69传媒

Special Report
Federal

Aware of All 69传媒

By Rhea R. Borja 鈥 May 02, 2006 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

As the pride of this planned city in affluent Orange County, the Irvine public school system regularly sends about 60 percent of its graduates to four-year colleges and garners top marks on statewide accountability reports.

Feature Stories
Delving Into Data
District Initiative

Aware of All 69传媒

Finding the Funding

Voices of Experience

Monthly Checkups

Tip of Their Fingers

Rising to a Challenge

Risk & Reward
鈥楴ational Effort鈥
State Analysis
Executive Summary
Table of Contents

With a record like that, it would be easy to let the successes of the district鈥檚 many high-performing students mask the struggles of hundreds of others who underachieve academically.

Yet educators in this 25,000-student district know that they can鈥檛 afford to coast. Though the district ranks toward the top on California鈥檚 Academic Performance Index, it must keep improving or face possible state sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

So Irvine school leaders have turned to data analysis and warehousing for help. Last July, the district partnered with Lakewood, Colo.-based Executive Intelligence Inc. to clean up and compile district and student-test data, receive daily updates from Irvine鈥檚 student-information system and online student assessments, and provide an easy-to-use Web interface for teachers and others with minimal database training.

鈥淎lthough about 70 percent of our students meet proficiency, we still have 30 percent who [don鈥檛],鈥 says Mark S. Sontag, the district鈥檚 data-management trainer and math- and science-curriculum coordinator. 鈥淪o we are using the data warehouse as a vehicle to make [us] more aware of how we鈥檙e responsible for all 蝉迟耻诲别苍迟蝉.鈥

Teachers can now drill down into individual students鈥 grades, state and district standardized-test data, and benchmark assessments, and look at their achievement over time. Doing so allows teachers to track which state standards particular students have mastered, for example, and where they are falling short.

That kind of analysis would have been nearly impossible before the system was put in place, educators here say.

鈥淚 normally use pencil and paper to create my own tables and sort them,鈥 says Andrea Wakefield, a 6th grade teacher at University Park Elementary School, during a district training session, adding that the process consumed many hours.

鈥淗ere, with a click of a button, 鈥 I can do a trend analysis,鈥 she says. 鈥淒ata is powerful.鈥

鈥69传媒 Off the Same Page鈥

Wakefield sat in a classroom on a day in February with a handful of other elementary teachers and principals, learning how to use the powerful data-warehouse and -analysis system.

In the 2陆-hour session, the educators viewed their students鈥 test scores from the current year, as well as for the past two. They scanned reams of data: State test scores. District literacy data. Online classroom assessments. Student demographic information.

Wakefield sat before a computer and easily searched and re-arranged data on her 90 students according to whim. She could see immediately which of them needed help in math, for example, or those who performed above grade level but whose scores flat-lined over time, perhaps showing that they weren鈥檛 being challenged enough.

鈥淭his makes my life easier,鈥 Wakefield remarks.

As in other districts starting to integrate data comprehensively, the Irvine district offers three levels of data-system access.

The superintendent and other administrators can view data for all schools and students. Principals can see data for students in their schools, grouped by teacher or not. And teachers can view and sort data for their students.

While providing such capabilities may seem like a no-brainer, that kind of data access wasn鈥檛 available until recently, says Mark S. Williams, the president of Executive Intelligence, which works with about 100 districts nationwide.

In the past, most districts kept their student data under lock and key in the central office, he says.

鈥淚n the early years, most districts were afraid to allow anyone outside the administration building to see the data, or even admit that they had it. They were struggling themselves as to what the data meant,鈥 he says. 鈥淣ow, everyone is reading off the same page.鈥

Geoffrey Jurak, a 5th grade teacher at the K-8 Vista Verde School, says having the tools to access and analyze data in a variety of ways has made teaching more collaborative.

Teachers at his school meet in grade-level teams regularly to look at their students鈥 data and fine-tune instruction accordingly.

鈥淲e can course-correct in the moment,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 can see across a whole class how [students] stand.鈥

Sontag, who sat nearby and nodded as Jurak spoke, emphasizes that just gathering the data is not enough.

Numbers by themselves are meaningless, he says. Teachers and principals need to sort and manipulate the data so they can home in on where their students need more help.

鈥淚f we stop at just collecting data and doing reports,鈥 Sontag says, 鈥渨e have stopped well short of what we should do.鈥

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates鈥攁nd detractors鈥攕ee a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump's Education Secretary Pick Is Linda McMahon, Former WWE CEO
McMahon led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term and is co-chair of the president-elect's transition team.
6 min read
Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019.
Then-SBA Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump has tapped McMahon to serve as education secretary in his second term.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal What Could RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Mean for School Vaccine Requirements?
The vaccine skeptic in line to lead the mammoth federal agency could influence schools' vaccine rules, even though they're set by states.
6 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. Trump has selected Kennedy to serve as secretary of health and human services in his second term.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Can Trump Force 69传媒 to Change Their Curricula?
Trump's bid to take money from schools that teach "critical race theory" or pass policies for transgender kids raises legal complexities.
9 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP