Data Driven Decisions for School improvement Benchmark

Data-Driven Decisions for School improvement Benchmark
Grand Canyon University EDA 577
February 18, 2015

Our Continuous Improvement Plan, is known as the Senior High Expectations for Excellence. The School Improvement Plan within our high school, has been effective and has shown student improvement with its implementation. The stakeholders are in belief that our students can improve their writing skills. Stakeholders share the vision that writing skills are a valuable lifelong skill, which our students need to possess. The vision of our school is unprecedented excellence in education. This vision is shared among all stakeholders involved in the school’s improvement plan. Stakeholders participate in professional development that will enable them to master the skills necessary to teach student how to write effectively. In reviewing the action plan for the 2014-2015 school year, it is apparent that there has been careful planning of the school improvement plan. The focus is primarily on student improvement in writing. Our leadership team has developed a plan that includes a goal for our school and some of the barriers that affect our students. By including goals and barriers in the plan it shows that our school has the ability to see opportunities that will allow facilitation of a plan that will correspond with the changes within the school (Tague 2004).
Our goal is that student writing will improve from the fall semester to the spring semester. Therefore increasing the number of students who meet the writing standards on the AIMS test. The barriers that exist are that the results of general education students as well as special education students are included in the SIP results. This barrier has been eliminated since the development of rubrics that are used to score general education papers, and specialized rubrics to There is evidence of the ISLLC standards in our schools ' improvement plan. ISLLC Standard 1 covers the importance of developing and implementing a vision of learning that is shared by all stakeholders (ISLLC 2008). During collaboration of the action plan this standard was addressed. The leadership team collaborated in creating plans for the implementation, monitoring and revising of the process throughout the school year. Standard 2 of the ISLLC Standards were also met by establishing an instructional plan that focuses on student and professional growth (ISLLC 2008). The plan addresses, within its strategies, the steps that specific stakeholders within the school will be responsible for assisting with. Students will be assisted in mastering the writing standards. Teachers will be provided with professional development that will aide in the implementation of the writing expectations.
Standards 4 and 6 are evident in the plan. Standard 4A stating that collecting data and analyzing it in order to provide information to the educational environment (ISLLC 2008) is evident. Each fall and spring students across campus write during implemented SIP time. The essays are graded, recorded and the data is analyzed to determine what we as a school need to implement to improve student writing across content areas. The data collected is used to development the schools ' improvement plan.
Standard 6A and 6B are evident in our schools plan. Stating that advocating for students success and expressing the areas that affect student achievement to all stakeholders who hold political positions. The plan is submitted to the district for approval. The district personnel can then assist by providing extra support so that students as well as teachers are successful.
I believe that the School Improvement Plan for this school year aligns with the vision of our school which is unprecedented excellence in education. Stakeholders understand and are committed to the goal of student improvement in writing. They understand that strong writing skills are necessary as a lifelong skill. The implementation of the improvement plan is revised continuously. We write two times a year formally campus wide and by doing this we have seen small gains in student achievement on a consistent basis. The amount of 301 funding that is awarded to faculty at our school is directly tied into our SIP. For the past 2 years that I have been on this campus our faculty has received 100% of their 301 funding due to the increase in student improvement in writing.

School Improvement Team: Improve Student Achievement

Title
Objective
Process affected
Principal
Data Collection, review of final data that is compiled as well as presentation of final data.
Plan, Do, Study, Act
Faculty
Increase the percentage of students who demonstrate mastery on a standards-based writing activity.
Grade writing samples after campus wide writing.
Plan, Do, Act
English Department Chair
Present Professional Development to faculty.
Plan, Do, Study
English Teachers
Develop grading rubric.
Collect final graded papers and compile data.
Plan, Do, Study, Act
Community
Open discussion question of the needs our students are having in respect to improving their achievement on standardized tests.
Plan, Do
Parents
Give faculty members insight on student’s experiences with the campus wide writing process and AIMS testing.
Plan, Study, Act

In order to implement change and improve student success our school is using the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study Act) method. During the planning component the team came up with questions addressing the concerns with our students writing achievement on standardized tests. Student progress is measured by AIMS test results. Students are required to master the writing portion of the AIMS test in order to graduate. Students will write twice a year, fall and spring. All students, across all disciplines will write an argumentative essay. Our plan is to have every faculty member be a part of the committee to improve student writing on standardized tests. All the members of the faculty will be involved in the objectives, goals, decision making and implementation. Our goal is to increase writing testing scores through the development of a team of faculty who will motivate students to improve their writing and be successful.
To get community members involved, in order to improve student writing achievement on AIMS, the SIAC committee, which includes community members, will select and rate teachers they feel are qualified to present the professional development workshops to the faculty. We will also develop a site based committee on campus that will provide pertinent information and that will also be responsible for the implementation of the plan developed according to the procedures developed to improve student achievement.
The following steps will be necessary for the execution of our plan. First we would like to hold discussions with our community stakeholders, administrators, superintendents, and the faculty and present the steps of the plan that will lead to student writing improvement on standardized tests. Then, teachers, stakeholders, community members and committee members will review student writing results in order to have a better understanding of the test scores. Changes and program implementation that will affect test results, is shared with the stakeholders and the community. It will be necessary to then define the roles and responsibilities of committee members. It will be necessary to assure all faculty members comply with the procedure of implementing campus wide writing. Another important step in the process is accommodating for the different learning styles of students and the use of a modified rubric for scoring special education students and also allowing students to use technology. Teachers will need to adhere to the campus wide writing guidelines for discipline and classroom management. Team members will work collaboratively to score papers. Each team is responsible for a certain number of papers to be scored, according to the appropriate rubric. All papers will be turned into the English teacher on the committee assigned to collecting and compiling the data. Once all data is collected and analyzed we can assess student progress and continue toward improving student achievement on writing portion of standardized tests.
The development of the committee and the action plan, to improve student achievement on AIMS, allows faculty members to have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and the roles they will play in implementing the plan. The teams, that will be reviewing and grading student writing, have been selected based on the qualifications of the teachers. Since the implementation of the plan to improve student achievement on AIMS there have been improvements in test scores. This based on the professional development designed to teach the faculty how to implement the campus wide writing. The English department chairperson, along with the English teachers selected for the committee have developed and presented the professional development to teachers that has helped to improve student achievement. Our Administrators role is to communicate to the district, stakeholders and faculty any information relevant to the action plan.
A major responsibility is placed on our administrator to lead us in a climate that is both motivating and positive. The role of the administrator is also to collect the final data, prepare the results and later present those results to the faculty. Teaches will provide students with proper instruction that is presented using differentiated methods. As part of the team teachers will also have the opportunity to share their ideas and collaborate on practices and procedures they feel will improve student achievement. Community members and parents on the team can give faculty insight into the way their student has experienced campus wide writing and AIMS testing. The English department chairperson will develop and present the professional development workshops. Each department will have a team leader who will help in improving their practice for preparing students for writing AIMS.
In conclusion, when we work collaboratively in groups and assign group leaders, leadership skills develop. We, the team members expect that the team leaders develop the skills that are needed for a positive working environment. Members of the group are motivated, committed and likely to be more involved when the work environment is positive. Along the lines of a positive work environment comes effective communication. Effective communication is imperative to enable team members to discuss, explain and give input during team meetings. It is clear that by implementing teams we can increase student achievement.
Student achievement is the primary concern when school improvement teams and school improvement plans are developed. The school improvement plans purpose on our campus is to increase the achievement levels of our individual students as well as the whole school. Our school is composed of a diverse student populations, therefore making it difficult for the school to meet the state standard for graduation on the AIMS assessment.
Students taking the AIMS test are not meeting the state standard on the writing portion of the test. In order for students to graduate with a scholastic diploma, required to attend a state university, students must meet the state standards on the AIMS writing assessment. The objective of our school improvement plan is to improve student achievement on the writing portion of AIMS. We are implementing a school improvement plan that consists of six teacher writing workshops led by faculty during professional development time as well as two school wide writing days for students to produce writing samples.
In order to determine if improvement is being made due to the changes implemented, data will be collected after AIMS scores are sent to schools and analyzed. The scores will be compared to the prior year to determine if the SIP writing days have contributed to improvement in AIMS scores.
The following chart illustrates our school improvement plan that shows how implementing school wide writing can improve student performance on the writing portion of the AIMS test.

The school improvement plan clearly identifies the questions to meet the objective, the resources needed, the professional development writing workshops for faculty and the strategies for implementing the plan so that students will meet the standards on AIMS assessments.
The school improvement plan consists of professional development that will be provided by campus faculty members no funding will be required to implement it.
Progress monitoring will take place twice a year to measure improvement and to identify any additional needs and concerns. Twice a year writing samples are collected and scored with a rubric. This process will be completed by a team of classroom teachers. Results will be compiled on a shared spread sheet and then analyzed by the English department members responsible for collecting data. We have seen a significant increase in student writing performance on the AIMS testing since implementing this plan, however there are still students who are not meeting the standard until their senior year or even at all. Our hope is that we will have all students meeting the standard by the completion of their sophomore year, by continuing with our current SIP plan. The purpose of collecting data is to analyze it and make it meaningful. Data collected that is not analyzed for the purpose of making meaningful improvements is futile. Data should be available for school personnel in order to make necessary changes to foster school improvement. Annually AIMS scores are made available to faculty to be analyzed for student improvement. Writing skills are important for students to acquire and emphasis is placed on improving student writing as our school improvement plan.
Writing as an academic skill is not only necessary in the English classroom. Many college courses will require written work to be submitted for grading. According to Hansen, not only is writing an important academic skill, but it is also an important skill that transfers across career fields. Virtually all professions require some form of writing on the job. Writing skills are critical to academic success. Written communication must not only articulate the intended message, but project a professional image as well (Hansen 2014).
The following tables correlate the goals that combine the data available at my high school. The tables also illustrate when and how the data will be collected and the instrument that will be used for data collection. The main goal of our school improvement plan is to increase student achievement on the AIMS writing test. We would like to see an improvement in the writing test scores through providing school wide writing days focusing on the necessary writing skills students will need.
Table 1

Table 2
Goals
Data needed
Where
How to collect
Does it exist
Does it need to be developed
Data analysis
Improve Student Writing Scores on AIMS
AIMS test Scores
XYZ High School
Spread Sheet AIMS Scores yes no
Pre and Post analysis of AIMS data

Implement one more session of school wide writing days per year
Writing Samples from Writing Days
XYZ High School
Spread Sheet Rubric Scores of writing samples no yes
Pre and Post analysis of Fall, winter and Spring writing samples

Table 3
AIMS Scores Data Collection Sheet
Grade
Fall
Winter
Spring
9
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
10
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
11
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
12
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting
Percent Meeting
Percent not meeting

Student achievement is our primary goal. Setting goals and later analyzing data to support those goals is a necessary step toward seeing school improvement. Scheduling should be taken into consideration to ensure that the proper interventions can be implemented to meet the goals. This plan is a continuous cycle. We currently look at student writing four times throughout the school year. Twice during school wide writing and two times a year through AIMS test scores. All of the writing scores are analyzed to improve on the scores.
With a plan in place we can identify problems and solutions. We have identified the need to improve writing scores and have implemented school wide writing days to help students improve their writing skills.

In order to grow and change with our environment a school must develop a continuous school improvement plan. When we are planning school improvement we are also modifying prior practices that have been put into place in the teaching and learning environment. Because of the changes in pedagogy as well as the changes in what knowledge students are required to have after high school, the school improvement plan is of the utmost importance. A successful school improvement plan involves all stakeholders and is aligned with the vision and mission of the school. A draft of a school improvement plan based on the data collected from MTV High School follows.
GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
To improve student achievement as measured by:
Writing: To decrease the approaching category on the AIMS Writing Test by 10%.
In Progress: Fall 2015-Spring 2016
STRATEGY 1:
School Leadership Provide effective school leadership to initiate school plans with a shared vision and mission evident throughout the school.
ACTION STEP
Culture of Excellence. Promote a culture of excellence through shared vision and mission that is evident throughout the school.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

ACTION STEP
Shared Vision and Mission Share in decision-making with all stakeholders that is focused on school vision and mission.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 1:
School Leadership
ACTION STEP
Planning and Delivery of Professional Development
Participate in the planning and delivery of job-embedded professional development

Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

ACTION STEP
Provide PD to all certificated staff on the teacher evaluation system, the Danielson framework, and Teachscape; use the evaluation system to drive professional learning opportunities; funding provided for resources and materials as needed.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 2:
Strengthen Instruction for All Students
Strengthen the instructional program based on students ' needs by: ensuring the instructional program is research-based, rigorous, and aligned with the AZ Common Core Standards.
ACTION STEP
School-wide, implement 2 additional 3 day, school wide writing sessions per semester.
Purchase supplies and materials to implement, support, and monitor the program.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 2:
Strengthen Instruction for All Students
ACTION STEP
Professional Learning Communities
Provide training, and support in the PLC process consisting of teacher writing workshops Build time for PLCs into the master calendar. Provide funding for off-contract time and/or subs for on-contract time for PLCs to work together on facilitating the writing days with fidelity.
Purchase supplies, materials, resources to support the work of PLCs.

Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 3:
Intervention
ACTION STEP
Data use for instruction
Use data from AIMS test scores to guide instruction, plan intervention, and monitor student progress to ensure growth.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL: to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 4:
Data-driven Decision Making
ACTION STEP
Common Assessments
Provide time for collaboration on the use of data and use common data (from previous student writing sample and AIMS scores) to inform instruction and interventions across curriculum.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

ACTION STEP
Whole Faculty PLC time
Develop a schedule of whole faculty PLC time to collaborate and analyze data to make instructional decisions.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

ACTION STEP
Professional Development: Data Analysis
Receive PD on analyzing data from student writing samples and the AIMS assessments to drive instruction and intervention. Use data to monitor student progress on a regular basis.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 4:
Data-driven Decision Making
ACTION STEP
Teacher Incentive Pay
Align Teacher Incentive Pay plans to school goals targeting student area of academic need. Use student data and reflection from plans to inform instructional decisions.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 4:
Data-driven Decision Making
ACTION STEP
Monitor students to ensure progress on writing AIMS scores.

Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 5:
Coordinated and Comprehensive Services
ACTION STEP
Drop-out prevention
Conference with failing students during the second semester beginning their freshman year and monitor grade progress. Target programs for students with high absence/tardy rates.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

GOAL to Improve Student Achievement
STRATEGY 6:
Plan Development, Implementation & Evaluation
ACTION STEP
School wide planning committee
Form a committee comprised of parents, certificated and classified staff, and principal to review data- process and student achievement data, to revise the SIP quarterly, addressing what is needed based on the data collected. The committee is responsible for making adjustments to the SIP and for adjusting programming as needed.
Start-End Dates 08/01/2015 - 06/30/2016
Person Responsible Principal
In Progress

The individuals who were involved in giving feedback all agree on one thing. Communication is a very valuable skill for our students to possess. Many people only consider verbal communication as a way of communicating, however, written communication skills have become even more valuable in the age we live in. The leadership team here at MTV believe that it is evident, our students need more direct instruction in writing as a way of increasing their communication skills. The idea of having writing workshops more frequently throughout the school year was accepted by the leadership team. Parents that were interviewed agreed that their students have not acquired the skill of communication due to the vast amount of technology their students are exposed to and use on a daily basis. Parents also agree that if we increase the writing workshops the skill of communication will be stronger amongst our students. A common thread among parents is they are afraid our youth do not know how to express themselves other than short snip its, acronyms and emoji’s. Of course teachers agree that writing will improve student’s communication skills. However, some teachers feel as though it is not their responsibility to “teach” writing and that it is up to the English department. They hold a negative attitude when facilitating the school wide writing days and feel as though they already have too much to do. Teacher buy in across curricular is imperative for our SIP to be successful.
It was agreed that we should implement different types of writing with each school wide writing session. Students need practice in persuasive and argumentative writing, however, teachers interviewed also believe that students need to be taught how to write for the business world and that type of writing should be implemented into the plan.
Finally, there is a large discrepancy among the group as a whole with the tie in of incentive monies to the SIP. Personally I feel that it is important to tie it into SIP to encourage teachers to facilitate the project with fidelity.
The goals of a school improvement plan is just that, to improve. To implement change that will allow our students to grow in accordance with the changing world around them and to give them every opportunity to be successful after high school.

References

Bernhardt, V. L. (2004). Data analysis for continuous school improvement 2nd ed. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Dunaway, D., Kim, D., & Szad, E. (n.d.). Perceptions of the Purpose and Value of the School Improvement Plan Process. The Educational Forum, 158-173.
Importance of Strong Writing Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/importance-strong-writing-skills-11477.html
Scribner, J., Sawyer, R., Watson, S., & Myers, V. (n.d.). Teacher Teams and Distributed Leadership: A Study of Group Discourse and Collaboration. Educational Administration Quarterly, 67-100.
Srivastava, A., Bartol, K., & Locke, E. (n.d.). Empowering Leadership In Management Teams: Effects On Knowledge Sharing, Efficacy, And Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 1239-1251.
Sun, M., Penuel, W., Frank, K., Gallagher, H., & Youngs, P. (2013). Shaping Professional Development to Promote the Diffusion of Instructional Expertise Among Teachers.Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 344-369.
The Importance of Good Writing Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2015, from http://www.enhancemywriting.com/skills.html (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/baldrige/documents/leadteamwork.pdf References (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/sos/pdf/sip_sample_elem_plan.pdf

References: (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/sos/pdf/sip_sample_elem_plan.pdf