As CIA leaders engage in the diagnostic process, they need a comprehensive menu of district data. The process of gathering these data and ensuring alignment to a district’s mission, vision, and goals typically includes the following steps:
“Zoom out” and think beyond the individual classroom or school, and take a “big-picture view” of the larger district organizational structure.
Determine what you want to know to improve instruction across a district.
Determine what data you will need to address district-wide challenges and opportunities.
Diagnose the data in order to derive an accurate picture of the school district.
Evaluate the need for multiple sources of complementary data, each of which provides an important piece of information to lead to a complete description of a district’s status.
Review the district’s mission and vision statements and how they align to the data and policies.
In this Assignment, you will assume the role of a CIA leader engaged in the diagnostic process for a particular school district.
To prepare:
Review Chapters 2, 3, 9, and 10 from the course text and the resources for the California Department of Education, New Jersey Department of Education, and the School Improvement in Maryland.
Review the concepts of data collage and school profile introduced in your Learning Resources.
Gather data from a school district with which you have an existing relationship, or select a district from an Internet search.
To complete:
This Assignment has three sections, as follows:
Section 1: District Profile
Using the data from your selected school district, develop a succinct profile that includes the following information:
Vision/mission statement
Assessment data from standardized tests
Various types of data reports, including a yearly report card
Disaggregated data
The types of data the district uses to measure student progress and school improvement
The district’s plan for analyzing data
If available, include additional information, such as the following:
The district’s plan for sharing data results
How the district manages accountability
How educators and others engage in district planning
Section 2: Data Analysis
Complete the Data Analysis Worksheet and attach it as an appendix to your paper. Include a narrative summary of the Data Analysis Worksheet, and address each of the questions within the worksheet in this section of your paper.
Section 3: Synthesis
Identify the mission and vision of the school/district. Review the Alignment and Achievement Worksheet questions to guide you as you examine the data that are available and the stated mission of the district you have selected. Look for evidence of alignment in published school district and state Department of Education website documents. Write a recommendation that could be presented to district leadership regarding the status of alignment in your chosen district between mission, vision, data, instructional policies, and practices. Use research to support your recommendation.
References:
Bernhardt, V. L. (2016). Data, data everywhere: Bringing all the data together for continuous school improvement (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Chapter 2, “The Continuous School Improvement Framework” (pp. 7–16)
Chapter 3, “Who We Are: Demographic Data” (pp. 17–28)
Chapter 9, “Where We Want to Go: Creating A Shared Vision” (pp. 69–78)
Chapter 10, “How We Can Get to Where We Want to Be: Implementing the Shared Vision” (pp. 79–86)
https://www.state.nj.us/education/data/
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/
http://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/index.html
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_90.htm
https://www.tasb.org/Services/Leadership-Team-Services/Resources/Vision-and-Goals/Vision-FAQ.aspx
