Learning Outcomes and Skills

Using data to inform instruction is critically important for improving student learning and achievement. To support this work, it is necessary to establish school-wide structures and systems for administering formative and summative assessments, collecting assessment data, and conducting data analysis. This enables administrators and teachers regular opportunities to reflect on current student progress and determine instructional strategies designed to move students to expected outcomes and beyond.

To better interpret data, end goals must be clear. The Common Core Standards outline what students should know and be able to do in English/Language Arts and Mathematics, and what should be accomplished in terms of literacy in Social Studies and Science. These expectations can be used as a framework for looking at data, to understand where your students are in relationship to where they need to be. With these goals in mind, district or school assessments should be administered three times a year (September, January and May). Using current and historical assessment data, teachers and students can set learning goals that are intended to move students toward expected learning outcomes.  The combo of the two (outcomes and assessments) is a good one.  Outcomes are what our kids should know and be able to do, and assessments help us know that we are getting there.

For example, if I know that 5th grade students are expected to “explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text” (Common Core Standard RI3), then it is critical that data inform where students are at in relationship to this expectation. If data shows that this is challenging for 5th grade students across several homerooms, then it needs to become a priority for the grade-level team. The grade-level team would in turn make a collaborative decision and select evidence-based strategies proven to move students toward the intended goal or outcome. The team would also determine weekly assignments or student work that provide ongoing challenges on this learning outcome. The data derived from these assignments and student work would be reviewed by the team to determine progress towards the expected learning outcome.

Data, used in this way, becomes part of the fabric of the school where teachers, students and administrators are working together towards the success of each student, bringing focus to teaching and learning, grounded in high expectations for the quality of student work.