Foundations of Data Literacy

Dr. Janet JohnsonSeptember 27, 2011

10 Years Experience Teaching Educators to Use Data Themselves

It’s required a paradigm shift

2008 EDSTAR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.All rights reserved.

We help educators see the faces in the data

Foundations Must Precede Data Literacy

She is low-income, minority, and lives with a single parent.

At-Risk Model

She is scoring at the highest level. Predictive software shows probability of success is 99%.

Pro-Equity Model

We created vocabulary and developed conceptual aids to help

= students

= below grade

Understanding data about groups of students

Understanding different types of data

Aptitude

Work Ethic

Understanding reasonsfor success

Once a student is on a path, often academic status is assumed and used for alignment of

other instructional opportunities.

2008 EDSTAR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

All rights reserved.

This high achieving gifted student is

tracked low in math because of

demographic characteristics. Then

he gets recommended for other remedial

interventions because of assumptions about

why he was tracked low.

Math Tracking Traditionally

• Sixth grade placement is the strongest predictor of 8th grade math placement.

and

The main predictor of sixth grade placement of equally high scoring students is social factors—race being one of the most significant factors.O’Connor, C, Lewis, A, & Mueller (2008)

Importance of Alignment

• Alignment is an even stronger predictor of student achievement on standardized tests than are socioeconomic status, gender, race, and teacher effect.

(Elmore & Rothman, 1999: Mitchell, 1998; Wishnick,1989)

A NC School System Used Teacher Recommendations Exclusively for Math Placement When Tracking Began. Correlation Between Top Level Scores and

Top Track Enrollment (Differs by Race)

Achievement Gap

A School Asked EDSTAR Analytics with help on math achievement gap

2008 EDSTAR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

All rights reserved. © 2009 EDSTAR Analytics, Inc.

Percentage of Students At or Above Grade on Math Standardized Test

Tracking

Not much of a gap at all!

85% of Top Level Hispanic/Latino & Black students were tracked into the low math track in 6th grade!

We created the Achievement Gap!

103 students were recommended for low track but moved to high track based on academic data and EVAAS prediction.

98% of the students were successful

Suspensions

declined by

two-thirds

when

students

were

properly

challenged.

A student in the bottom math track, who was participating in the dropout prevention program, with the highest number of suspensions in the school, had the highest academic math score in the school. He had not had the prerequisite to Algebra (Pre-algebra). He graduated top in this class, and instead of being in the dropout prevention program in high school, is taking Honors and AP STEM courses.

Next Tuesday:

The Board of Education from that school district is voting on a Board Policy that will require enrolling students in advanced math courses based on whether or not they meet academic criteria.

Comparing when we began working with this district to the implementation of this policy, minority enrollment in advanced math classes has increased by 400%.

CHALLENGE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS…

Begin building your Data Literacy Foundations today!