Data Warehousing
Lenawee Intermediate School District in partnership with our local district schools is
working to strengthen a culture of quality use of data to make instructional decisions.
The LISD has purchased an electronic, web-based “data warehouse” called
DataDirector. This tool allows teachers and administrators to produce reports about
student achievement in a more efficient manner. Like a physical warehouse,
DataDirector stores demographic, student learning, school processes, and perception
data on various “pallets”. DataDirector users develop a question, then place an “order”
based upon the data that they have placed on the “pallets”. DataDirector finds the
necessary data on the various “pallets” and returns the “order” to the user promptly.
This report can be used to identify which students need additional support, provide
insight to school instructional and organizational effectiveness, and communicate a wide
variety of stakeholders how schools are progressing on continual improvement.
MEAP Math Report
Performance Level Key
Level 1 - Advanced
Level 2 - Proficient
Level 3 – Partially Proficient
Level 4 – Not Proficient
Schools are accountable to teach content that students must learn and demonstrate to
others. Recently, teachers at a Lenawee County elementary school met as grade-level
teams to dialogue about MEAP results and their curriculum maps, the document that
their school uses to guide teaching and learning. These teachers wondered which
content strands and grade-level content expectations (GLCE) of their curriculum needed
more attention based upon the student results from the last MEAP test in English
Language Arts and Math. Using the “pallets” of content strands and GLCE, the
teachers requested an “order” to generate reports showing low performance on the
MEAP. Using the report, the teachers analyzed their curriculum maps and found gaps
in what was taught and learned by the students. By using the information available
through DataDirector, the teachers were able to easily plan future learning activities to
improve student achievement in targeted learning areas in reading, writing, and math.
MEAP Math Strand and GLCE Report
Content Strands
Grade Level Content Expectations
Another feature of DataDirector is the ability to add more classroom data aligned with
state content expectations. These expectations are measured by local assessments,
such as paper-pencil tests, performance assessment, extended writing, and personal
communication with students. At another Lenawee County elementary school,
teachers began working on common assessments in math to gauge student
achievement in math content and skills. The teachers created math assessments and
documented the student learning in DataDirector, using the content expectations to
organize their “pallets”. After several assessments, the teachers placed an “order” for
reports to see how students were achieving on the priority content expectations for
kindergarten. The teachers identified students needing additional instructional and
practice, as well as students ready to learn new content and skills. This provided an
opportunity for the classroom teachers to teach about number and shapes using
different instructional methods to meet the needs of each and every student.
Principals are well aware of the role of standardized assessments in informing the
public how their school is doing. One Lenawee County district wondered if their
students were “on track” to perform well on the Michigan Merit Exam (MME). Using
data from the “pallet” of the PLAN test given to 10th graders, the principal generated an
“order” for a report of students below the College Benchmark Readiness level in
reading, writing, math, and science. DataDirector provided reports to the principal,
identifying the students who needed additional instruction in these content areas before
the MME is given during the spring of their junior year. This included additional ways to
learn algebra and geometry concepts, as well as more descriptive feedback given to
students about their performance to help them succeed in their math classes.