The Mission Statement of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction - Research Paper Example

The Diagnostic Process The Diagnostic Process The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) produces a comprehensive menu of education data for every district and school in the state of Wisconsin. These comprehensive data reports are called report cards and they present a complete description of the education status in various districts and schools in Wisconsin. SECTION I: Vision/Mission Statement The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has a vision statement based on its operational module; Agenda 2017. The state has a mission to ensure all students in the state graduate and the vision statement is: Every Child a Graduate. Data Collage/Data Profile List the data you want to include in this district’s Data Collage/Data Profile. Element of Data Collage/Data Profile Describe what these data contribute to the Data Collage/Data Profile Student Achievement Reading Achievement Mathematics Achievement These elements indicate students’ achievements in reading and mathematics illustrating the success of instruction in the district. Student Growth Reading Growth Mathematics Growth These elements indicate students’ growth in reading and mathematics illustrating the success of instruction in the district. Closing Gaps Reading Achievement Gaps Mathematics Achievement Gaps Graduation Rate Gaps These elements indicate students’ achievement gaps in reading and mathematics illustrating the success of instruction in closing gaps in the district. On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness Graduation Rate Attendance Rate 3rd Grade Reading Achievement 8th Grade Mathematics Achievement ACT Participation and Performance The following elements (the graduation rate, 3rd Grade Reading and 8th Grade Mathematics Achievement, and ACT Participation and Performance) indicate the level of success in student instruction in the district. Student Engagement Indicators Test Participation Rate Absenteeism Rate Dropout Rate All these elements illustrate the factors that hinder student performance undermining student instruction success. Assessment data from standardized tests (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2014) Albany District Yearly Report Card (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2014) Various Data Reports (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2014) Data Used By the District to Measure Student Progress and School Improvement Student achievement It includes a composite of reading and mathematics performance for all students in the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) for all tested grades in the district. Student growth It uses a point system that gives positive credit for students progressing toward higher performance levels, and negative credit for students declining below proficiency. Closing gaps Specific race/ethnicity groups, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English language learners are compared against their complementary groups at the state level. On-track and postsecondary readiness It includes measures of third-grade reading and eighth grade mathematics achievement, and ACT participation and performance, as applicable to the district. Student Engagement Indicators Each indicator has a goal, and districts that fail to meet that goal receive a point deduction from their Overall Accountability Score. Goals were set by looking at statewide data and establishing thresholds that identify districts contributing the most to lowering Wisconsin’s overall performance in the areas below. Test participation Every district has a goal of 95 percent participation in the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS). The districts performance is measured by the participation rate of the lowest-participating student group. If this rate is less than 95 percent, but at least 85 percent, five points are deducted from the districts overall score; if this rate is less than 85 percent, 10 points are deducted. Absenteeism rate This indicator describes the proportion of students in the district who attend school less than 84.1 percent of the time. If the absenteeism rate in the district is 13 percent or more, five points are deducted. The absenteeism rate is different from the attendance rate because it measures students who are absent from school a certain amount of time, not how often students are present in school. Dropout rate The goal for all districts is to have a dropout rate of less than six percent. A district not meeting the goal has five points deducted from its score. Note that dropout rate is not the opposite of graduation rate. A dropout rate includes any student who leaves school in grades 7-12 without expecting to earn a high school diploma, while a graduation rate counts students who earn a high school diploma within a certain time (four or six years) after starting ninth grade. Data Analysis The Albany district is under the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) which uses the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) as the basis for its instructional data analysis. The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) includes test results from both the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) and the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment for Students with Disabilities (WAA-SwD). Starting in 2011-12, districts are held to a higher college and career readiness proficiency benchmark by aligning the cut scores of the WKCE to those of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These higher cut scores have been retroactively applied to show trends. The higher cut scores only apply to WKCE Reading and Mathematics scores, not the WAA-SwD, at this time. SECTION II: Data Analysis Worksheet Name of District: Albany District Diagnostic Purpose: To improve instruction. Data that are available What do the data tell us? To what extent do they inform us about instruction? Student Achievement Data The data shows student performance across the district for the last three years. It includes a composite of reading and mathematics performance for all students in the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) for all tested grades in the district. Informs us the level of skills and knowledge among students in the district, compared to state and national standards. This illustrates the level of success in student instruction in the district for the last three years. Student Growth Data Describes how much student knowledge of reading and mathematics in the district changes from year to year. The annual changes in student knowledge indicate the changing levels of success in student instruction in the district in the three-year period covered. Closing Gaps Data This data illustrates changes in the performance of student groups experiencing statewide gaps in achievement and graduation by indicating their improvements in the district. These student groups include; specific race/ethnicity groups, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English language learners and their performance is compared with that of complementary groups at the state level. Informs on the level of success in student instruction in helping lagging groups to catch up. On-track and Postsecondary Readiness Data indicates the success of students in the district in achieving educational milestones that predict postsecondary success. Includes the graduation rate and the attendance rate, as applicable to the district. It also includes measures of third-grade reading and eighth grade Mathematics achievement, and ACT participation and performance, as applicable to the district. This data indicates the level of success in student instruction in various academic levels including; third-grade reading, eighth grade Mathematics achievement, and ACT participation and performance. All these indicate the level of success in student instruction in different academic levels in the district. Student Engagement Indicators Data Measures the effect of other factors that affect student performance apart from instruction in the district. These include test participation, absenteeism and student dropout rates. Illustrates the effect of other factors in impeding student success in the district; this illustrates how success in student instruction is undermined by other performance hindrances. School Performance Data Indicates a summary of overall accountability ratings for schools in the district Informs on the overall level of success in student instruction and also the overall effect of student engagement factors in different schools in the district. District Mobility Data Indicates the number and percentage of proficient and advanced mobile and non-mobile students in the district. Informs us on the level of instruction success in empowering mobile and non-mobile students academically. Data that are not available: Gaps in the data What could the data tell us about? To what extent would they inform us about instruction? Closing gaps data for target groups based on ethnicity/race This data could indicate and compare the level of proficiency for different ethnic groups in the district. This data would Inform us on the level of success in student instruction in helping lagging ethnic groups to catch up. Closing gaps data for disabilities’ target groups This data could indicate and compare the level of proficiency for disabilities’ target groups in the district. This data would inform us on the level of success in student instruction in helping lagging disabilities’ target groups to catch up. Closing gaps data for English language learners’ groups This data could indicate and compare the level of proficiency for English language learners’ groups in the district. This data would inform us on the level of success in student instruction in helping lagging English language learners’ groups to catch up. Data that are available Data that are not currently available Less Important Must-Have Less Important Must-Have On-track and postsecondary readiness data Student achievement data Closing gaps data for target groups based on ethnicity/race Closing gaps data for disabilities’ target groups School Performance data Student growth data Closing gaps data for English language learners’ groups District mobility Closing gaps data Student engagement indicators SECTION3: Findings synthesis Strengths The first strength in the data from Albany district is the use of aggregated data ensuring vivid and meaningful data presentation and analysis. The data also contains relevant elements such as student improvement and growth among others which illustrates the success levels of student instruction in the district. The data contains both formative and summative data ensuring comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the districts performance and achievements in relation to student instruction (Hanna & Dettmer, 2004). Weaknesses The data lacks longitudinal data which renders it impartial and undermines the data results due to lack of primary backing. The data also lacks some aggregated data for various student groups including; specific race/ethnicity groups, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and English language learners; this makes the data incomplete thereby undermining its effectiveness in evaluating student instruction in the district (Lachat & Smith, 2005). Longitudinal Data The district has not presented longitudinal data due to student privacy concerns (Winnick, Palmer, & Coleman, 2006) Summative Data Summative data refers to data from assessment results from completed academic timelines or task durations (Taras, 2005). Summative data is extensively used in the data results displayed by Albany district. It offers an insightful evaluation on the effectiveness of the district’s instruction effectiveness. Albany district has various summative data results including results from assessment tests such as; Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) which forms the basis for its instructional data analysis. The Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS) also includes test results from both the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) and the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment for Students with Disabilities (WAA-SwD). Formative Data Formative data refers to data sourced from various non-summative student performance and achievement evaluations (Heritage, 2010). Albany district presents a lot of formative data from various sources including; graduation rate and attendance rate, test participation, absenteeism and student dropout rates. References Hanna, G. S., & Dettmer, P. A. (2004). Assessment for effective teaching: Using context-adaptive planning. Boston, MA: Pearson A&B. Heritage, M. (Ed.). (2010). Formative assessment: Making it happen in the classroom. Sage. Lachat, M. A., & Smith, S. (2005). Practices that support data use in urban high schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(3), 333-349. Taras, M. (2005). Assessment–summative and formative–some theoretical reflections. British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(4), 466-478. Winnick, S. Y., Palmer, S. R., & Coleman, A. L. (2006). State Longitudinal Data Systems and Student Privacy Protections under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Data Quality Campaign. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), 2014. District and School Report Cards Home. DPI. Read More