Data Driven World

Making decisions in the teaching profession has slowly shifted from opinion-based to data-driven.  This is a huge relief to the teachers that over analyze each and ever decision they make.  No more wondering...no more second guessing.  Clear cut data to help decide how a student is progressing through their academic endeavors.

{clouds part and a chorus of "Hallelujah" rings from the heavens}

On the other hand, there are times when we intuitively know exactly what these littles need by glancing at their student work and we can positively, without a doubt make the assumption that they are just. not. getting. it.  So why use data?  Isn't it just one more thing on our ever growing to do list?  Two simple answers that prove you will not be wasting your time:  student motivation & shared responsibilities.

Students that contribute and maintain data of their own academic progress learn to self-monitor their own personal growth and set goals to accomplish them.  This is a life long skill that teaches students that aspirations don't just happen on their own...it takes a plan and effort. This was the key that I was missing.  I felt like I was putting in so much work and getting a minuscule amount of effort in return.  This all changed when collaborative data was collected within the classroom and it became a classroom norm to collect and discuss our performance data. 

We all know that formative data drives our instruction, however, do our students?  Shouldn't they be included in the conversation?  This was the problem!  I was making decisions based on student outcome, however, never filling them in on my plan...seems a little backwards, right?

In the beginning, we started small...we began to collect classroom average scores and collect them on a data board in our classroom.  We collected the number of students that were meeting the goal, approaching the goal, and that were still below--this gave us a conversation starter, without calling anyone out individually.  Talk about a team building experience!  

Students update the data wall to take ownership.

Once students became aware of our common goal, they took a more active role in their education and encouraged others to do the same!  I had students beginning to ask, "How can I improve my answer?" and "What should I do when...?".  

{"HALLELUJAH", indeed.}

Thus...the data folder was invented.  If these results were shown through a simple collection of whole group classroom data, imagine the possibilities of individual data results, as well!  Students were given pre-tests in reading and math tests to let them know where they were starting prior to instruction.  This was eye opening for both of us.  I was able to see what skills were already mastered from 3rd grade and pushed the students that were ready for more challenging skills, while also recognizing if the skills assessed were brand new to other students. We recorded our pre-test scores in our data folder and forgot about them until after instruction took place and we were ready for the post-test. 

Once we took the post-test, we collected them in our data folder and bragged about our growth.  The fun thing became that everyone had their own goal to beat. Everyone was successful at their own level!  This became routine for reading and math standard assessments, but the opportunity for growth didn't stop there.  

I am an advocate for small group reading instruction...and not just to because it's a buzz word right now.  IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.  Providing students instruction at their level is key to individualized instruction and ensuring mastery of reading skills without the frustration of decoding higher level words students aren't ready for.   Once again, to know this goal and to not share it with the students felt silly.   The goal was centered around THEIR PROGRESS!  Why wouldn't they know that?  

We discussed the fourth grade reading goal expectation and I helped them individually graph their instructional level based on fluency and comprehension.  I use Reading A-Z for resources, however, there are so many fluency progress monitoring programs out there. 

Stars represent the goal for fourth grade reading level.
Students self-monitor growth in comparison.

Click here for a free download of the Reading Level Progress Graph.  This can be customized per grade level reading expectations.  Simply draw in a star for each quarter that shows the appropriate reading level for your grade. 

Data has transformed my classroom from a hard working teacher to a shared responsibility and common goals.  I love the conversations that develop and the clear expectation of growth before each assessment begins. Data-driven decisions has changed my classroom climate completely...and for the better! 

Click here to purchase the complete data pack from my TpT store, Teaching Littles.