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Contact
Jason Messer, Director of Elementary Educational Services, Instruction
jmesser@sjcoe.net
209.825.3200 Ext. 837
Demographics
Summary
Data Daze is a three-day workshop on SAT-9 and local data for all Manteca Unified School District school teams at the start of the school year. Teams learn to:
- analyze data;
- connect results to causal factors within the control of the school; and
- critique each other's school plans in terms of measurable goals and plausible inferences about causes of student results.
Each teacher receives an Assessment Binder that explains the comprehensive assessment system in the district. Information in the binder links assessments to standards and instruction to support teachers' planning of standards-based lessons and using assessment data for instructional decisions.
Assessment Binder
Full Description
Manteca Unified School District has a long-term plan that identifies incremental steps toward a comprehensive system of standards-based education with accountability. There is continual progress toward a comprehensive accountability system without a feeling of being overwhelmed.
The district models and nurtures a culture of a learning organization within each school where teams learn from results and continually explore new ways to improve the system. At times, district experts present workshops and other times school staff conduct their own workshops to learn and work on solutions to their local challenges. The district's accountability system includes methods to know that ideas presented in workshops are implemented in classrooms.
Data Daze Workshop
In August 2001, Manteca conducted Data Daze, a three-day workshop for school teams composed of the principal, vice principal, three teachers, and program coordinator who manages compensatory education and technology. SAT-9, local student assessments, staff and parent and/or legal guardian surveys, and other qualitative and quantitative data (e.g., data about changing demographics) were addressed. Following are the topics covered in the three days:
- Day 1: analysis of SAT-9 data, borrowing materials from workshops by Jim Cox and California School Leadership Academy, and linking to the district's curriculum planning guide for teachers;
- Day 2: attributing causes to student data, tools to mine a variety of data (including a video and template), and instruction and resources on teaching to the standards; and
- Day 3: school-initiated sharing of school plans with peer review of measurable goals and plausible links between causes and data.
Assessment Binder
Teachers receive an Assessment Binder at the beginning of the year and updates throughout the year. 2001-2002 is the second year the binder has been distributed to all teachers. The binder contains information about all the districtwide assessments:
- Test preparation materials for reading, writing, and mathematics. Prep tests are administered each trimester at many grade levels to plan instruction and give students practice for the year-end "proficiencies" -- comprehensive grade-level assessments. The proficiencies yield data for pupil promotion and retention decisions, as well as summary results to inform decisions about school program effectiveness.
- Information on the proficiency assessments administered each trimester until a student reaches grade-level proficiency. The Scholastic Reading Inventory, a computer adaptive program, is administered in the intermediate grades. Specific writing genres and prompts are selected for each trimester and grade level. Mathematics items come from textbook chapter tests.
- Administration materials for Lexiled Reading Passages that determine a student's independent and instructional reading levels to guide instruction. Results are a combination of accuracy (e.g., 95+ percent), fluency (e.g., 95 correct words per minute), and comprehension (e.g., four out of five questions answered correctly, covering standards and Bloom's taxonomy of thinking).
- Writing prompts for each trimester, exemplars and scoring notes for six achievement levels. Each assessment instrument has a specific scoring guide.
- Mathematics computation and application problems from the adopted curriculum and supplemental materials.
- Content standards linked to the number of items on the state test so teachers are aware of coverage and emphasis. Format encourages subject integration: language arts and history/social science are side-by-side on each page, as are mathematics and science.
- Instructions for completing Scantron forms for computer-produced report cards. This technology for teachers is being introduced in 2001-2002. Report cards contain traditional letter grades for subject areas, and marks for at/above or below standards for content standards that correspond to the state's strands or substrands. Effort and Life Skills (e.g., homework completion) are graded separately from academics.
Assessment Binder
Teachers eagerly anticipate the updated binders each year to understand the system and see which standards should receive priority attention. Teachers concentrate on using the assessment binder to effectively teach and assess curriculum aligned to standards, rather than just prepare students to perform on the state test. The district emphasizes research-based instructional practices and developing students' critical thinking skills contained in professional literature such as the California Department of Education's Strategic Teaching and Learning.
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