The school accountability movement of the 1990’s has resulted in mandated frequent assessment of student progress. As a result, school personnel are often presented with data on student progress from a variety of sources. The information derived from these sources may be used to plan educational programming at the individual and group level. In order to utilize these tools, the educator must understand some basic statistical concepts. This module will address the following statistical concepts related to interpreting data:

• The various types of data often available, including grade- and age-equivalents and standardized scores, and the appropriate use of each
• The properties of the Gaussian curve
• The interpretation of data using standard deviation (SD) and standard error of the measure (SEM)
• Comparison of data derived from multiple sources

In addition, this module will walk administrators through examples of individual student data, how to interpret the results, and how to apply this knowledge in the day-to-day educational setting.

After the completion of this module the building level administrator will:

1. Be able to extract useful data from a data set to determine student growth and/or academic skill levels
2. Be able to use data in order to identify students who are in need of instructional support
3. Be able to compare data from different data sources

IPSB Instructional Proficiencies for Building Level Administrators:

Standard 1: A Vision of Learning A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implemen- tation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the greater school community.

Performance(s) – The administrator facilitates processes and engages in activities ensuring that:
9. data related to student learning are used to develop the school vision and goal.
 

Knowledge(s) – The administrator has a knowledge and understanding of:
4. information sources, data collection, and data analysis strategies.

Standard # 2: School Culture and Instructional Program A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students and staff by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.

Performance(s): The administrator facilitates processes and engages in activities ensuring that:
14. a variety of sources of information are used to make decisions.
15. student learning is assessed using a variety of techniques.
16. multiple sources of information regarding performance are used by staff and students.

Knowledge(s): The administrator has a knowledge and understanding of:
7. measurement, evaluation, and assessment strategies.

1. Instructional Event #1: The participant will evaluate data contained in a psychoeducational report to determine student strengths and weaknesses using the mean SD and the SEM.
   
    
2. Instructional Event #2: Given a set of Northwest Educational Association (NWEA) assessment data on an individual, the participant will select the appropriate data for interpretation and will interpret that data using the mean standard deviation (SD) of the distribution and the standard error of the measure (SEM).
   
    
3. Instructional Event #3: Given a set of Indiana Statewide Tests of Educational Progress (ISTEP) data on an individual student, the participant will select appropriate data for interpretation.
   
    
4. Instructional Event #4: Given Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting (ISTAR) data on an individual student, the participant will evaluate the progress of the student and identify strengths and weaknesses