WEBVTT

00:00:05.046 --> 00:00:06.506
I am Jeff Wayman.

00:00:06.566 --> 00:00:08.076
I am on the faculty
in the Department

00:00:08.076 --> 00:00:10.866
of Educational Administration
at the University of Texas

00:00:10.866 --> 00:00:14.106
at Austin, and I served
on the expert panel

00:00:14.196 --> 00:00:16.906
that wrote the Practice Guide
Using Student Achievement Data

00:00:16.996 --> 00:00:18.786
to Support Instructional
Decision Making.

00:00:19.546 --> 00:00:20.566
It's important for districts

00:00:20.566 --> 00:00:22.686
to have a high-quality data
system for two reasons.

00:00:23.076 --> 00:00:25.716
One is there is a
lot of student data,

00:00:25.716 --> 00:00:29.906
and in the 21st century we need
data quickly and we need it now.

00:00:30.556 --> 00:00:32.476
It's also important
for educators

00:00:32.476 --> 00:00:34.756
to have a high-quality data
system because they need to look

00:00:34.756 --> 00:00:37.606
at all of their data on
their students in one place.

00:00:38.086 --> 00:00:42.046
This is how educators think
of a child as a sum of all

00:00:42.046 --> 00:00:43.156
of their experiences,

00:00:43.156 --> 00:00:44.996
and we need to have
the data mirror that.

00:00:45.346 --> 00:00:47.346
In fact, the most
common complaint we hear

00:00:47.346 --> 00:00:49.296
about technology
from teachers is,

00:00:49.616 --> 00:00:51.356
"My data systems don't
talk to each other.

00:00:51.746 --> 00:00:54.436
I have to go to this place
to get this form of data

00:00:54.436 --> 00:00:57.076
and then run over to this place
and get this form of data."

00:00:57.756 --> 00:00:59.936
High-quality data systems
integrate these data

00:00:59.936 --> 00:01:01.106
so they are all in one place.

00:01:02.186 --> 00:01:05.296
High-quality data systems
have a number of facets

00:01:05.296 --> 00:01:06.386
that make them high quality.

00:01:06.846 --> 00:01:08.626
First, they integrate data.

00:01:09.036 --> 00:01:11.836
High-quality data systems
should be a one-stop shop

00:01:12.446 --> 00:01:14.366
for any form of student data.

00:01:15.206 --> 00:01:18.526
High-quality data systems
have to be very easy to use

00:01:18.566 --> 00:01:20.936
and very easy to understand;
they need to be intuitive.

00:01:21.436 --> 00:01:25.286
High-quality data systems should
be very flexible in the ways

00:01:25.326 --> 00:01:28.146
that educators are able to
access their student data.

00:01:29.136 --> 00:01:32.326
For instance, if I am a
fifth-grade teacher and I see

00:01:32.686 --> 00:01:35.796
that a number of students failed
this particular math test,

00:01:35.796 --> 00:01:38.196
I should be able to click
into the cell that told me

00:01:38.196 --> 00:01:41.666
that they failed that math test,
get a list of these students.

00:01:41.666 --> 00:01:45.006
I should be able to click from
there on one of those students

00:01:45.436 --> 00:01:46.946
and go look at that
student's history.

00:01:46.946 --> 00:01:50.636
I should be able to look
at the parental information

00:01:50.776 --> 00:01:52.946
for that student, if something
changed in their home life,

00:01:53.336 --> 00:01:56.606
what their prior
math scores were,

00:01:56.916 --> 00:02:03.096
what their other scores have
been in prior grades, and so on.

00:02:03.096 --> 00:02:06.646
I should be able to go
just about anywhere I want

00:02:07.106 --> 00:02:09.916
from any representation of
data within that data system.

00:02:10.966 --> 00:02:13.166
To develop a high-quality
data system, a district

00:02:13.166 --> 00:02:16.106
or school really needs to
evaluate their needs first.

00:02:16.276 --> 00:02:20.776
They need to evaluate where
their educators are in terms

00:02:20.776 --> 00:02:24.006
of using data and where they
are as a district or a school

00:02:24.006 --> 00:02:25.266
and how they conduct education.

00:02:25.706 --> 00:02:28.086
All too often we see
a district or a school

00:02:28.086 --> 00:02:30.556
that bought a data system
and then say, "Okay,

00:02:30.556 --> 00:02:32.056
what will this data
system let us do?"

00:02:32.666 --> 00:02:38.476
Instead, the district or school
needs to identify the needs

00:02:38.576 --> 00:02:40.196
that they have and
then say, "Okay,

00:02:40.196 --> 00:02:43.426
what data systems let us do
the things that we need to do

00:02:43.766 --> 00:02:45.126
to educate our students?"

00:02:45.646 --> 00:02:48.346
A high-quality data system
should be what we would

00:02:48.346 --> 00:02:49.306
call expandable.

00:02:49.796 --> 00:02:52.206
You don't want to buy
or build a data system

00:02:52.476 --> 00:02:55.426
that won't enable you
to do other things

00:02:55.816 --> 00:02:57.586
as your staff builds capacity

00:02:57.656 --> 00:02:59.836
and as the data landscape
changes.

00:03:00.596 --> 00:03:02.986
In developing a high-quality
data system, schools

00:03:02.986 --> 00:03:06.416
and districts should make sure
that they talk to other users,

00:03:06.416 --> 00:03:08.756
other schools and districts
that also have experience

00:03:08.756 --> 00:03:10.366
with data systems in general.

00:03:10.626 --> 00:03:12.086
And if you are thinking
about buying one,

00:03:12.086 --> 00:03:14.006
with the specific
commercial product

00:03:14.306 --> 00:03:16.876
that you are getting ready
to buy, there is a lot

00:03:16.876 --> 00:03:18.136
to be learned from other people

00:03:18.136 --> 00:03:19.406
who have gone through
this process.

00:03:19.626 --> 00:03:23.396
We recommend that in
developing a data system,

00:03:23.656 --> 00:03:26.286
you draw from all the
roles in the district

00:03:26.286 --> 00:03:28.326
that might be expected
to use this data system.

00:03:28.796 --> 00:03:30.716
We have actually
advocated a process

00:03:30.716 --> 00:03:31.936
that we call calibration.

00:03:32.776 --> 00:03:36.106
We did an evaluation of
a district in Wyoming.

00:03:36.106 --> 00:03:39.606
We recommended they undergo
a process called calibration,

00:03:39.826 --> 00:03:43.466
which answers questions such as
what do we mean by education,

00:03:43.726 --> 00:03:47.196
how are we going to assess
education, how are we going

00:03:47.196 --> 00:03:48.876
to use data, things like that.

00:03:49.916 --> 00:03:52.656
Within this process
you can bring all

00:03:52.656 --> 00:03:55.356
of these different roles in
to answering these questions,

00:03:55.856 --> 00:03:59.666
and the answers to these
questions should help you define

00:03:59.946 --> 00:04:01.306
what you need for a data system.

00:04:01.516 --> 00:04:03.816
As a district looks to
implement a data system,

00:04:03.966 --> 00:04:06.976
they should remember to
go slow and go specific.

00:04:07.836 --> 00:04:12.286
By that I mean that rolling out
too many things at once is going

00:04:12.286 --> 00:04:14.036
to make it hard for
people to use.

00:04:14.156 --> 00:04:17.326
It's going to overwhelm the
users, and it often results

00:04:17.426 --> 00:04:21.505
in large quantities of the
system going virtually unused.

00:04:22.856 --> 00:04:27.246
By going specific, I mean that a
district should roll out pieces

00:04:27.356 --> 00:04:29.846
of the system that are
relevant to the work

00:04:29.846 --> 00:04:32.766
that the educators are
doing at a specific time.

00:04:33.556 --> 00:04:35.416
We believe that most
districts are best served

00:04:35.606 --> 00:04:37.646
by buying a system
than building one.

00:04:38.436 --> 00:04:41.716
Regardless of whether you choose
to build or buy a data system,

00:04:41.836 --> 00:04:44.536
it's important to
issue a clear statement

00:04:44.536 --> 00:04:46.016
of what you want in that system.

00:04:46.356 --> 00:04:47.706
If you are buying
one, this is done

00:04:47.816 --> 00:04:50.806
through a thing called an
RFP, a request for proposals,

00:04:51.246 --> 00:04:53.836
where you set out the
requirements that you want

00:04:53.836 --> 00:04:56.616
in the system and the ways
that you are going to use it

00:04:56.616 --> 00:04:59.116
and you ask the commercial
vendors to respond for this.

00:04:59.526 --> 00:05:01.686
You can go through the same
process if you are going

00:05:01.686 --> 00:05:05.876
to build your own system
because the real advantage

00:05:05.986 --> 00:05:09.576
of doing an RFP is
to make people

00:05:09.576 --> 00:05:11.466
in your district have
these conversations

00:05:11.526 --> 00:05:13.106
and reach these understandings

00:05:13.106 --> 00:05:16.196
about exactly what we want
this data system to do for us.

00:05:16.606 --> 00:05:19.446
So the more articulate
a district can be

00:05:19.856 --> 00:05:21.206
in describing what they want,

00:05:21.356 --> 00:05:23.476
the happier they will
be with their product.