New Haven Independent: Schools Seek $550K Data Fix

Schools Seek $550K Data Fix

by Allan Appel | March 21, 2007 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Can new computer-generated data really help to close the achievement gap in New Haven’s Public Schools?

At a recent aldermanic Finance Committee workshop, schools superintendent Reginald Mayo and other Board of Education staffers addressed that question.

One of the most significant new items in the Board of Ed’s portion of the proposed FY07-08 budget is a new data management system, whose price tag is $500,000.

Mayo (to the left in the photo, with John Prokop, BOE finance chair; and Robin Golden, the BOE’s chief administrative officer) responded by saying that “everything we do here is addressing the gap. Our English classes for students struggling with the language, our reading strategies, with their focus on phonics, the whole thing.”

When Hill Alderman Jorge Perez (on the left in the photo) pressed the BOE on the relationship of the data system to individual student achievement, Prokop answered. “With this new system, we will literally be able to track which kids, which classes, not only which schools, are succeeding, and why. “

“So why can’t those best practices,” Perez pressed, “be spread throughout the whole system?”

“They are,” replied Prokop. “Our senior staff knows what works and what doesn’t, and increasingly this information will be on the data system, and be made available.”

“In the past,” Golden elaborated for the alders, “we had to wait until CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test) scores appeared to make these kinds of assessments. Now, with more and more data available on students, teachers, and so forth, more interventions will be possible. It will be possible to tailor solutions to a kid’s needs, so that test scores now will only be part of the picture of what we know.”

In an email response to a reporter’s inquiries a day after the committee workshop, Golden elaborated on the relationship between data and the achievement gap.

“Part of the school system’s new strategic planning is to be data-driven,” she wrote, “and we have made very significant progress in this direction. Schools have made a tremendous culture change towards using student results for improvement. In fact we’ve created a demand for data from our teachers and our administrators. The new data management system is going to fulfill this need, which we have in fact created.”

What kinds of questions or assessments can be made using the data?

“Well,” Golden responded, “the data, for example, will help us understand the relationship between pre-kindergarten experience and future academic success. That will guide us as to where to put our early childhood resources.

“Second, the data will allow us to better understand which of our teachers can be described as particularly ‘effective.’ Do students who are matched with these effective teachers perform consistently better over time than do students who are matched with ‘less effective’ teachers? And, of course, what specifically are these teachers doing that makes them so effective?

“Also, what is the relationship between truancy, suspensions, and the future of academic performance?

“And, finally, once we make these kinds of assessments, will they accurately predict performance on the CMT and the other system-wide tests? If there’s a disconnect, what might account for it?”

This kind of new information can be harnessed to benefit students individually, Golden suggested. She is putting her fund-raising where her conviction is. “We’re trying to raise private support for the data management system,” she said. “Just in case.”

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Comments

Posted by: butterbean | March 21, 2007 1:39 PM

The entire N.H.P.S. is a gigantic faliure that no database can fix. Dr. (where did get his PHd anyway) Mayo has been at the helm of this sinking ship now, what 10, 12 years? - and still only graduates (or gradiates in new haven taught english) 55% of his students. and what is the real literacy and math rates of these lucky 55%? like 50something% also.
Get him out. NOW! We can fail with someone different, but we can't win with him.
by the way, wasn't his communication person also given a chance to run things for destefano while he was campaigning for the race he knew he'd never win? why is this allowed, and not written about in the independent?

Posted by: maryrosario | March 21, 2007 6:01 PM

I BELIEVE THAT THIS DATA TEAM DOES SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THE CHILDREN .AS A PARENT I HAVE ATTENDED THESE MEETINGS AND THEY DO ADDRESS THE CHILDS NEEDS AND ALSO THE SCHOOLS NEEDS.WE NEED THIS DATA TO FIND OUT WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT AND HELP US TO FIX WHATS WRONG.

Posted by: Jeff Klaus | March 21, 2007 6:33 PM

Conducting real-time interim assessments is critical for any school management team which is serious about closing the achievement gap.

A good information system will identify academic progress for each individual student as well as the performance of each teacher. It is promising that Dr. Mayo and Robin Golden have put this at the top of their priority list.

The real test though, is what will be done with the data once it is received and parsed. Just as important as identifying areas in need of improvement, will be how the administrators respond to what the data is telling them. Will they have the determination to take the appropriate action based on what they learn from it's new info?

Posted by: Ned | March 21, 2007 10:40 PM

"what is the relationship between truancy, suspensions, and the future of academic performance?" You need a computer to figure that out? Uhm, failure sounds right. Where is the evidence that this (proprietary?) "data management system," (or, in clear English: database) has made a difference in closing the "achievement gap"? In what school system has this program been successful? From what I hear on the street, the average Indian call center operator has better English language skills than the average New Haven public school student, which might explain why there are call centers in India and not in New Haven.
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED072424&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800ed090

Posted by: Chris | March 21, 2007 10:57 PM

I have real reservation about this data system burdening teachers and not being effective. The data sets Robyn G said we could get, should be able to be had right now with simple access or excel data. Do we not already track truancy, suspensions, child teacher relationship, report cards and standardized test results per student? Shouldn't this all be part of a student's permanent file? New Haven Schools are improving, but using this data to have teachers focus more resources on a few may have the unintended consequence of bringing the higher performers test scores down.

Posted by: Jeff Klaus | March 22, 2007 9:23 PM

I think what Ned and Chris are accurately pointing out is that the best data system in the world cannot compensate for poor management.

However, if school administrators are truly willing to do whatever it takes to close the gap, then a robust data system is indispensible.

The complexity of tracking all of the variables associated with the performance of 21,000 students across multiple disciplines throughout 50 schools is no small task.

All effective school management organizations invest in, and rely heavily on great information systems to inform instructional practices.

New Haven Independent

Schools Seek $550K Data Fix

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