In my educational setting, administrators use data to determine student classroom placement. This data is collected from the previous school year for grades kindergarten and higher. The administrators use student reading inventory scores as well as data from standardized tests such as Beacon and Georgia Milestone Assessments (GMAS) to determine the classroom each student should be placed in. The students Reading Inventory scores give insight into the students reading ability and reading comprehension skills. Beacon and GMAS scores offer information on students reading abilities, comprehension ability, as well as various aspects of math skills. All of this data is taken into account when grouping students for an upcoming school year.

In the classroom, data is consistently collected and used in various manners. At the beginning of each school year, we have all students to take a Reading Inventory which helps us to determine students reading comprehension abilities, including vocabulary skills. This data is used to provide guidance for students when checking out library books as well as when working with small groups in the classroom. For example, with my students, once the lexile was determined, they were allowed to check out library books fifty points below their lexile and one hundred points above their given scores. This allows students to choose from a variety of texts while being challenged to read slightly above their levels to promote growth. Students also complete a diagnostic comprehensive test on the iXL program, which provides teachers with the students beginning range of levels in which students are currently working. This program provides real-time data for both language arts as well as math. This data is available immediately and provides teachers with the areas in which students are successful as well as those they may be troublesome. We are then able to plan and differentiate lessons based on actual student needs. Data is not only taken with the use of standardized testing, but also in everyday teaching. Oftentimes, we may be collecting data, without even knowing this is what we are doing. Some ways this may be occurring is the use of observations we make, awareness of student attendance, behaviors, and student participation (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016).

All data collected on students can be viewed at any time by the teacher who administered the assessment, the instructional coach, our administrators, and our district office. We meet frequently to determine what changes we need to make to our curriculum or to our lessons based on student data. Our lessons are very data driven and we are continuously working to ensure that we are using the most recent data to plan accordingly. After meeting with our instructional coach and administrators as a team, we decide if there is something that we can do differently to improve our results as taken from our data.

It is important that schools as well as districts create a culture in which data use is not only expected but supported and sustained as well (Mandinach & Gummer, 2016). This can best be achieved in those schools and districts whish leadership gives chances to teachers to have the necessary discussions about student performance. One way in which I believe that we can improve the use of data in my school setting is by being consistent with the times and manners in which the assessments used are given. This year, we were on a schedule in which students would sometimes assess in the mornings and sometimes assess in the afternoons. It is my opinion that this data was not a true reflection of my students’ capabilities because their attention levels decreased as the day progressed. I also believe that while data is important when placing a student in a classroom, that we also look at information on that child other than data from assessments.

When beginning my teaching career, I was oblivious to the amount of data taken and the important role that is plays in the day-to-day activities of the school. I am grateful that I work for school where my instructional coach, and my administrators place such as great emphasis on the importance of data and data analysis. It is a goal of mine to take the information that I learn during this course to continue to strive for greater data literacy and to be able to better understand and support my school with the use of data literacy.

Data literacy supports action research by allowing educators to categorize and interpret data obtained into useful information which can then be used for future decision-making as well as implementation of new plans. When completing action research, we must possess the ability to read, work with, analyze and communicate with data. In possessing these abilities, we can ask the questions that need to be asked as well as communicate the information that needs to be relayed. Without possessing these data literacy skills, we would simply be asking the questions that have already been asked and analyzing data that has already been reviewed. When planning action research, it is important to know how to determine what data needs to be collected as well as how to go about collecting the needed data ( Mertler, 2020).

References

Mandinach, E. B., & Gummer, E. S. (2016). Data literacy for educators: Making it count in teacher

preparation and practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Mertler, C. A. (2020). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

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