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Week 2 Assignment
EDLD 5333 Leadership for Accountability
Week 2 Assignment: Mining for Data
Overview
In this week’s lecture, we reviewed the Texas Accountability System, a school improvement
tool. The 2014 Accountability System meets both federal and state requirements as discussed
in an excerpt from a September 13, 2013 TEA announcement:
Commissioner of Education Michael Williams today announced that the State of Texas has secured a
conditional waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for specific provisions of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly known as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.
Commissioner Williams initiated the waiver process earlier this year to give the Texas Education Agency
(TEA) and more than 1,200 school districts and charters additional flexibility.
Under key components of the state’s NCLB waiver, Texas schools will no longer be designated as having
met or made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Instead of federal designations for all schools in Texas,
only the lowest performing 15 percent of schools will be identified as Priority or Focus Schools. Those
schools will be subject to a series of federally-prescribed interventions.
Additionally, Texas school districts will no longer be required to set aside 20 percent of their Title I
federal dollars to provide Supplemental Educational Services (SES). A district will now be free to use
those funds on academic intervention programs it deems most effective for its students. This week, you
will perform another step in the comprehensive needs assessment, which you will use later to
develop a campus action plan.
From the beginning of the waiver process, Commissioner Williams pointed out to federal officials that
Texas has been a national leader in the college- and career-readiness movement. Texas was the first state
to develop and implement college- and career-readiness curriculum standards, the first state to assess
those standards, and is the first state to implement an accountability system to hold schools accountable
for preparing students for postsecondary success.
The waiver is effective for the 2013-2014 school year. The complete waiver request – including the
approval letter from Secretary Duncan – is available for viewing on the Texas Education Agency website.
In this assignment, you will further explore the 2014 Accountability data, locate reports that are
critical to your campus improvement team, and compare your selected campus’ performance to
the Accountability standards. Your goal in completing this data analysis is to determine areas of
strength and weakness and identify patterns and trends at your selected campus.
You will use the campus reports that you pulled up in Week 1 (see directions in week 1
assignment if you did not print those reports). You will also pull up the 2013 Texas Academic
Performance Report (TAPR) which you will use to compare your campus’s 2012 and 2013
STAAR results to determine patterns and trends in the data.
If you are an out of state student, you will continue to work with data from the Texas campus
you selected for the Week 1 assignment. The objective of this exercise is to learn to mine data
from a data report and use it to target areas of strength and weakness.
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Week 2 Assignment
EDLD 5333 Leadership for Accountability
Rubric
Use the following rubric to guide your work.
Tasks
Accomplished
Proficient
Needs
Improvement
Unacceptable
Week 2 Assignment: Mining for Data (ELCC 2.2 a., b., c.; 2.3 a., c.)
Part 1: Campus
Data Summary
Conducts detailed
comparison of 2012
and 2013 scores in
each subject &
subgroup to the
standards
Compares scores in
each subject,
subgroup to the
standards
Does not compare
scores in each
subject, subgroup to
the standards
(8 points)
(7 points)
Compares
performance of
selected campus on
Index 2: Student
Progress to others
with same or similar
demographics
(comparison group).
Summary of trends &
patterns lacks
details by indicator
Does not compare
performance of
selected campus on
Index 2: Student
Progress to others
with same or similar
demographics
(comparison group).
Does not summarize
Campus Report.
(0 points)
(10 points)
Part 2: Distinction
Designation/
Comparison Group
Summary
Compares
performance of
selected campus on
Index 2: Student
Progress to others
with same or similar
demographics
(comparison group).
Writes a detailed
summary noting
trends & patterns by
indicator.
(10 points)
Part 3: Area of
Strength/Need
Mechanics
(0 points)
(7 points)
(8 points)
Identifies one area of
campus strength and
two areas of need
from data, and
explains choices with
detailed elaboration.
Identifies one area of
campus strength and
two areas of need
from data, and
explains choices with
some elaboration.
(10 points)
(8 points)
Responses are
relevant to course
content. Student
adheres to APA
stylistic guidelines.
Writing is clear,
concise, and well
organized. Excellent
sentence/paragraph
construction.
Thoughts are
Responses are
relevant to course
content. Student
adheres mostly to
APA stylistic
guidelines. Writing is
mostly clear,
concise, and well
organized. Good
sentence/paragraph
construction.
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Does not complete
the assignment.
Identifies one area of
campus strength and
two areas of need
with no elaboration
(7 points)
Responses do not
reflect knowledge of
course content.
Student adheres
loosely to APA
stylistic guidelines.
Writing is unclear
and/or disorganized.
Weak
sentence/paragraph
construction.
This portion of
assignment is not
addressed.
(0 points)
Responses do not
reflect knowledge of
course content, lack
clarity and depth,
and/or include
multiple errors in
grammar, spelling,
and punctuation,
including APA errors.
(0 points)
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Week 2 Assignment
EDLD 5333 Leadership for Accountability
Discussion Board
due dates and
postings criteria
APA format
required
expressed in a
coherent and logical
manner. There are
no errors in
grammar, spelling, or
punctuation.
Thoughts are
expressed in a
coherent and logical
manner. There are
three or fewer errors
in grammar, spelling,
or punctuation.
Thoughts are not
expressed in a
coherent and logical
manner. There are
four or more errors in
grammar, spelling, or
punctuation.
Posts a substantive
response to each
discussion prompt by
the 4th day of each
week (2 points), and
responds to two
colleagues in by the
7th day @ 11:59 p.m.
(1 point). Total = 3
points each week.
See first column.
(0 points)
(0 points)
Use APA format to
cite.
Discussion Board Overview: A thorough response is more than “I agree,” or “Awesome
comments.” Be specific (e.g., “I agree with your comment about the first question because . . .,”
or “Awesome comments – I really like your suggestions for involving parents, community
members, along with teachers and students because. . .”) We encourage you to write three or
more sentences in responding to other students’ posts. The professors will be monitoring your
Discussion Board responses and we look forward to learning from one another. We grow from
sharing insights and suggestions with one another.
Reference Citations
Reference citations should be specific and preferably in APA format in order to receive
full credit. General statements such as "Research indicates" or "Marzano points out" do
not constitute a reference citation. Remember, the purpose of an appropriate citation is
to allow readers of your work to easily identify the written work and author. For example,
if you use a phrase like, “The Marzano guidelines emphasize . . .”, guide the reader to the
source of this comment, Marzano (2009).
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Week 2 Assignment
EDLD 5333 Leadership for Accountability
Part 1: Campus Data Summary (ELCC 2.1 a.; 2.2 a., & c.)
A critical skill for an instructional leader is the ability to use data-based decision making. You will
practice this skill in this Application assignment as you continue to collect data in preparation for
creating an action plan for school improvement. In week 1, you selected a school and began the
review of accountability data. The principal certification exam will have questions referring to a
data report, so you should be familiar with reading and interpreting data reports. In this
assignment, you will continue to mine data reports to determine areas of strength and need.
Texas Performance Reporting System (TPRS) provides additional performance reports and
results for student groups not previously reported on 2012and 2013 state accountability reports,
the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), or the School Report Card. Most reports
are available at the Campus, District, Region, and State.
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/tprs/2013/index.html
Directions
1. In week 1, you navigated the TEA website
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2014/index.html and printed the
following reports:
a. Accountability Summary and the Explanation
b. Index Calculations and Data Tables
c. Distinction Designation
d. System Safeguards
This week, you will also need the 2013 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR). You
will use this report to compare the 2012 and 2013 test results by All Students, Subject, and
student subgroup as you look for trends and patterns in performance over a two year period.
Go to http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/tapr/2013/srch.html
Click on Campus Report in the left menu.
On the next screens, answer the questions. Click on View Report.
Choose Print PDF.
2. Carefully review the data, and familiarize yourself with the format. Study the information
by row title, and column heading so that you know where to locate specific information
on the report (tested on the TeXes exam).

Review and compare the 2013 and 2014 data by subject and grade level, paying
specific attention to the performance of each group and subgroup (e.g., All
students, AA, H, White, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, 2 or more races,
Sp. Ed., Eco. Dis., and ELL.
3. A data summary captures patterns and trends in the data. A summary of findings is a
way to synthesize the outcome of the data analysis to create the basis for the needs
assessment process. Look for increases and decreases which may indicate trends and
patterns in student performance. Discuss trends and patterns, strengths and
weaknesses in your summary (e.g., by subject and student group).
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Summarize your findings in the workspace below.
Due to the fact the 2013-2014 Texas Academic Performance Report was not available, the
2012-2013 Texas Academic Performance Report was used to identify trends and patterns in
student performance over a two year period for Taylor Middle School, campus number
246911041, district: Taylor ISD. Their 2013 accountability rating was “Met Standard”. Taylor
Middle School earned an academic distinction in Mathematics.
In 2013, Taylor Middle School had 655 students, grades 6-8. Grade 6 was comprised of 249
students, grade 7 had 217 students, and grade 8 contained 189 students. The 2013 ethnic
distribution of students at Taylor Middle was: African Americans-64 students, 9.8% of campus
population (less than state average of 12.7%); Hispanic-404 students, 61.7% of campus
population (greater than state average of 51.3%); White-168 students, 25.6% of campus
population (less than state average of 30.0%); American Indian- 2 students, 0.3% of campus
population (less than state average of 0.4%); Asian- 1 student, 0.2% of campus population (less
than state average of 3.6%); 0% Pacific Islander; and Two or More Races-16 students, 2.4% of
campus population (greater than state average of 1.8%). Other vital 2013 student subgroup
information to consider at Taylor Middle School includes: 435 of the students were identified as
Economically Disadvantaged, 66.4% of the campus population (greater than state average of
60.4%); 220 of the students were Non-Educationally Disadvantaged, 33.6% of the campus
population (less than state average of 39.6%); and 56 students were recognized as English
Language Learners (ELL), 8.5% of the campus population (less than state average of 17.1%).
Student enrollment in Bilingual/ESL Education was 51 students, or 7.8%, significantly less than
state average of 16.6%. There were 49 students identified in Gifted & Talented, or 7.5% of the
campus, less than state average of 7.7%. Lastly, 76 students have been identified for Special
Education, 11.6% of the campus, far greater than the state average of 8.5%.
In the 2011-2012 year, 40 students were Students with Disciplinary Placements, 5.7% of the
campus population (greater than state average of 1.7%); 301 students were At-Risk, 46.0% of
the campus population (greater than state average of 44.7%); and Mobility for the 2011-2012
year were 93 students, 13.2% of the campus population (less than state average of 17.9%).
The number of students to teachers is 14.1, which is less than the state average of 15.5. 75.9%
of the teaching staff are females and 92.3% of the teachers are ethnically identified as White;
significantly greatly than state average of 62.8%. The majority of the teaching staff has 1-5
years of experience and their pay scale is less than state average.
Reading scores for 6th grade decreased slightly in 2013 from 68% to 67%. Even though White
and Special Education subgroups increased their scores, African American students’ scores
dropped from 68% to 56% and Economically Disadvantaged students declined from 63% to
58%. More concerning is the noticeable drop in 6th grade Mathematic scores from 83% to 78%.
As with Reading, African American and Economically Disadvantaged students had the most
significant decline. The African American subgroup scores decreased 30% from 89% to 59%
and the Economically Disadvantaged subgroup declined 8 % from 82% to 74%.
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The 7th graders decreased in all areas; Reading, Mathematics, and Writing, with the most
substantial decrease in Writing from 73% to 63%. No subgroups improved their scores in
Writing. The White subgroup declined the most in Writing, going from 86% to 73%, and African
American students experienced the second greatest decline with scores dropping from 79% to
67%. Another noteworthy concern was a decline in Mathematic scores for the Special Education
subgroup; 71% to 43%. This is significant because the following subgroups increased their
scores in Mathematics- African Americans, White, and Economically Disadvantaged students.
Economically Disadvantaged students were also the only group to increase in their Reading
scores from 2012 to 2013.
The 8th graders increased their Reading and Science scores, declined in Mathematics, and
remaining identical in Social Studies. For Reading, all subgroups increased except ELL students.
African American students experienced the greatest Reading growth, increasing 30% from 63%
to 93%. Mathematic scores uniformly declined across all subgroups from 81% to 77%, with the
greatest decrease being in recorded in the White subgroup. Science scores improved from 62% to
73%. The strongest improvement were the African American student scores; 48% to 63%. Social
Studies scores were recorded as 57% for both years. African American and Special Education
students noted the greatest decline in Social Studies and White students had the only increase in
this subject area.
Part 2: Distinction Designation Summary (ELCC 2.1 a.; 2.2 a., b.; 3.3 c.)
Prior to completing this part of the assignment, review - Review Chapter 5 (pg’s 53-62) and Appendix
H (pg’s. 119-122) of the 2014 Accountability Manual “to review information about the Campus
Comparison Group which is used in determining Distinction Designations for campuses.
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2014/manual/index.html This information will
be helpful in completing the assignment.
Directions
1. You should have already printed the 2014 Distinction Designation Summary as part of
the Week 1 assignment. If not, navigate to
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2014/index.html and do so.
Answer the questions to select your campus. Select Distinction Designation from the
list of reports available. Click on View Report. Print the report.
2. Carefully review the data, and familiarize yourself with the format.

You will see a list of Indicators, Indicator Scores, and Quartiles which allow you
to compare your campus’s performance to that of your campus’s Comparison
Group.

Review the Quartile your campus fell in for each indicator (Q-1 highest to Q-4
lowest).

Review each page of the report to determine how your campus performed on
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each subject tested compared to your campus comparison group.

Review the page titled: 2014 Distinction Designation Summary-Top 25% in
Student Progress which lists the 40 campuses in your comparison group and
their index 2 score.
3. What does this tell you about the performance of your campus on Index 2: Student
Progress compared to others with your same or similar demographics? Does your
campus perform much higher, lower, or in the average range compared to the
comparison group?
4. Summarize findings in the workspace below.
On the 2014 Distinction Designation Summary-Top 25% in Student Progress Index 2 page,
Taylor Middle School performed in the upper-average range when compared with the 40
comparison schools. Taylor Middle received an index 2 score of 35; 34.88 was the median score.
An index 2 score of 36 was needed to earn a distinction recognition. This information indicates
that while Taylor did not qualified for a distinction in Student Progress, the school narrowly
missed the distinction by 1.12 points. It would be beneficial to assess the rigor of the course goals
with SMART goal statements to achieve the needed growth in this area.
Part 3: Targeting Strengths and Need (ELCC 2.1 a.; 2.2 a., c.; 2.3 a., b., c.)
In weeks 1 & 2, you analyzed the 2014 Accountability Reports and the Texas Academic
Performance Report (TAPR), available on the TEA website. You have compared your
campus’s scores to the target scores for each Index and compared the performance of 2012 to
2013 by subject and student group using the TAPR. You have also reviewed your campus’s
performance compared to your campus’s comparison group.
Next, you will use the data to determine areas of strength and weakness at the campus. In a
future assignment, you will use the data from this needs assessment to build an action plan for
school improvement.
Directions
1. Use the analysis you have done to target one area of strength and two areas of need at
the campus.
2. In the workspace below, briefly explain why you chose each area of strength and need
The boxes expand as you write.
Identified Area of Strength
1. 8th grade Science
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Why I Chose It
Even though campus scores did not meet state
targets, as it did in math, the growth in science
is significantly greater than the other subjects
or grade levels, validating the strength of the
program. For this reason 8th grade Science was
chosen as an area of strength because of the
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significant improvement in the campus scores
from the 2012 to the 2013 year. The percentage
of students performing at the STAAR Percent
at Phase-in 1 Level II or Above increased from
62% to 73% and double digit improvement
rates were made by all subgroups except for
Special Education.
Identified Area of Need
Why I Chose It
1. 7th grade Writing
This area showed the greatest decline for the
2013 year, dropping 10% from 73% to 63%.
The campus met the state standard of 73% for
the 2012 year but fell well below the state
expectation of 71% for the 2013 year. Unlike
the other subject areas and grade levels, none
of the subgroups experienced a growth.
Clearly, this indicates an issue that needs to be
addressed. The goal should be to maintain a
healthy margin between the campus’ passing
rate and the state average passing rate; this area
illustrates the greatest discrepancy between
state and campus scores.
2. African American and Special Education
Subgroups; particularly math and social
studies.
These sub-groups had the greatest variances of
all populations. While the African American
group experienced tremendous improvements
in 8th grade reading (+30%) and 8th grade
science (+15%), they also demonstrated the
greatest decline in 6th grade reading (-12%), 6th
grade math (-30%), 7th grade writing (-12%)
and 8th grade social studies (-10%). Special
Education students did meet state or campus
expectations in any grade level or subject. The
subgroups showed a significant decline in 6th
grade mathematics (-10%), 7th grade math
(-28%), 8th grade science (-10%), and 8th social
studies (-16%). The only areas of growth were
6th grade reading, 6th grade math, and 8th grade
reading. Due to these noticeable discrepancies,
I would encourage all teachers to work
collaboratively to identify why these subgroups
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were successful in particular grades and
subjects and to use recognized strategies in all
courses.
Internship/Practicum assignments:
Complete the Course-Embedded reflection, “II-004 Curriculum, Measurement, and Alignment of
Resources”, in the Course-Embedded Summary Report template. The internship handbook and
internship forms can be found at this website: http://sites.google.com/site/luedlead/ . On the
left column, see internship forms. To view the entire form you must “download” it first
by clicking on the blue arrow at the far right of the page. Save it if you haven’t already
done so).
A single template used to record “all” course-embedded reflections for the entire program which
you will upload as an assignment in your final course
Remember to continue to complete Campus-Supervised activities from your internship plan,
entering a reflection for each activity in the Campus-Supervised Summary Report. The CourseEmbedded and Campus-Supervised reports must be completed prior to your final course.
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