Tyler: Projects
USING STUDENT PERFORMANCE DATA TO INFORM INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE: LESSONS FROM CINCINNATI
In the past decade there has been an increasing call for the greater use of data as a tool to inform public sector decisions. In education, the Cincinnati Public School system (CPS) has become a national leader in “data-based decision making,” particular as this concept applies to the core of education—teaching and learning. The centerpiece of the CPS efforts at using data to improve student performance is their web-based Dashboard system. Dashboard was custom developed by CPS staff during the summer of 2005 and brought online in September of that year. Used in conjunction with student assessments including the district-wide benchmark assessments administered pre-K through 8th grade, the Dashboard system puts up-to-date, detailed information about individual student performance into the hands of classroom teachers in ways matched by only a vanguard of districts across the nation.
Using Dashboard, teachers are able to look at past Ohio Achievement Test results and district benchmark assessments for their current students to determine what concepts need to be re-taught in the classroom. Teachers are also able to monitor each individual student's progress on all district benchmark assessments (available on Dashboard within 1-3 days after the assessment) and state achievement tests, and they can use the Dashboard to view instructional strategies based on the needs of their students. Curriculum maps and pacing guides are also posted on the Dashboard and linked to resources that are tied to each standard and grade level indicator.
This two-year project evaluates how much and how teachers and administrators use Dashboard, and the extent to which Dashboard usage is associated with student achievement. Answers to these questions will come from qualitative research based on focus group inquiries, interviews, and surveys, as well as quantitative analyses of web logs that arise from Dashboard usage.