EDAD 640 Accountability and Data Driven Decision Making (3 credits)
September 2 – December 15, 2013
Online and Designated Thursdays, 5:00 – 7:30 P.M.
Master of Education
Concentration in Administration & Supervision
A “Nationally Recognized Leadership Program”
FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
Department of Educational Professions
Mrs. Linda Brainerd
Telephone: 301-644-5132
Office hours by appointment
Email: linda.brainerd@fcps.org
REQUIRED TEXTS:
James-Ward, C., Fisher, D., Frey, N. Lapp, D. (2013). Using data to focus on
instructional improvement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. (ISBN 978-1-4166-1484-5)
White, S. (2011) Beyond the numbers: making data work for teachers and school leaders
(2nd ed). Englewood, CO: The Leadership and Learning Center). (ISBN: 978-19355588-07-8)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide a process for decision making using data as a lever to create
school improvement. The information will demonstrate how school communities can use data
tools and strategies on a systemic basis to increase student achievement. The participants will
identify:
o Why is data is important and what data to gather
o How data can make a difference in accelerating efforts in school reform
o How to become an educational leader who has the knowledge and ability to
promote student success through the use of data
COURSE PURPOSE:
The Conceptual Framework of the course is designed around the premise that
understanding data is vital in the school improvement process and thus to student learning. The
use of data can:

Change the focus from “what we have always done” to a laser like focus on what changes
are needed
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



Clarify an understanding of the gaps between where the school is and where the school
wants to be
Identify the root causes of the problems so that a targeted response can be initiated
Demonstrate if school goals and mission statements are aligned with the school’s efforts
Build a continuous improvement process for the learning organization.
Course Requirements
This is a 15-week graduate level course. You should plan on spending 4-9 hours per week
on course assignments including both online and offline readings and exercises. The 15-week
course covers twelve topics that constitute the core of accountability and data driven decision
process:
1. What Data Are Important
2. Data Connected to Teacher Evaluation and School Improvement
3. Types of Data (Hard Data and Soft Data)
4. Methods of Data Analysis
5. Root Cause Analysis
6. Highly Effective Instructional Strategies Based on Current Research
7. Importance of Triangulation
8. Replication and Monitoring Progress
9. Data and Leadership
10. Tools and Strategies to Make Data Work with Common Core State Standards
11. Development of a Solution for a Current Organizational Program Using Data
12. Creation of a Delivery System to Influence Stakeholders Of Data Driven Solution Using
Persuasive Technology
Course Policies:
1. Attendance is expected at all class sessions.
2. Participation in class and online discussion is required.
3. Assignments are due in class or online as posted. Late work may be subject to a grade
reduction.
4. Policies on Academic Dishonesty, Harassment, and Disruptive Student Behavior are
fully applicable for this course.
5. Students with any type of recognized and confirmed disability that would require
accommodations in assignments or assessment practices should provide written notification
to the instructor by no later than the second class meeting. Students may request that this
notification be provided to the instructor by the Office of Student Special Services.
Class
TOPIC
Meeting/Dat
e
Session 1
Syllabus
September 5 Introduction
Changing
Core
Statement
The “learning
to love
assessment”
journey is an
Due
Develop a tool that creates a concise guide on the
value of utilizing information and data from
http://www.mdreportcard.org and
http://mdk12.org.
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Paradigms
Treasure Hunt
for Data
essential
experience and
one that can
transform
teaching.
Your Role as a
Leader and
Change Agent
Session 2
September
12 (Online)
Types of Data
(Hard and Soft)
Assessment
FOR learning
holds the
promise of
being able to
enhance
student
learning in
ways that
assessment OF
learning
cannot.
Your target audience is teachers in your school.
Due September 11.
Read Chapter 1 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Be prepared to:
 Answer the questions on page13 and 14
 Discuss the top three leadership skills
necessary to make data driven decision
making a reality at your school.
Read Chapters 2 & 3 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Read Chapters 1 & 2
of Beyond the Numbers. Be prepared to consider
which category various data might fall under:
 Teaching
 Learning
 Improving
 Persuading
Read: “Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes”
by Rick Stiggins and “Inside the Black Box:
Raising Standards Through Classroom
Assessment” by Paul Black and Dylan William.
Two Page Paper Due September 18 (Connect
article with Core Statement)
Online Discussion
Session 3
July 19
Methods of
Data Analysis
Root Case
Analysis
The
“unwrapping”
process is
crucial to
coming to a
correct
diagnosis. Or:
Take time to
smell (analyze)
the roses
(data).
Read Chapter 4 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Read Chapters 3 & 4
of Beyond the Numbers. Be prepared to consider
which analysis method will be most useful to you
in your current setting. Also read the article “
Intersections: New Routes Open When One Type
of Data Crosses Another” by Victoria Bernhardt:
http://eff.csuchico.edu/downloads/intersct.pdf.
We will use this article in class.
Examine your school’s vision of teaching and
learning. Is that vision driven by a real awareness
of and commitment to student performance in the
school? Is there evidence of commitment to that
vision by all grade level and resource teams? By
students, parents and community members?
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Session 4
September
26
(Online)
Highly
Effective
Instructional
Strategies
There is a
crucial
difference
between
visible
teaching and
visible
learning.
Read Chapter 5 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Read Chapters 5 &6
of Beyond the Numbers. Be prepared to answer
the questions on page 89 of Using Data of Focus
Instructional Improvement.
Instead of a designated article, do your own
research: Read information about John Hattie’s
research on “Visible Learning”. Watch him on
You Tube.
Two Page Paper Due on October 2 (Connect
information with Core Statement)
Online Discussion
Session 5
October 3
Importance of
Triangulation
Midcourse
Corrections
Triangulation
identifies
possibilities
beyond the
numbers.
Read Chapter 6 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Read Chapters 7 & 8
of Beyond the Numbers. Be prepared to answer:
what is the relationship between triangulation and
accountability in data analysis? Be prepared to
answer as well the questions on page 108 of
Using Data of Focus Instructional Improvement
Assignment 3 (Five Page Paper) Due on October
9
Session 6
October 10
(Online)
Replication and Educators have
Monitoring
difficulty
Progress
replicating best
practices.
Read Chapter 7 of Using Data to Focus
Instructional Improvement. Read Chapter 9 of
Beyond the Numbers.
Be prepared to discuss: What would be your
“recipe” for replication?
Read: Improving School Board Decision—
Making the Data Connection (96 pages);
http://www.schoolboarddata.org/NSBF_Data_Gui
de.pdf
Skim through this long document, read
information about fears about data (page 11),
asking questions (pages 12 , 56, 64), what
happens when an educator doesn’t use data
(pages 17 and 50 & 51), surveys (page 40), data
types (page 43), types of tests (pages 44-45).
Two Page Paper Due on October 16 (Connect
Page 4 of 9
article with Core Statement)
Online Discussion
Session 7
October 17
Data and
Leadership
Panel
Discussion
Improvement
It is our job as
educators to
ensure that all
students learn.
Read Chapter 10 of Beyond the Numbers.
Be prepared to be part of our panel discussion on
Data and Leadership. Everyone will have a turn
to be on the panel as well as be part of the
Examiners.
Bring an outline of your final project for
feedback. Bring Data Road Map to work on.
Read: “Capture the Human Side of Learning:
Data Makeover Puts Students Front and Center”
by Lyn Sharrat and Michael Fullan
Two Page Paper Due on October 23 (Connect
article with Core Statement)
Session 8
October 24
(Online)
Session 9
October 31
(Online)
Session 10
November 7
(Online)
Tools and
Strategies to
Make Data
Work with
Common Core
Standards
Teacher
Evaluation and
Student
Growth/
Student
Learning
Objectives
It is just as
important to
precisely
determine the
causes of
achievement as
it is to
determine the
results.
The impact of
effective
teachers
overwhelms
almost every
other
“intervention.”
From Theory to Student growth
Reality: The
should be a
Statewide
significant
Read: Making Sense of Data-Driven Decision
Making in Education: Evidence from Recent
RAND Research by Julie A. Marsh, John F. Pane
and Laura S. Hamilton:
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occas
ional_papers/2006/RAND_OP170.pdf
Two Page Paper Due on October 30 (Connect
article with Core Statement)
Online Discussion
Find the Student Learning Objective (SLO)
Guiding Questions for Teachers to Write SLOs
on the MSDE website. Read Considerations for
Analyzing Educators’ Contributions to Student
Learning in Non-tested Subjects and Grades with
a Focus on Student Learning Objects.
Be prepared to discuss concerns raised in the
article. Consider how you would address the issue
of quality control.
Find out if your district has specific guidelines on
SLOs and if there is a rollout plan for
implementation. Determine if your district’s plan
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Session 11
November
14
Session 12
November
21
(online)
Session 12
December 5
Implementation
for Student
Learning
Objectives
Datapolooza
component of
teacher
evaluation.
Barriers and
Challenges to
Successful
Implementation
Data-driven
school
improvement
requires
administrators
to challenge
their own
assumptions
The critical
point of data is
not necessarily
the answers.
It’s the
discussion that
occurs and the
questions that
are asked
because of the
data.
Plans for
Successful
Data Driven
Processes
Unleash the
power of data
Session 13
Plans for
December 12 Successful
Data Driven
Processes
for the Student Growth component has been
approved by MSDE.
Online Discussion
Data Road Map Due on November 14
Online Discussion
Assignment 4:Develop a Data Driven Decision
Making Plan Due December 5
Share Project with class in a persuasive,
enjoyable way. Please convince us that your plan
is highly effective.
Share Project with class in a persuasive,
enjoyable way. Please convince us that your plan
is highly effective.
Course Reflection
Assessments (Due Dates on Chart Above)
1. (5% or 10 points) Persuasive Tool to Encourage Use of Data Driven Decision
Making: Develop a tool that gives a concise guide on the value of utilizing information
and data from http://www.mdreportcard.org and http://mdk12.org. Due September 11.
2. (25% or 50 points) Two Page Paper Connected to Core Statement: Complete five (5)
two page papers which analyze key aspects related Data Driven Decision Making. Each
paper should focus on exploring the key ideas and issues in a particular article. I will post
a “Core Statement” with each article. You are to support or reject the statement (or parts
of the statement) based on the article (text) and what you know (your experiences and /or
professional opinions). Each paper should utilize 12 font and be double spaced with
running header with student name.
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3. (15% or 30 points) Five Page Paper: Thoroughly, but succinctly discuss and “connect”
two (2) scholarly journal articles, closely related to one of the general topics of our
textbook. Your “connections” portions will require you to relate the subject matter and
the findings as put forth by both authors and/or author teams for the respective articles to
our two texts. This paper should utilize 12 font and be double spaced with running header
with student name. Due October 9.
4. (5% or 10 points) Data Road Map. Template for Data Road Map begins on page 201 of
Beyond the numbers: making data work for teachers and school leaders. Due on
November 14.
5. (20% or 40 points) Develop a Data Driven Decision Making Plan: This plan should be
directly related to a current data driven or systemic education issue in your district. You
can use the 8 steps within the Data Road Map guide (starting on page 201 in Beyond the
Numbers). If you prefer another format, please obtain instructor permission.
Begin by examining:
o Your school’s overall progress toward meeting state and local performance
targets. Is the school in the aggregate making sufficient progress toward meeting
those targets?
o Review the school’s improvement plan.
o Examine the school’s vision of teaching and learning.
Be prepared to persuasively present your plan to the class. Ultimately, you would want
your presentation to be so compelling that all staff would commit to using data as an
improvement tool. You will be asked to defend your decisions and choice of data. (The
successful completion of this project will give you the leadership skills that will allow
presenting at a faculty meeting a breeze.) Due December 5.
6. (20% or 40 points) e-Discussions. Our collaboration platform will be Edmodo. Join by
going to www.edmodo.com. Group code is qguppv
Performance criteria are as follows:
 Discussions and responses reflect insightful connections to ideas in the reading.
 Main ideas are identified and critically examined to promote further discussion
 Ideas are clearly linked to teaching practice.
 Discussion and responses make connections to prior learning experiences and
previously discussed topics.
 Initial discussions and follow-up responses are completed in a timely manner and
adhere to posted due dates.
Discussions are worth 10 points each and to earn full points they must meet the above
criteria.
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7. (10% or 20 points) Class Discussion, Preparation, Reflection, and Participation: This
includes sharing about readings, reflective contributions to discussions, the demonstration
of enthusiasm for course content, and for thoughtful analysis.
Grading Scale
A = 93% - 100%
B = 84% - 92%
C = 75% - 83%
F = Below 75%
(percentages are rounded up from .5)
Scoring Rubrics (percentages below multiplied by the assignment’s point value)
Written Papers
Content
75%
Mechanics, style
20%
References, citation
5%
Presentations
Content
75%
Presentation
20%
References, citation
5%
Educational Leadership Constituents Council (ELCC)
STANDARDS
Standard 1.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by facilitating the development,
articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a school or district vision of learning supported
by the school community.
Standard 2.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students promoting a positive school culture,
providing an effective instructional program, applying best practice to student learning, and
designing comprehensive professional growth plans for staff.
Standard 3.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by managing the organization,
operations, and resources in a way that promotes a safe, efficient, and effective learning
environment.
Standard 4.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by collaborating with families and
other community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and
mobilizing community resources.
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Standard 5.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by acting with integrity, fairly, and
in an ethical manner.
Standard 6.0: Candidates who complete the program are educational leaders who have the
knowledge and ability to promote the success of all students by understanding, responding to,
and influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.
Standard 7.0: Internship
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