Tweeting at the Minneapolis PLC Institute

Why Won't My Tests Scan Correctly? (Data Director FAQ)

Data Director FAQ #3: When I scan my answer sheets, all of the answers and student ID numbers are wrong. How do I fix it?

There is more than one answer to this question, because there a number of steps in the Data Director assessment process that could be causing the problem.

Issue #1: Printing

When you print, you should check the "Fit to Page" box in the printing dialogue.

Your answer sheets have registration T marks at the top and bottom. These T marks help the scanner identify where to locate the bubbles that it needs to scan. When printed correctly, these T's are approximately 1/4" from the sides and 1/2" from the top and bottom of the answer sheet. If "Fit to Page" hasn't been checked, the T's will be too close to the edge.

Answer sheet printed correctly with "Fit to Page" option checked.

Answer sheet printed incorrectly without "Fit to Page" option checked. Note how much closer the T's are to the edge of the page.

Issue #2: Scanning

Even if you did print your answer sheets correctly, your answer sheets may not scan correctly. This is most likely because the person who scanned before you had to calibrate the scanner for incorrectly printed answer sheets, but didn't reset it when finished.

The solution is to calibrate the printer, so that it correctly identifies where your students' answers are on their bubble sheets according to the registration T marks at the top and bottom of the page.

To calibrate the printer, follow the directions below, or go to the directions I've shared on Google Drive.

Lasting Impact of Teachers Felt at the Black and Gold Gala

On April 1, I had the honor of emceeing the Southeast Polk Education Foundation Black and Gold Gala at Prairie Meadows. It was a wonderful evening in which a lot of money was raised to help support teaching and learning throughout Southeast Polk. 

For the opening, I rewrote the lyrics to "Wilkommen" from the musical Cabaret. The original song goes back and forth between and singing and speaking, between welcoming patrons to a Nazi-era Berlin cabaret and introducing them to the club's performers. The words I wrote for the gala also welcomed everyone, but the original spoken parts of the song were replaced with a tribute to some of my former Southeast Polk teachers to explain the importance of the Foundation's role in enhancing educational opportunities for Southeast Polk students.

I love performing, and being able to sing something set to the tune of a song from one of my favorite musicals was incredibly fun. What I didn't expect was the response when I talked about the teachers who were so important to me during my own education at Southeast Polk.

Here's what I said. (It's what I wrote, anyway. There were times I went slightly off script.)

I’d like to share with you a little about why I think the work of the Southeast Polk Education Foundation is so important. Like many of you here tonight, I have a long history here. I’ve been a Southeast Polk resident, student, employee, and/or parent for over 40 years. I first entered the Southeast Polk schools in 1974 as a student is Ms. Dunagan’s kindergarten class at Centennial Elementary, and I want to tell you about the legacy of educators that I am so proud to have called my teachers, my colleagues, and my friends.  

People who only know me as Southeast Polk’s data and assessment coordinator, or even those who knew me in my previous position as the Junior High’s computer technology teacher, tend to be surprised to learn that I started my career as a language arts teacher. They wouldn’t be if they’d known the Southeast Polk English department triumvirate of Dale Vandehaar, Rocky Graziano, and the incomparable Joyce Tremble. Their influence was so great that there are still a number of teachers in the high school English department who were Southeast Polk students at the same time as I.

So how did a book nerd with an English degree from the University of Iowa and a decade of English teaching experience become a computer technology teacher, and then a data and assessment coordinator? By having great teachers in all subject areas at Southeast Polk. Hugh Elrod and Lowell Bauer were masters of mathematics, while Kevin Stalter’s class showed me how physics could be applied in real-world situations. I still believe our government could be improved by having every voter learn principles of logic from Dallas Hakeman and Gary Fry.

Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that part of the reason for the musical nature of tonight’s opening is due to the great Leigh Fleming, whose influence as Southeast Polk High School’s vocal music teacher and fine arts chair simply cannot be overstated.

As I said the names of these teachers, there were visible reactions from many people in the crowd. I saw heads nod. I saw people smile. I saw people look at those around them in recognition of shared experiences in Southeast Polk's classrooms. There was clapping, and even some cheers. All of this was for educators who are years removed from their time teaching Southeast Polk's students.

After we got to the live auction portion of the program and I was able to relax for a few minutes, I started think about the audience reaction to hearing the names of those teachers. They were names I had chosen because of my own experiences in their classes, but clearly my experiences were not unique. I wondered if these amazing educators knew how influential they were to their Southeast Polk students, and if they had any idea while they were at Southeast Polk that their impact on the students who were lucky enough to be in their classes would last for decades. I wondered if they know that their impact is being felt still among people who are now parents of the current generation of Southeast Polk students.

I hope they do. And I hope that those of us who are currently responsible for teaching and learning at Southeast Polk never lose sight of the lasting importance of the roles we currently play in the lives and futures of our students. Teaching is a profession where it's often hard to see the impact of our work in terms of individual students beyond the short time we have them in our classrooms, but judging by the response I felt from the crowd at the Black and Gold Gala, that impact is there, and its effect endures long past the time our students graduate.

Because of a sound issue, I didn't hear the beginning of the song, and wasn't able to include the final spoken verse that I had written to wrap it up. I ended up using it after the close of the live auction as a way to end the program and thank everyone in attendance for their support of our teachers and students. I want to include it here, because it sums up my reasons for writing everything that came before it.

I’m here tonight because I had great teachers who were passionate about what they taught, and passionate in their belief in their students. I’m here because I’m proud to play a small part in Southeast Polk’s educational legacy. You’re also here tonight because you believe in our teachers and students, and you have an opportunity to help expand and enhance teaching and learning opportunities throughout the district. For that, I thank you.

Strike Up the (Proficiency) Bands! (Data Director FAQ)

Data Director Frequently Asked Question #2: Why are the percentages on the pre-test proficiency bands different than the post-test proficiency bands?

Proficiency bands in Data Director are not just visual representations of how your students performed on an assessment; they are a useful tool in terms of making MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) decisions to enhance your students' learning.

The main reason that the proficiency bands change from the pre-test to the post-test in Data Director is because the data from those tests are used in different ways.

Unit pre-tests are formative assessments designed to guide instruction during the unit. The color bands indicate what sort of instruction the students within each level will need.



Starting in the middle, the students in the yellow Core band (students who scored between 69-79% on the pre-test) are the students who are ready for regular instruction during the unit. In other words, these are the students whose prior skills and knowledge make it likely that they'll be proficient at the end of the unit without extra support beyond your regular instruction.

Above them are the green Enrichment band for students who scored between 79-89%, and the blue Enrichment+ band for students who scored above 89%. These students have already demonstrated proficiency on the knowledge and skills that will be taught throughout the unit; they are ready for enriched instruction above and beyond what is normally taught during the unit.

Students in the orange Core+*classroom support* band scored between 49-69% on the pre-test. These students may need extra support beyond regular classroom instruction to become proficient by the end of the unit. Students in the red Intensive Core+ band scored below 49% on the pre-test, and will definitely need extra support throughout the unit in order to bring their knowledge and skills up to proficiency for the post-test.

Unit post-tests are formative assessments designed to guide re-teaching after the unit. The color bands indicate your students' proficiency on the knowledge and skills taught throughout the unit. For students who aren't proficient at the end of the unit, the bands indicate how much re-teaching they will need to reach proficiency.



Students in the green Proficient band (79-99%) and the blue Advanced band (at least 99%, which essentially means a perfect score for our unit post-tests) have demonstrated their proficiency on the skills and knowledge taught during the unit, and are not in need of any re-teaching.

Students in the remaining three bands need some sort of re-teaching to reach proficiency. In the yellow Close to Proficient band (69-79%) are students who probably don't need much re-teaching in order to demonstrate proficiency for the unit. On a 20-question post-test, a student in the yellow band only needed one or two more correct answers to make it to green.

Students in the orange Needs Additional Intervention band (49-69%) and the red Needs Substantial Intervention band (49% and below) will need more help to reach proficiency. These are students with significant gaps in their understanding of the skills and knowledge taught throughout the unit, and will likely need a considerable amount of re-teaching in order to become proficient.

One of the best ways to ensure that more of your students reach proficiency on the post-test is to formatively assess their skills and knowledge throughout the unit, and then use the information gained from those formative assessments to guide your instruction. Regular formative assessments that are connected to the Iowa Core standards that your students are working on will keep you better informed on their progress throughout the unit, and will make it easier for you to meet their individual learning needs in your classroom.

Please Add My New Students to Data Director! (Data Director FAQ)

It's time to resurrect my long-neglected SEPData blog! My goal is to update it at least once each week for the rest of the school year to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions I receive as Southeast Polk's data and assessment coordinator. If you want to follow these questions and answers on Twitter, I'll use the hashtag #DataDirectorFAQ.

One of the most common questions I receive from teachers is "Can you add a new student to my class roster on Data Director?"

The short answer to that question is no, I can't.

The longer, more helpful answer is that teachers' rosters are updated weekly by Southeast Polk's information technology systems administrator Keith Lyles. Once per week, Keith extracts from Infinite Campus a massive spreadsheet containing scheduling and demographic information for all Southeast Polk students and the teachers with whom they're rostered. This spreadsheet is then uploaded to Data Director, and all of the user information for both teachers and students on Data Director is updated to match their user information on Infinite Campus.

Unfortunately, Data Director does not automatically sync with Infinite Campus, so when a new student is added, or a student's schedule is changed, her information won't be correct on Data Director until Keith's next update.

You can see when the last update was under "What's New in Data Director," on the left side of the dashboard.

Making Impressions: Top 10 Tweets of 2015

If you use Twitter professionally, you should check out Twitter Analytics. This free service provides all sorts of data about your activity on Twitter, and can give you insight on how to more effectively use this great social media tool to interact with students, colleagues, and the general public.

Based on impressions (views of the tweet), here are my top 10 tweets of 2015.

You’re off the great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way! --Dr. Seuss Congrats, #SEPolk class of 2015!

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) May 24, 2015

Data of the Day: #SEPolk 8th Grade Math students average 82% on unit 6 post-test. #datadriveninstruction

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) May 14, 2015

Data of the Day: 82% of @SEPHighSchool English I students proficient on unit 4 verbal post-assessment! #SEPolk #datadriveninstruction

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) March 27, 2015

Data of the Day: #SEPolk 4th graders average 82% on ELA unit 3 post-test. #datadriveninstruction

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) January 14, 2015

DataOfTheDay: 87% of #SEPolk 5th Grade Math students proficient on unit 1 test, improve in all standards from 2014! pic.twitter.com/pxMjokSZSV

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) October 26, 2015

Happy #WorldMathsDay, #SEPolk! https://t.co/tAfqf1UIJ3

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) October 14, 2015

Thanks to @Altoona_Chamber, @ChamberPHill, and the Mitchellville Chamber for a great staff breakfast at #SEPolk this morning!

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) August 18, 2015

Data of the Day: #SEPolk 5th graders average 82% on the unit 3 math post-test. #datadriveninstruction

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) January 29, 2015

ACT Aspire testing starts today at @SEPJuniorHigh and @SEPHighSchool, with JH students taking the test online for the first time.

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) April 27, 2015

“It’s easy to see we’re in a better place because he was here.” Thank you, Mr. Mennozi. #SEPolk

— SEPolk Data (@SEPData) June 3, 2015

Observations from the top 10:

• Nine of the top 10 used the #SEPolk hashtag. The only tweet that didn't include that hashtag included a direct mention of two different building Twitter accounts.
• Half of the top 10 was a "Data of the Day" tweet. Looking back at the year, 88 out of 186 of my tweets fit that description, so the top 10 was pretty close to that proportionally.

Twitter Analytics includes a variety of other ways to sort tweet data. Take a look at it, and have fun with your Twitter data!  

Focus on Students' Firsts

While I was disappointed in the results of this week's NCAA men's basketball championship game, I was delighted to read this quote from Duke's senior guard Quinn Cook.  

"Coach K, he just helps everybody, man. He is the greatest. He wasn't focused on getting his fifth championship. He was focused on getting our first together." 

--Quinn Cook on Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski

I love it because it's a great reminder for us as educators that it doesn't matter how many years we've taught the same grade level or class. It doesn't matter how long To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet have been taught to freshman ELA students or Iowa history has been taught to fifth graders. It doesn't matter how many thousands of kindergartners have walked through the doors of a Southeast Polk elementary school for on the first day of school in any given August. What is important is remembering that many things that are old hat for us as educators are new for our students, and together we have the opportunity to help make our students' firsts as special to them as they were for us when we first experienced them.

Shanahan on Literacy: 10 Arguments Against Common Core that Presidential Hopefuls Should Avoid

If you've spent much time on social media, you probably have more than one Facebook friend or fellow tweeter who posts all sorts of warnings about the common core. This blog post by Tim Shanahan provides an excellent response to so many of those CC conspiracy theories:

Shanahan on Literacy: 10 Arguments Against Common Core that Presidential Hopefuls Should Avoid

Meet Rambo, the Southeast Polk Education Foundation Steer

On March 6, 2015, the Southeast Polk Education Foundation will host the inaugural Black and Gold Fundraising Gala at Prairie Meadows. According to the Southeast Polk website, "The mission of the Southeast Polk Education Foundation (SEPEF) is to engage and focus local, regional, and national support to enhance opportunities for Southeast Polk students, PK through 12th grade. The foundation works with the district to develop and implement the securing of funds to support district initiatives. The Southeast Polk Education Foundation is the only funding organization with the unique mission of supporting Southeast Polk Schools. Our efforts involve corporations, foundations, civic organizations, professional associations, school alumni, and other concerned individuals. We will assist private donors in making informed decisions that will enhance educational opportunities for Southeast Polk students."

The Black and Gold Gala features a live auction, from which the proceeds will benefit Southeast Polk's educational programs. Included in the auction is Rambo, a steer who is currently residing at the Timmins farm near Altoona. Check out Rambo in action as he enjoys a fresh straw bale.

By attending the Gala and bidding on Rambo, you can help our students while also filling your freezer with tasty Iowa beef. Tickets to the Gala are available now. I hope to see you March 6 at Prairie Meadows!

Data Celebration: Statistics and Probability in 6th Grade Math

One of my goals for the second half of the 2014-2015 school year is to use this blog to celebrate some of the growth we can see through our student data at Southeast Polk. I'll kick off those celebrations with the growth we've seen from our sixth grade math students in the area of statistics and probability.

For the past three years, our sixth graders have been assessed on four statistics and probability standards:

• MA.6.6.SP.1 Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers.
• MA.6.6.SP.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
• MA.6.6.SP.4 Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
• MA.6.6.SP.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.

AVERAGE SCORES

The average scores of our sixth grade math students rose in all four students, including a jump of 14 percentage points from last year in standard SP.2.

PROFICIENCY LEVELS

Last year, sixth grade math students met our district proficiency goal by scoring at least 80% in only two of the four statistics and probability standards. This year, they met that goal in all four standards, including a fantastic leap from 52% to 83% of our students testing proficient for standard SP.2.

STUDENTS WITH IEP's

Another impressive gain was made by our special education students. Last year, only one-third of IEP students tested proficient in unit 5, where all four statistics and probability standards were assessed. This year, 44 out of 55 IEP students scored at least 80% on the unit 5 post-test. 

Sixth grade math students include most of the students at Spring Creek, as well as 35 accelerated fifth graders.