Rationale

Research shows that standards-based education can improve teaching and learning. Findings from the 621 studies examined by McRel researchers indicate that standards-based curricula, instructional guidelines, and assessments influence teaching and learning. However, to maximize the positive effects, implementation must be supported by local policy, professional development, standards-based accountability assessments, equitable instruction and high expectations for all students.

This presentation is to showcase the model we use in Abington School District and share some of the best practices we use to help our students achieve.

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For Roslyn Elementary School, the State Performance Profile (SPP) score for 2012-2013 was 94.5

The percentage of students proficient or advanced was 90.71 in 2012-13 In 2013-2014 the score was relatively stable and the percentage of students proficient or advanced was 90.72. PVAAS Growth showed Significant Evidence (Dark Blue) in all areas for all grade levels.

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The goal of this project is to share the strategies for data analysis and curriculum alignment that we believe leads to high student achievement.

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Based upon the fact that research shows that standards-based education can improve teaching and learning, we work to align our curriculum, instruction and assessment to the PA Core Standards.

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To accomplish the alignment with the PA Core Standards, in this presentation we address strategies to analyze achievement data, align the curriculum and instruction with the standards, plan units of instruction and develop common standards-aligned assessments.

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Professional development must be an integral part of developing and implementing new standards-aligned curriculum, instruction and assessment.

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The culture of the school and the district must be based upon a philosophy of high expectations for all students. Abington School District’s motto is: Excellence is Our Standard and Achievement is the Result. Historically, Abington has been a school district that prides itself on student achievement. In order to continue high achievement in an educational culture based on standards, the curriculum must be standards-based, with instruction and common assessments consistent across all classrooms. This culture must be put into practice by all staff including administrators, teachers, aides, volunteers, etc. In addition, work needs to be done to obtain parent participation in this culture.

Change Takes Time, for example: in 1991, Abington School District adopted the Everyday Mathematics program for use in kindergarten classes across the district. In the ensuing years, the program was phased in to grades 1 through 6 one year at a time. This allowed students time to learn the appropriate foundational skills and background knowledge needed at the next grade level. Teachers also became familiar with the program and implementation strategies from teachers from the grade levels that had already implemented the program. Recently enhanced by the appropriate use of technology, the program was developed and continues to offer all students a rich variety of mathematical skills, concepts and applications with the Spiral Approach and Distributed Practice that allows acquisition of conceptual knowledge as well as skill attainment.

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We hold an annual Math Night where students teach their parents and other adults to play math games and use mathematics technology. Students also take part in mathematics contests such as the Mathematical Olympiad, MathFax, Pennsylvania Mathematics League, and the PA Statistics Poster Contest.

Roslyn students performed very well on the 2014 PA Statistics Poster Competition with over 100 posters submitted. In the grade 4-6 category, our students captured first, second and third place as well as several honorable mention awards. Students in the grade K-3 category also received honorable mention awards.

We provide incentives for First in Math and Title I students who complete pre-arranged goals.

Abington School District holds its Mathematics Awards at a School Board meeting in June. Students from each of our schools are recognized for their achievements in mathematics throughout the school year.

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The culture of the school and school district is high achieving and it is important to note that this achievement happens over a period of time. Roslyn School and Abington School District have students participate in many events and activities to foster the importance of mathematics achievement and create a love of mathematics.

Roslyn School hosts an annual Math Night, as do the other elementary schools in Abington, where students teach their parents and other adults to play math games and use mathematics technology. Adults explain algorithms, thought processes and mathematical thinking that may be unfamiliar to many of the parents.

Students also take part in mathematics contests such as the Mathematical Olympiad, MathFax, Pennsylvania Mathematics League, and the PA Statistics Poster Contest. These contests encourage deeper thinking in mathematics and engage students in rigorous problem solving opportunities. Our students have historically done very well in competitions.

The school has allocated money from its budget to provide the First in Math program. We also provide incentives for students who complete pre-arranged goals through Study Island and Compass Learning.

Abington School District holds its Mathematics Awards at a School Board meeting in June. Students from each of our schools are recognized for their achievements in mathematics throughout the school year.

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As further evidence of our emphasis on the importance of mathematical achievement, our students also annually participate in the PA Statistics Poster Competition. In 2014 we had over 100 posters submitted from across all grades at Roslyn School. As a result of our focus on this competition students at Roslyn School captured the top three prizes in the grade 4-6 category as a well as numerous honorable mentions. Our students also did well in the grade K-3 category.

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Roslyn School is representative of the demographics that encompass Abington School District. Our racial breakdown is: 64% White, 17% Black, 14% Hispanic, 1.5% Asian, and 4% Multiracial. The school district has a goal to have our professional staff closely align with the student population. There are concerted efforts to recruit high quality candidates from all backgrounds that could provide positive role models to all of our students and parents.

For example, Roslyn Elementary School has bilingual school psychologist who speaks both English and Spanish. We are able to utilize this individual to be a resource to our Spanish speaking parents. An example of systematically using this resource is during Back to School Night. Rather than having Spanish speaking parents sit in a classroom not comprehending what is being said, a separate session is held with the psychologist. The classroom teachers share important information with the psychologist who then relays this information to parents in an environment in which they are comfortable.

The racial breakdown of the school is:

64% White

17% Black

14% Hispanic

1.5% Asian

4% Multiracial

Our school psychologist is bilingual, and we are able to provide a Spanish language session during Open House . Teachers share important information with the psychologist who then translates the information to parents.

We focus on the success of all students. Trends are looked at across all groups of a period of years. The data analysis that is conducted allows us to focus on areas of strength and need. For example, analysis of disaggregated PSSA data over the last few years revealed an increase from 2012 to 2013 in achievement of our Black students, surpassing the White and All student groups.

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The steps in the Implementation Plan reflect major components of professional development, standards-alignment, and data analysis that we have used in our district over many years. We believe that we have a series of steps that will be easily replicated by others to lead them to improving student achievement .

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The Elementary Mathematics Planned Course of Study was developed to link curriculum and instruction with the standards. It is revised each time a new edition of the Mathematics program is adopted or changes were made to the mathematics standards.

With an accurate alignment, we can ensure that students are being instructed in a sequential scope and sequence to ensure optimal performance on the PSSA as well as on curriculum based assessments.

This slide shows an example of the alignment of standards and concepts and where across grade levels they are taught.

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Data analysis begins with reviewing the school’s overall performance by ALL students and by the disaggregated groups. Here it is important to look at the trends over at least three years.

Data analysis begins with reviewing the school’s overall performance by ALL students and by the disaggregated groups. Here it is important to look at the trends over at least three years.

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The next step is to look at the achievement data by assessment anchor. As we look for areas of need, we also refer to the Mathematics Assessment Anchors and Eligible Content Aligned to the Pennsylvania Core Standards documents for grades 3-6 (on the PDE website) which show the eligible content tested for each assessment anchor.

The next step is to look at the achievement data by assessment anchor. As we look for areas of need, we also refer to the Mathematics Assessment Anchors and Eligible Content Aligned to the Pennsylvania Core Standards documents for grades 3-6 (on the PDE website) which show the eligible content tested for each assessment anchor.

At the classroom level, teachers review performance of individual students and also look to identify class strengths and needs by assessment anchor.

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This is one of our original forms developed to facilitate the data meetings held prior to instruction in each unit. These meetings are held with classroom teachers to reflect on their instruction and utilize student data from the previous year. The purpose is to decide how best to address instruction this current year and address weaknesses that were evident in the previous school year.

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Data revealed that students needed to improve in answering Open Response questions. This slide shows questions that are used by teachers as they focus on the instruction of these items. Teachers and administrators discuss the item content, delivery of instruction, student response to instruction, and student performance on the item. When the teachers evaluate the students’ performance, they are also reflective of their own instructional practices.

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Data analysis is evident across all grade levels. This is a photo of our kindergarten teachers working on a post-test analysis. They are looking for trends of needs and strengths, and discussing the alignment of instruction to the assessment design.

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This slide shows an example of a student analysis chart used across the elementary schools in Abington to assess and plan interventions following a unit test. Interventions are planned for students based on need (non-proficiency).

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This is an example of a report used in our data analysis. This report lists test data for each student in a class. The report is broken down by assessment anchor. While we now use a data management system (Skyward) to produce these reports, for many years we did the same through EXCEL using conditional formatting functions.

This report is helpful in monitoring performance for the Student Learning Objectives (SLOs).

This is an another example of how the class report is used. Trends in the data are easily observed via the color coding and then areas of concern and analysis can be addressed with individual teachers.

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This slide shows an example of a grade level report. This report shows how classes across the grade level performed in relation to their grade level peer groups. This report is helpful in analyzing trends of strength and need across individual grade levels. This report prompts questions related to instructional fidelity, curriculum alignment, and assessment rigor.

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In the ongoing process of analyzing student data, we have used various charts and forms with which to share data. This is an example of a table that teachers use to analyze student test results following a unit test. Teachers are able to assess student progress over a number of unit tests.

This allows the teachers to compare performance from one test to another. If performance appears to be weak in a certain area an analysis such as this can identify it.

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This report is a class cumulative report of all unit test scores for the year. Teachers and administrators can review an entire class of students’ performance in mathematics over the course of the entire school year. The conditional formatting feature very quickly gives us the ability to spot weaknesses in a time-efficient manner to determine trends within a particular anchor or with a particular student.

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We use a variety of assessments to measure student achievement. Results from the PSSA and curriculum assessments allow for a more complete view of a student’s mathematical profile.

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This is the projected budget for implementing the action plan.

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Based upon our knowledge of this process the major challenge is to create a culture that focuses on collaboration with data analysis and alignment of curriculum and instruction and assessment to the standards.

Frank discussions of student data and comparison of performance between schools and classes can be threatening. Time must be spent in developing an understanding that the focus is improving student learning.

Instructional fidelity is also a theme that must be emphasized. The data will point out where changes must occur. Stakeholders in student education must be willing to address those changes.

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Our contact information is included. Please contact us with questions or comments.

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