Assessment Interview:
Ms. Lauren Wilson
Registrar, Troup County Comprehensive HS
Education:
Work Experience:
1. How does the use of data play into the development of the SIP?
The SIP is completely developed based on the data from the school year. This data includes test scores, attendance, behavior, demographics, survey data...and it's collected from all stakeholders. Every action step in the SIP is based on something that the data has shown that needs improving.
2. Which body of data do you feel is most useful in planning strategies for reading educational goals?
Often times the focus is on test scores. However, looking at a bigger picture (mainly adding attendance and behavior), it will many times show you reasons why test scores are low (students can't learn if they are not in class). It's not as much which data your looking at but how we'll your disaggregating it that leads to the best results.
3. What people are involved in the analysis of educational data at your school?
All stakeholders are involved at some level, but the majority of those that analyze the data is administrators and members of the school improvement team (department chairs).
4. Does the staff value and/or utilize the data available to them? If so, could you elaborate how data is utilized?
I think the staff values data, but I don't think they use it as elaborately as they could. Scores are available to teachers for the students that they teach, but I don't think that they drill down to individual student’s strengths and weaknesses to see where students are and how to move them. We are getting better about using data (predicting success on GHSGT based on EOCT scores, attendance, and behavior). We'll be giving predictor tests this spring to 10th graders to try and see where their weaknesses are, and we use failure data to address students’ grade to grade progression. However, this is again often done only by the SIT or administrators, and not always at the individual teacher level. With collaborative planning, we do have some groups of teachers working more closely with data, and keeping up with classroom data to predict success on an EOCT or in passing a class (US History teachers do this daily).
5. How does data tie into our SIP?
As mentioned earlier, every action developed in the SIP is based on evidence provided by the data.
6. How do you determine what data to present or emphasize to the faculty? What data is discarded?
It's important to present accurate data, and it's important to celebrate successful data as well as focus on areas of improvement. I'm not sure if data is discarded but more prioritized to focus on the greatest needs first (which is usually academics) followed by what other areas need to be address (attendance, student discipline, teacher attendance parental involvement).
7. What criteria do you use to set the goals for the SIP?
The goals set in the SIP are determined by what the data says needs improving. Each academic department then gets to develop its own action steps to present to the entire SIT for approval as part of the plan. Some actions steps are also determined by administration based on what the data says.
8. What is your main focus in this year’s SIP?
The main focus is success in the 4 core academic departments as well as Graduation Rate. If students aren't successful in class or on the GHSGT, then they do not graduate, so those 2 go hand in hand.
9. What process do you use to check accountability of the SIP?
The SIT meets quarterly to analyze where we are in meeting a goal of the SIP. During these meetings, we rank where we are using the template of Not Addressed, Emergent, Operational, or Fully Operational. The goal would be to have addressed everything in the plan by the end of the year and working towards Operational and Fully Operational.
10. How do data accrued from testing fit into our SIP?
GHSGT and EOCT data drives all of the action steps rooted in the 4 core academic departments.
11. Is the SIP insisting that we use data and demonstrate/justify our use of data?
Yes. The SIP used by all schools in TCSS requires the use of data (specific data) and how we are going to work towards improving it.
12. What specifically is our school targeting regarding data and our use of it?
We are targeting GHSGT scores, EOCT scores, attendance, behavior, and failure rate data.
13. What are we actually doing with the data?
We chart progress in our data room to see how well our SI initiatives are working. We use attendance and behavior date to offer incentives to students to improve. We will be using predictor test data to determine who will need remediation before next year's GHSGT. We use midterm benchmark data to try and predict success in EOCT courses. We use failure rate data at the end of each nine weeks to hold graduation and grade to grade progression hearings with failing students.
14. How will moving from GHSGT to EOLCT change our relationship with data?
Not sure yet. If EOCT are used to determine graduation, then we'll be looking at those test scores, or at least the grades earned in those classes to see who is going to graduate. One thing it will do is give us an opportunity to know before students' junior year where they measure up to state standards for graduating (in most courses).
