Describe how you have used data to set measurable goals to improve student learning

What happens when we put student data into the hands of the people it really affects—our learners? Referencing Stiggins's work (2008) on student assessment, Brookhart, Moss, and Long remind us that "the most important instructional decisions, those with the greatest influence on student success, are made by learners themselves" (2009). Leveraging quantitative and qualitative data builds learner agency and scaffolds students toward setting meaningful goals for their academic progress. At Taos Academy Charter School, an innovative blended-learning school serving grades 5–12, goal-setting and consequential thinking are cornerstones of instructional practice. Our advisers and teachers teach students to track their efficiency, chart progress, set goals, problem solve, and self-reflect. Here are three ways our amazing teachers put students in the driver's seat for success—as individuals, members of their learning community, and empowered partners in their own education.

Personal Goal Setting

In one academic advisory class, students collect their personal data in notebooks each week. They calculate their GPAs based on the grades they are earning in all classes, look at their overall progress, and then graph the two to visually represent the relationship between their grade percentage progress compared to their GPAs. Students can see instantly if specific grades have fallen at the expense of making overall progress, if they are maintaining both at the level that fits their academic aims, or if their overall grades are high but they are struggling to make substantial gains in their coursework. Students address their individual concerns in the form of weekly SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals that they share with their adviser and families. Using student data notebooks allows students to "have a voice in their learning and work toward success in a systemic way" (Wierda, 2015). In addition to providing a visual record of their current academic status, student data notebooks provide both teachers and students the chance to analyze work trends over time. Patterns emerge that can help students plan proactively, such as the student who noticed that a significant drop in his progress occurred in the 4th week of each semester, both in the spring and in the fall. This prompted him to look at his schedule and to realize that when he began playing sports each semester, his work declined for a few weeks before beginning an upswing; now he can plan in some extra study time to avoid the end-of-semester crunch. His family and adviser can help support this student-created goal.

How can learners set and track individual goals while still supporting one another? Creating a strong learning community and positive school culture at Taos Academy is hugely important; we want our students working for and excited by the success of the whole school as well as their individual achievements. According to research, "the key to successful … learning is the formation of an effective learning community as the vehicle through which learning occurs" (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 4). One of our teachers leverages student data to build community by posting a large wall chart on which students plot their weekly efficiency rate (total number of hours worked divided by number of lessons or assignments completed during that time) on the y-axis versus actual grades (overall student grades weighted for work that is overdue or missing) on the x-axis. Data is anonymous: students choose a single unique color to update their data each week. At the bottom of the chart is the "Danger Zone" with the double threat of low efficiency and low grades; at the top of the chart is the "Island of Safety" where students are working both efficiently and maintaining high grades. Not only do students mark their weekly progress and find motivation in their journeys, but they also celebrate one other's accomplishments as well. The classroom goal aims to get everybody to the island and help students who have fallen into danger with low grades or missing work. As Dyer points out, students experience a huge amount of empowerment when teachers make them the primary users and gatherers of their own data, shifting the dynamics of the classroom to allow students more ownership and responsibility for their learning success (2014). In this model, students become one another's best advocates.

Empowered Partners

Helping students set data-informed goals means helping them get strategic not only about where they are and where they want to go but also about how they will get there. In one English language arts classroom at Taos Academy, students design personalized curriculum pathways based on their unique strengths, areas of need, and independent interests. Using their own Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress (NWEA MAP) scores, one group of 8th grade learners examined data trends from their fall and winter short-cycle assessment scores in this subject. Students identified their "superpowers" (areas in reading and language usage where they were doing well) and their "kryptonites" (areas that were difficult or challenging for them) and then set specific achievement targets for the spring assessments. Using a "choose your own adventure" model, students created learning pathways. They developed plans detailing what they would work on and with whom, how they would build skills, the means by which they would demonstrate mastery, when projects were due, and how their work would be assessed. This use of student-owned data and strategic goal setting follows Conrad and Donaldson's "Four Phases of Engagement," helping scaffold students from learning novices to highly engaged classroom partners (2005). This 8th grade cohort posted some of the largest schoolwide gains in their growth from fall to spring NWEA Map scores in the area of English language arts.

Time to Shine

The traditional paradigm of student achievement and assessment data use must change to keep pace with today's educational best practices. By focusing on student-centered data and goal setting, "students develop into more confident and competent learners, they become motivated (energized) to learn, increasingly able to persist during demanding tasks and to regulate their own effort and actions" (Moss & Brookhart, 2009). Celebrating student success and giving them opportunities to share their learning is essential. At Taos Academy, student-led conferences and portfolio presentations each semester offer an excellent chance for students to connect with a wider audience and articulate their goals, plans, and progress. As educators examine new strategies for students to engage with their own data to support learning, we empower our students to drive their own education.

How do you use data to improve the learnings of the students?

How can data be used to improve learning outcomes?

What assessment data do you use to improve student performance?

How can we use data to impact teaching?