Developing a Data-Driven Approach to Improving Early Literacy Instruction

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1 case study: enhancing instruction in literacy Developing a Data-Driven Approach to Improving Early Literacy Instruction Chandler, Arizona Before you begin a program like this, you might think you have a solid kindergarten or first grade program but you learn there s always a better way. There s always room for improvement. The dynamics of the students change every year. Tools and resources change. So, we are always learning. It s been really fun. Teachers love learning from their colleagues. It s really very much because of Pearson Achievement Solutions. Barbara Kowalinski Principal, Erie Elementary The K 12 Challenge The federal Reading First program requires that school districts provide early literacy teachers with professional development in two key areas: the essential components of reading, and how to administer and interpret assessments of student progress. While districts are increasingly hiring literacy coaches to help meet this need, there is a challenge. The use of assessment data to drive instructional practices or data-driven decision making is so new to education that many coaches themselves require training in this area. For all districts, the need to take a data-driven approach to coaching and instruction is growing as educators struggle to ensure that every child can read by the end of third grade a key goal of No Child Left Behind. The Solution Pearson Achievement Solutions Enhancing Instruction in Literacy is a data-driven program that draws upon more than 25 years of research and professional development in literacy. It addresses scientifically based reading instruction, the effective use of progress-monitoring assessments, and the use of data to differentiate and attend to teachers and students individual needs. Enhancing Instruction in Literacy for Coaches equips literacy coaches with the training, tools, and diagnostics to ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills improve literacy instruction. Enhancing Instruction in Literacy for Teachers provides teachers with content and pedagogical knowledge to enhance their literacy instruction. Chandler Unified School District, Chandler, AZ The Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) enrolls over 30,000 students across 24 elementary schools. Nearly 25 percent of students receive free and reduced-price lunches, and 20 percent of students are limited English proficient. While the suburban district does not qualify for the Reading First program, CUSD wanted to implement comprehensive professional development for teachers and coaches to help improve the quality of K 6 literacy instruction and, in turn, improve student achievement in the classroom and on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Our state test scores had flatlined. We were not seeing growth, and in some academic areas we were scoring much lower than we thought we should be, said Melinda Romero, executive director of staff development and instructional services for CUSD. In the past, people were allowed to use whatever

2 materials they wanted to teach literacy but it wasn t working. We wanted to create more consistency in reading across our schools and meet the goal that every child would be a reader by the end of third grade. In 2004 CUSD began working with Pearson Achievement Solutions to provide a research-based literacy professional development program for coaches and teachers in selected elementary schools. CUSD s goals with the program are to: Improve early literacy; Build the capacity of coaches to help teachers use data to effectively plan and differentiate instruction to meet students diverse needs; and Promote high-quality K 6 literacy instruction district wide. In , 24 literacy coaches supporting 19 K 6 elementary schools (some schools have more than one coach) attended a yearlong series of seminars and received onsite support at their schools. The coaches learned how to analyze data throughout the year using Pearson Achievement Solutions instructional diagnostic tools and key assessments including Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS ), AIMS Dual Purpose Assessment, and school-based writing assessments to create a system of analysis and progress monitoring. The coaches use the data gathered from the diagnostic tools and assessments to target professional development and to guide teachers to identify students at risk, plan instructional groups, and modify instruction to meet learners diverse needs. In addition, in more than 690 teachers attended training seminars on Scientifically Based Reading Instruction and Maximizing the Literacy Block. Participating schools also received follow-up visits from a Pearson Achievement Solutions literacy consultant to help teachers apply content and strategies to their classrooms to improve instruction. While our teachers do a fantastic job, we face an increasing number of new students that haven t been exposed to text or any concepts of print. We see this as a trend as more and more students come to school unprepared to read, for no other reason than they haven t had the opportunities to do so, said Barbara Kowalinski, principal of Erie Elementary. Our literacy coaches help me disaggregate data and create student groups, based on individual student needs, to focus on areas we need to work on. Once a quarter they also do classroom pop-ins to gather data on specific things. They compile the data into reports to give us feedback so we can talk about what we need to look at and do staff presentations on those topics. Like Erie Elementary, each participating school has seen the level of dialog surrounding data increase. Teachers are reviewing data and using instruments such as DIBELS to make instructional decisions while coaches are using data to plan professional development. Pearson Achievement Solutions training has equipped our literacy coaches with the necessary tools to provide ongoing professional development and feedback for the teachers at the schools they service, said Romero. Working with Pearson Achievement Solutions, our district coaches can now customize professional development based on data analysis from student assessments, and help teachers differentiate instruction through the use of flexible grouping.

3 Results This data-driven approach is beginning to have an impact. As the graphs below illustrate, CUSD has made strides in improving reading instruction and student achievement. CUSD s elementary schools used the DIBELS to measure and monitor students development of pre-reading and early reading skills. In 2006 many schools showed improvement in the number of students meeting benchmarks, and in decreasing the number of students needing intensive skills support. DIBELS Results Growth of Students Across Instructional Recommendation Bands (by grade level) Chandler Unified School District Progress of Kindergarten Students 100% 80% 31% 23% 15% 16% 21% 25% Intensive 48% 52% 69% Fall 2005 Winter 2006 Spring 2006 Strategic Chandler Unified School District Progress of First Grade Students Benchmark 100% 80% 13% 22% 6% 19% 3% 16% 64% 75% 81% Fall 2005 Winter 2006 Spring 2006 Across CUSD, 21 percent more kindergarteners and 17 percent more first graders met the benchmarks in the spring 2006 DIBELS assessment than in fall Looking across the district at all grade levels assessed (K 3), 7 percent more students scored at DIBELS benchmarks and 7 percent fewer scored as needing intensive support in spring 2006 than in fall In addition to DIBELS results, Chandler schools collected data from the AIMS to gauge progress. In 2006, CUSD saw gains in the percentage of third through sixth graders Meeting or Exceeding standards on the AIMS. Chandler s AIMS scores were slightly higher than the statewide average. For example, 70 percent of CUSD s sixth grade students scored in the Meeting standards category, while statewide the average was 66 percent.

4 6% 3% 15% 62% 64% 13% 18% 7% 4% 16% 63% 67% 12% 6% 4% 19% 64% 65% 12% 6% 4% 22% 21% 66% 5% 4%

5 Transforming the Culture of Teaching Pearson Achievement Solutions is a dynamic, nation-wide organization focused on providing comprehensive solutions for the professional learning and growth of K 12 educators. We are built on an integrated foundation of research, content, technology, and services, and maintain a critical role in improving current student outcomes through systemic school and district change, targeted content, and professional development. I m very proud of our district, said Kowalinski. Our district is special in that it not only wants what s best for all our students but asks what we can do as a collective community of learners to achieve our goals. We re all learning together. The process has been phenomenal. Contact Us info@pearsonachievement.com Learn More Locations Chicago-area Office 1900 East Lake Avenue Glenview, IL Santa Monica Office 3330 Ocean Park Boulevard Santa Monica, CA Boston Office 501 Boylston Street Boston, MA B 0507