Midyear Data Meeting-School Level

July, 2007

Mid-YEAR Data Meeting School Level

Plan Ahead: 1. Secure materials and appropriate DIBELS reports and worksheets. 2. Principal and reading coach review agenda; make adaptations as necessary and plan for allocated time. Generally the midyear data meeting will take longer than the usual 45 min-1 hour timeframe. Some options are to use professional development funds to hire subs for an extended data meeting, to use professional development/work days built into the district calendar, to hold the meeting in two sessions, or to follow up with parts of the meeting during upcoming grade level collaborative planning times. 3. Review notes and next steps from previous data meeting. 4. Notify grade team members (include resource and special education teachers) of what to bring and how to prepare for the meeting.

Materials: 1. Meeting norms/parameters chart 2. Data Meeting Journal 3. DIBELS Grade Level Summary Reports (for current year as well as prior year) 4. Summary of Effectiveness Report by School for the grade level 5. Two copies of Effectiveness Worksheet for the grade level (available for grades K-3 only) 6. Summary of Effectiveness Report for Class 7. Individual Class List Report 8. Progress Monitoring booklets 9. Folder of Diagnostic Tools- add the Effectiveness Worksheet, Analysis of Core and Intervention Instruction and Effective Intervention 10. Data tri-fold boards for individual teachers or poster board for each grade level

Outcomes: 1. Analyze first semester DIBELS data to form instructional groups and evaluate effectiveness of core and intervention instruction; identify which students require changes for supplemental (Tier 2) intervention and intensive (Tier 3) intervention. 2. Celebrate success and determine improvement steps for second semester. 3. Other:

Led by Principal: The principal should encourage teachers to record their own notes throughout the data meeting a Data Meeting Journal; the principal and reading coach should also model taking notes in a journal or ARI binder.

1. Parameters  Briefly review meeting norms/parameters; designate someone to serve as timekeeper to signal a “ten minute warning”.

July, 2007

2. Previous “next steps”  Refer to notes from the previous data meeting and reflect on the next steps that were identified at the last data meeting. What has been accomplished concerning those “next steps”? What has not yet been addressed?

3. Outcomes  Review meeting outcomes listed above.

4. Current Grade Level Summary Report  Refer to the Grade Level Summary Report for the current benchmark First grade students need to meet the criteria of 50 NWF and 15 recoded (blended) to be considered in the benchmark category. Prior to the meeting collect the data for % of first grade students benchmarked using this criteria.  What are celebrations that you see based on this data report?  What do you notice about your midyear data as compared to beginning of year data?  For first grade: What does the data tell us about our phonics instruction (measured by NWF with recoding)?

5. Previous Year Grade Level Summary Report  Refer to the Grade Level Summary Report for previous year  What do you notice about your midyear data as compared to this time last year?  What percentage of students in this grade level benchmarked at the end of last year?  What are your thoughts on an improvement goal for this semester?

6. Refer to Class List Report  Ask teacher to refer to the mid-year benchmark scores and make adjustments to data boards (tri-folds).  For Grades 1-6: What % of our students have an RTF score of at least 25%? What does this tell us about our students’ comprehension skills? Do we need to make changes to our instruction for comprehension?  Use the Re-Tell Fluency Question Prompts to further examine comprehension instruction.

7. Summary of Effectiveness by School Report  Refer to the Summary of Effectiveness by School Report Principals will determine if the entire report is shared with all teachers or if only the school and individual teacher’s data is visible.  Principals may need to review how to read this report with teachers.  What does this report tell us about our core program? Are benchmark students moving forward?  What does this report tell us about our intervention efforts this semester for strategic students? For intensive students?  As a group, use the Effectiveness Worksheet to rate instruction for the grade level in each category. What are your responses to this rating? Are we satisfied with our current rate of growth for strugglers? Note: Make sure you are using the correct worksheet to match the grade level and semester.

July, 2007

 Ask each teacher to look at their own classroom data from the Summary of Effectiveness by School Report and use the second Effectiveness worksheet to rate his/her effectiveness in each category. What are your celebrations? What are areas for improvement? Note: The principal may choose to hold this discussion individually at another time.

8. Summary of Effectiveness by Class Report  Refer to the Summary of Effectiveness by Class Report  Ask each teacher to select one student to share a success story. (Generally this would be someone with a check beside the name but not necessarily; a celebration might be moving a very intensive student to just shy of the strategic category) What instructional strategies worked for that student? What was the daily intervention plan for this student?  Ask the teacher to highlight the names for any student without a check and to select one of those students. Ask the teacher to examine the data closely. What instructional strategies were tried? What are possible interferences that prevented the student from reaching the benchmark? Note: This conversation may be general and brief at this point. More detailed conversation will follow.

Led by Reading Coach: See sample Analysis of Core and Intervention Instruction. This part of the meeting is done together rather than as an independent assignment for teachers. Use chart paper to reproduce the sample chart; complete the chart as a team.

1. Look at some students who did not make adequate progress. Select at least one student from those you highlighted earlier on your Summary of Effectiveness Class Report. Refer to the Six Interferences to Reading Chart to facilitate a discussion. What are the major interferences for reading that we will need to target? Consider miscue analysis, current benchmark data, classroom observation, program or other classroom assessments in the discussion.

2. For the targeted student, examine the student’s instructional day: What does instruction look like during 90 minute block (core time)? What does instruction look like during intervention time/s? Have we implemented changes to instruction as modeled during professional development offerings? Document the current instructional practices and strategies on the chart.

3. Talk about changes that are needed for this student during core instructional time and during intervention. (For example: include the student in a second teacher-led small group during 90 minute block; add additional targeted practice in stations during core time; target specific skills and errors more during intervention time; add an additional intervention time; coordinate efforts more; increase communication between intervention providers; etc) Note: You may want to reference the Effective Intervention page from the ARA module. Ask questions, “How can we be more explicit during core and intervention time?” “Can we give more time for small group?” “How can we coordinate our efforts more effectively?”

4. What additional coaching efforts or professional development might assist you for this student?

July, 2007

5. Can we agree to continue this discussion for the remainder of your students that you have highlighted? Note: Principal will set the expectation that teachers follow up with the reading coach.

Led by Principal: 6. Based on the new benchmark data for your class, what changes to student instructional groupings do you need to make? Note: Due to time issues, the principal may need to ask the teachers and Reading Coach to follow up with this discussion individually or in grade team meeting.

7. Talk more about some specific changes to instruction that teachers will commit to making over the next month for specific students. Remind the team of the improvement goals that have been made.

8. Set the stage for meeting the goal--- Sample statement “I know that you will continue to work to make a difference for every single student in your class.” We have set our goals high – to have all students reading on grade level. The data we have reviewed today lets us know our opportunities for improvement.”

9. Summarize what teachers said they would do. . . “I’ve heard you say you are going to . . . for _____ student/s. I would like for you to continue the conversation we started today with the reading coach so that you are clear on a plan for each of the students that we “highlighted.” Refer back to the chart that was developed.

10. Some of our future walkthroughs will focus on the students we have targeted and the instructional changes that you have committed to making.

11. Do you have any specific coaching or professional development needs to help you reach your goals for your students? How can I support that effort?

12. Remind teachers that with this task before us, every moment of instructional time is important; keeping the focus on learning during all of second semester has traditionally been a challenge but our efforts will pay off.

13. Data Meeting Journal: Take 3-5 minutes to reflect on today’s data meeting and list “next steps” for changes to instruction. Principal, reading coach and teachers share out.

July, 2007

Optional Questions Related to SAT-10/ARMT data that you may incorporate into the data meeting:

Through some previous data analysis, we determined that reading comprehension is an area of concern particularly for ______subgroup/s in ______grade level.

We have also learned that for the ARMT, the majority of the total possible points for the reading standards are related to using strategies for comprehension (refer to the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test Grades 3-8 Test Blueprints, Alabama State Department of Education, available on the School Improvement Resource CD) . Use the appropriate Test Blueprint handout to review with teachers.

Let’s discuss the commitment that we will each make related to instruction for reading comprehension. How will you use and apply the training you have received on teaching comprehension strategies?

Ask each teacher to specifically describe when and how comprehension instruction will be incorporated into the 90 minute reading block or in other content area instruction throughout the day.

Follow-up: 1. Reading coach will meet with teachers to assist in identifying interferences and establishing a plan for changes to core program instruction and for intervention for all students who were “highlighted” from the Summary of Effectiveness for Class report.

2. Principal and reading coach will look at professional development needs for teachers and plan accordingly.

3. Some possible focus areas for walkthroughs: a. Changes to core instructional practices and intervention strategies agreed upon b. Learning of targeted students; rate of improvement c. Evidence of previous training being implemented d. Strategies being implemented from coaching /professional development e. Evidence of effective comprehension instruction f. Evidence of ample practice with appropriate text