Don’t Wait - Weekly Data Meetings as a Lever for Change

Routinely analyzing and responding to student data is an essential part of your early literacy toolkit. Rather than waiting for a benchmark assessment cycle to develop action plans, leaders across the portfolio are supporting K-2 teachers in frequent data cycles focused on foundational skills. Informal data collected from lesson activities, oral practice, and listening to students as they read independently or with a partner can help to drive instructional next steps, and building systems to analyze curriculum-embedded assessment data and engage in action planning empowers teachers to adapt their instruction to meet students’ needs.

Creating the Time for Teachers to Analyze Foundational Skills Data

Highly effective teachers of reading use data to incorporate opportunities for practice into upcoming lessons and to plan for targeted small group reteaching. To support teachers in taking action on data in this manner, data meetings should be used to identify moments in upcoming lessons where additional at-bats can be incorporated.

When DREAM Charter Schools adopted CKLA Skills, they knew they needed to develop a new process for analyzing the data to understand foundational skills instruction in the classroom. “With F&P and guided reading, teachers previously spent time during data meetings finding and creating lessons rather than using the data to make the Tier I curriculum more effective. We really wanted to shift teacher thinking to how to use data to make core instruction stronger, but we had to train on that,” shares Adam Feiler, Managing Director of Curriculum and Instruction at DREAM Charter Schools.

To build teachers’ capacity around data analysis and action planning, DREAM’s leadership team schedules 40 minute group data meetings to coach teachers in analyzing and responding to the foundational skills data in curriculum-embedded assessments. This process begins with the coach selecting specific data points to review based on the unit goals and providing teachers with independent analysis time to review upcoming lessons and examine their data (see below).

Example pre-work for DREAM’s data meetings here.

BRICK Education Network adopted regular data meetings to facilitate the connection between data and instruction. Teachers attend data meetings with their instructional coach to review CKLA lesson data, assess the impact of their instruction, and make necessary adjustments moving forward. Dana Carr Ford, Senior Director of K-4 Literacy at BRICK Education Network, notes, “In our data meetings, we follow a meeting protocol where we identify gaps in target students’ learning and develop implementation plans for small group time. If we have students who need support with specific skills, we tailor plans to their needs… We provide time for data analysis within a week of instruction and follow our data analysis protocols with action plans.”

Providing Central Resources and Supports for Teachers to Ensure their Success

In addition to providing the time and space for data analysis, leaders can also support teachers in strategically using foundational skills data by offering centralized resources and support. Below are some examples:

• Save Time for Planning. Leaders have found that the most effective meetings end with time to plan and practice. Analyzing the data and naming an action step only matter if actions are applied to classroom instruction, and this is much more likely to happen when coaches can support in planning and practicing next steps during weekly data meetings.

• Provide Resources to Support Planning. While foundational skills units often provide a few lessons, such as CKLA SKills Pausing Points, to revisit previously taught skills, sometimes additional practice activities are needed. At DREAM Charter Schools, leaders created a resource toolkit to support in action planning. After analyzing data and determining action steps during data meetings, teachers utilize the K-2 CKLA Misconception Map & Toolkit to identify the specific lesson plans aligned to the skills that need additional practice. This ensures that teachers are equipped with high quality instructional materials for reteaching and that their time is spent adapting plans based on data instead of creating activities from scratch. For example, if data reveals that some students need additional support with particular long vowel sounds, the guidance below leads teachers to the lesson plan where that skill is the focus.

• Connect data analysis back to research. At Nashville Classical Charter School (NCCS), leaders incorporated quick reminders of the research into the data analysis template, so teachers continue to make connections between research and their action planning. Coaches are also anchoring in the research as they name action steps with teachers during weekly data meetings.

Connecting Data to Observations and Feedback

Adjusting instruction in response to data doesn’t just need to happen during coaching meetings. The KIPP Nashville Public Schools team combines real-time observations of foundational skills instruction with trends in Reading Mastery assessment data to ensure daily instruction is best meeting the needs of all students. “Teachers keep student data in binders in their classrooms so coaches can review it during class time and provide feedback on how to improve their instruction. We’ve made flow charts to help teachers with grouping students, sometimes moving students to different groups based on their needs,” explains Kate Baker, Head of Elementary Schools at KIPP Nashville. Coaches support teachers in leveraging assessment data effectively, which may lead to adjusting their whole group lesson pacing or informing small group instruction. With the support of coaches, teachers can make real time changes to their instruction to ensure all students are on track.

Next Steps for Monitoring Your Student’s Reading Progress

By creating time and space and holding it sacred for reviewing foundational skills data, providing centralized coaching and support around the use of data, and connecting observations and feedback to foundational skills data, you can empower your teachers to provide data-informed literacy instruction to make meaningful changes for kids and address the targeted needs of every student.