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JP Associates RSN Newsletter for March 3, 2011
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State Gains in Data Systems
States have made positive progress, but are still not using student data effectively in all aspects of education, according to the Data Quality Campaign's sixth annual state analysis, "Data for Action 2010."
Back in 2005, no state had all 10 Essential Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems. Today, 24 states report having implemented the 10 elements, and every state has made a commitment to implement them by September 2011.
The idea behind implementing the 10 elements is that doing so allows states to have the necessary information to understand what works in education and how to allocate resources accordingly to improve student achievement.
What are the 10 elements?
continued below
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Instructional coaching practices that build real partnerships with teachers to bring change in the classroom with Jim Knight
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2011
3-5 p.m. Eastern Time
How often do you find yourself thinking, "How can I get that person to [fill in the blank: do what I think they should do, listen to me, change what they're doing, etc.]?" But as soon as you find yourself thinking that or something similar you may be making the mistake of trying to convince someone to change.
Most people don't change without first being understood. As an administrator or instructional coach, you may be impatient to improve instructional practices in your school, but unless you build sound, trusting partnerships with your teachers, those changes are unlikely to happen.
Join Jim Knight, a well-known coach of instructional coaches from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, who will give you practical tips and advice on building productive partnerships with teachers and engaging them in effective communication.
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
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Schools March Into Use of School Improvement Grants
Read the article, then click the link at the bottom to join the discussion in the RSN Forums!
The School Improvement Grant program is being tagged as one of the most controversial pieces of the Obama administrations' education agenda. Some believe it is the federal government's best answer to fixing low-achieving schools. Others find the four models specified by the program as far too restrictive. In the past couple of years, the program got a huge increase, including $3 billion back in February of 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The burning question is, how is all the money being spent, and which schools are using which models? continued below 
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"Excellent discussion among participants. I've gathered so much to take back on
Team Building!"
Quote from a principal participating in JP's 2010 Institute for Excellence in
Education
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WILL YOU BE AT THE ASCD ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOW IN MARCH?
CLICK HERE TO LET US KNOW! |
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 States and Data Systems (continued)
The 10 elements are:
- A unique statewide student identifier that connects student data across key databases across years.
- Student-level enrollment, demographic, and program participation information.
- The ability to match individual students' test records from year to year to measure academic growth.
- Information on untested students and the reasons they were not tested.
- A teacher identifier system with the ability to match teachers to students.
- Student-level transcript information, including information on courses completed and grades earned.
- Student-level college readiness test scores.
- Student-level graduation and dropout rate.
- The ability to match student records between the preK-12 and higher education systems.
- A state data audit system assessing data quality, validity and reliability.
Although progress has been made, the elements of education data that fall behind are also the ones most critical to current policy discussions. For example, 17 states cannot link teacher and student data, 15 states do not collect course-taking information, and 11 states report the inability to link K-12 and postsecondary data. The results suggest the obstruction to implementing the 10 elements are not technical, but instead depend upon leadership and political will.
What do you think? Is it due to politics and leadership that states are unable to make use of all the elements involved in building data systems? Or is something else creating an obstacle? Will the White House's new Dashboard make a difference? Please drop us a line to tell us what you think. We'd love to hear your opinion on this topic! Send your thoughts to rsn@jponline.com or post them in the Leadership forum in the Responsive School Network™.
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Schools Use of School Improvement Grants (continued)
Surveys from the Center on Education Policy, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, echo data already released by the U.S. Department of Education.
The surveys show "Transformation," which is the option that doesn't require removing teachers and is considered the least restrictive, is the most popular choice, and is used 74% of the time. The second most popular choice is "Turnaround," where at least half the teachers are removed, and is used 16% of the time. Coming in next is "Restart," which turns a school over to a charter operator or education management organization and is used 6% of the time. No data exists for "Closure," which calls for a school to be shut down and the students sent elsewhere.
What does this survey data mean? What category does your school fall into? When given the opportunity to offer their opinion, state officials unanimously responded that the models require rapid turnaround and more technical assistance from the federal government is needed for proper implementation. Share your thoughts with us by clicking the engage button below - we want to hear what you think!
click here for the original article
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