January 2003 — Applications
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Using Data to Drive Student Achievement in the Classroom and on High-Stakes Tests
How can we improve student learning in the classroom and raise student performance on high-stakes tests? The key is continuing assessment and evaluation throughout the school year, as well as a commitment to the success of all students. Like many schools across the country, Lead Mine Elementary in Raleigh, N.C., receives student performance data from its state assessment, the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) Test, after students leave for the summer. However, to increase student achievement in the classroom and on the state test, teachers need current and accurate data today. They need to see the relationship between student performance on curriculum and performance on the EOG Test. In addition, they need to see it in real time, not months later.
In 1998, long before the No Child Left Behind Act became part of the lexicon, Lead Mine Elementary set out to build a data-driven education framework to encourage academic growth for all students. This framework, "The Lead Mine Elementary School Curriculum Design," was created through a team effort, combining the expertise of teachers, curriculum specialists and administrators. The framework's four components are:
1. Curriculum alignment
2. Curriculum mapping
3. Curriculum benchmarking
4. Differentiation
Using the Curriculum Design framework, teachers, students and parents can see student expectations for each grade level; track student progress; identify student needs; provide focused instruction and interventions; and, ultimately, improve student achievement in the classroom and on the EOG Test.
Curriculum alignment. This first component of the Curriculum Design framework shows what will be taught in all subject areas and at each grade level. To begin, teachers put together their curriculum for the grade levels, and aligned it with the state's Standard Course of Study. Then, they organized the curriculum, listing the skills students should be able to demonstrate in every subject at each grade level.
Curriculum mapping. The curric-ulum map illustrates when the skills will be taught. It lists the skills in the order they will be taught in each grade level from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Curriculum benchmarking. Next, the school developed quarterly assessments and minimum standards of achievement for all grade levels, known as curri-culum benchmarking, to determine if students were learning the skills that were taught. These multiple assessments, which are correlated with the curriculum alignment and curriculum map, allow teachers to collect objective data throughout the year. This helps them determine where children are – and where they need to be – to successfully pass local academic standards and the EOG Test, which is administered in third, fourth and fifth grades. Further, it gives teachers the opportunity to provide timely interventions in the classroom or even enroll students in special programs to deliver assistance wherever they need it.
Differentiation. As teachers review the assessment data and evaluate student performance, they try to determine what teaching methods would be best for all learners.
