Читать книгу The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students - Katherine E. Stiles - Страница 9

Despite endless pessimistic messages about the state of public education, the authors of this book find much to celebrate. As staff of the National Science Foundation–supported Using Data Project, we have worked with schools that are serving children who are among the poorest in this country—students from Native American reservations in Arizona, the mountains of Appalachia in Tennessee, and large and mid-size urban centers in the Midwest and West. A few years ago, some of these students were simply passing time in school with “word search” puzzles or other time fillers; some were permanently tracked in an educational system that doled out uninspired, repetitive curriculum. Some of the schools in which we worked had not one single student pass the state test, and the vast majority were performing at the lowest proficiency level.

Today, students in these schools have a more rigorous curriculum, and they are reaching proficiency on assessments in record numbers. Schools implementing the Using Data Process narrowed the achievement gaps between students with exceptional needs and general education students in all content areas and grade levels; tripled the percentage of African Americans proficient in middle school mathematics; demonstrated significant and steady gains in mathematics in elementary, middle, and high schools; and cut the failure rate of Native American children in half. These schools are not only experiencing significant and continuous gains in local and state assessments in mathematics, science, and reading, but also changing their culture. Our project evaluators documented increased collaboration and reflection on practice among teachers; frequent and in-depth use of multiple data sources, including high-stakes, formative, and benchmark assessments as well as data about practice; and instructional improvement (Zuman, 2006).