment given once a year in late April/early May B. School-wide standards-based, CST aligned interim assessments, given 4 to 8 times per year Create an instructional plan to accelerate learning for students in areas of need (including intervention. small group and individual instruction). 1. Assess student mastery of grade level standards. D. Informal checks for understanding, given at least once during every lesson C. Classroom level assessments to measure mastery of specific standards, given after teachers have finished teaching a particular standard or skill Implement instructional plan to address student needs. Cycles of Data-Driven Inquiry in Professional Learning Communities

4. The district supports use of data in Professional Learning Communities in the following ways: • Standards-Based Assessments: Standards-based common assessments are administered four times per year in Math and English Language Arts, and teachers have access to a robust item bank to create their own assessments. • Data Reports: Every administrator, teacher and coach has online access to real time student level data. Additional reports are released regularly. • Data Training: Principals receive data training and support from their Network Executive Officer, central office coaches, and peers at network meetings two times per month.

5. Data Driven Culture:District Leadership, Principals, and Teachers are expected to engage in at least five cycles of data inquiry per year Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Central Office Budgeting in January OUSD Leadership Inquiry Network (Principal) Inquiry Teacher Level Inquiry Site Plan revision Site Budgeting Site Plan finalized in October in February in April Beginning of Year Inquiry Cycle: Reviewing last year’s achievements and learning about this year’s students (CST focus plus summary year end 2006-2007 data (August – September) Fall Interim Assessment data (October – November) Mid-year Interim Assessment data (January – February) Spring Interim Assessment data (March – April) Year-end review and reflection (June) Teacher teams will map our and conduct their own cycles of inquiry throughout the year which will include development and analysis of site-based common assessments.

6. Data Training and Coaching • Data Training Goal: Site-based administrators, teachers and coaches know how to easily access the data most important to them and how to interpret data to make well-informed decisions about their practice. • How? • Principals receive data training and support from their Network Executive Officer, central office coaches, and peers at network meetings two times per month. • Site-based teachers and coaches receive data training from Research and Assessment data coaches by request.

7. Data-Driven Decision Making with Families Key to Data Inquiry with Families: • Transparency • Build on their passions. Every parent wants what is best for their children. Data Inquiry happens in Two Ways: • School-level inquiry in School Site Council • Examination of student-level assessments data

8. Data-Driven Decision Making with Teachers Key to Data Inquiry with Teachers: • Transparency • Show teachers it matters Data Inquiry happens in Two Ways: • Data conferences with principal • Professional development with data coach and teacher co-presenter (for modeling)

9. Data-Driven Decision Making with Students Key to Data Inquiry with Students: • Transparency • Show students it matters • Motivation Data Inquiry happens in Many Ways: • Debrief assessments immediately in class • Reward high performance at assemblies

10. Lessons Learned • The data must be timely, accurate and relevant to be useful • It's not OK to sit with teachers and say, "I know this data isn't great, but what does it tell you about your kids and instruction anyway?" • Data is a key opportunity to build urgency about change. • Without being grounded in the data, we are purely proponents for the next fly-by night reform. • Ultimately data is about people (especially adults at the school site) confronting their fears and emotions. • Data is not best used to blame or judge. Data is our friend! • Schools must feel invested in the process. • A one size fits all model does not work. • Data inquiry takes time and support. • Principals, Data Coaches, Central Office Data Support all have critical roles in this work. These roles take time!