The Many Uses of Data

                I would like to use the blog from time to time to explain some of the educational initiatives we are undertaking here at Hale. 

One of the terms we often hear in society is “data driven decision making”.  Education is certainly a field where this has become a keystone and it something we are dedicated to in the Nashoba Regional School District as a whole.  We believe ii we have good data informing our instructional decisions we are able to be more precise in helping students through their journey to learn.

                Recently we released MCAS scores for all our students and this represents a key piece of data we utilize to inform instruction.  MCAS data is a broad indicator; it shows us where we stand from year to year.  Our teachers at Hale do a magnificent job studying this data, not only to allow us to individualize learning for specific students, but also they reflect upon it to determine changes in the overall instructional approach.  Teachers in each grade and MCAS subject area develop an action plan each year that identifies areas of the MCAS where we underperform and they develop specific strategies around instruction in those areas.

                We also develop and use data that gives us insight into what is happening in the present.  For the first time this year we are using a new program called AIMSweb.  This program utilizes “probes” in Math and ELA to get a baseline on a student’s progress.  All students in the entire school were tested over the last couple of weeks.  We will test students two more times over the school year to evaluate progress.  In addition there are additional “probes” that can be used more often than three times a year with specific students.  We can progress monitor students every couple of weeks.  This approach immediately informs us if instructional techniques are working.   The software provides a myriad of reports that assist staff in progress monitoring at different levels such as individual students, class, grade and entire school.

                The AIMSweb program was piloted by the District the last two years in Lancaster, and has been shown to be a very effective tool in monitoring the effectiveness of instruction.  One of the nice things about this program is the probes are informative, yet they are efficiently administered.  We do not need to sacrifice a lot of class time to be informed!  We are excited to be able add this data set to the resources available to help students be successful at their job of learning.  I will keep you informed as to the success of this program.