The Importance of Quality Data to Your School Performance

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1 Using Data to Maintain Your Competitive Advantage Goal Data Suggested Activity Confirming Community Need As your school grows, your community will change. Populations will move into and out of the area you serve. It is a good idea to be constantly aware of these changes. Each community served by a charter school is comprised of unique socio- economic conditions. This information is also useful in determining what services to provide students and parents, where best to market your school, and how your population differs from surrounding areas. United States Census Bureau: American Fact Finder Factfinder2.census.gov Using the advanced search option, select Geographies, search by your school address, and select the Census Tract. You can then select topics of data you wish to view, such as income, educational enrollment or attainment, etc. and view the data for the areas served by your school. Mapping your Enrollment Download a map of your neighborhood s census tract ( data/2010tract.html) or use a GIS software program to plot the addresses of your student population. From here you can determine were most of your students reside, and use Fact Finder to dig deeper into the characteristics of this population. What is the average education level of adults in this area, what is the average income? Is the geographic enrollment pattern what you expected based on where you market your school? Do the majority of your students live within walking distance of your school? If so, what types of services does your school offer in your neighborhood that could benefit the community?

2 Show Academic Achievement: Student Proficiency You have opened a charter school because you have a unique and ultimately successful concept for providing education in your area. Charter schools are increasingly under scrutiny to ensure they are meeting academic proficiency targets. Parents are often choosing your school after bad experiences at other schools. Most importantly, you will want to assess the impact you are making with your students, and make necessary changes to continue to achieve. It will be helpful and necessary to share your academic successes with board members, parents, policy makers, and the community at large. Michigan Department of Education MEAP or MME data You will receive student/item level files from MDE after each test. These files will allow you to do an item/content area analysis to determine where your students are excelling and where they need additional work. If available, request individual student proficiency rates from students previous schools (this applies to MEAP data only). The Michigan legislature and MDE are currently working to revamp the state accountability system, and this includes creating a new testing system. To ensure that students are prepared for any assessment that is selected, schools would be well suited to ensure a continued alignment of curriculum and Common Core standards. Proficiency by Tenure Using MEAP data, compare the proficiency of students at your school to their proficiency prior to enrollment. Alternately, assess the proficiency rates of your students by student tenure. Analyze and compare the average proficiency of students who are newly enrolled to students who have been enrolled in your school for 2+ years.

3 Show Academic Progress: Student Growth Charter schools are almost always required to administer additional student assessments under their charter with their authorizer. NWEA or Performance Series assessments are the most common. These interim assessments provide your school the opportunity to measure student growth over time, a facet lacking in the current state accountability system. Research suggests that when students first enroll in a charter school they are often a number of grade levels behind in achievement from their peers. Using proficiency measures alone won t completely capture the success of these students, many who will make significant strides in learning but still fail to achieve proficiency. By sharing growth data with stakeholders, parents and the community, you provide a more robust picture of your school s success. Interim Assessment Results: NWEA or Performance Series as example Each fall and spring (and winter if required or selected) your school will administer assessments. In the fall, student growth targets will be established based on fall results. In the spring, each school will receive reports that will identify if students met or exceed expectations, and to what degree. Setting and Achieving Goals: Percent of Students Meeting Targets Using the results of your interim assessments, you can determine what percent of students met or exceed growth targets. By using a tenure indicator (ex. 2+ years enrollment at your school), you can also compare outcomes by student enrollment. Does student achievement increase the longer they are enrolled? Besides longer enrollment times, what other indicators do these students have in common?

4 Meeting the needs of your students, parents, and teachers In many communities, parents have choices on where to enroll their children. Teachers have choices on where to work. It is in your interest to treat parents, children and teachers with a customer service mentality, and strive to provide excellent support and feedback opportunities. Creating a sense of place within your building will make parents comfortable in the school environment. Teachers will feel ownership of the environment and your schools mission and vision. Students will comfortable and supported by caring adults. School climate surveys University of Chicago s 5 Essentials Survey Comprehensive School Climate Inventory VALED Survey Student engagement surveys High School Survey of Student Engagement Gallup Student Poll Student socio- emotional profiles Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale Deveraux Student Strength Assessments Monitor school climate and share results No one assessment provides all the information you might need on your school climate. However, picking one that closely aligns with your mission and vision can help align your goals and outcomes. When administering an assessment, or surveying parents and teachers, make plans to measure goal specific outcomes and take care to develop a system that allows for measuring change over time. Ex: Identify a group of parents to serve as an ongoing focus group, and discuss aggregate achievement and engagement results with them. Share this information with local news outlets, or encourage parents to write positive letters to the editor about their child s academic growth while at your school.

5 Making your school stand out in the crowd As a result of the school choice and charter school movements, parents are now able to shop around for the school that best fits their students. If parents are checking out achievement data between schools, you should too. Knowing your competition is going to give you key leverage when marketing your school. Michigan Department of Education Aggregate MEAP and MME Data Mischooldata.org MEAP and MME data can be used to determine proficiency and growth in proficiency of schools that serve similar geographic areas. MAPSA Choices in Education Website Choicesineducation.com Student achievement date, as well as school provided profiles for all traditional and charter public schools can be found on MAPSA s website. Identify where you shine. Using the resources and data available on mischooldata.org and choicesineducation.com, identify areas where you are outperforming your peers. Has your school experienced increases in math proficiency for 3 years running? Are you the only school in the area offering project- based learning? Are you the only school in the area to have dedicated parent programs or transportation?