Part 6: Meaningful Data Meetings

Part 6: Meaningful Data Meetings





Today we are going to look not only at the types of data we want at those meetings but also other elements that need to be present.  

So what do you need to execute a meaningful data meeting? 

You need: 
  1. The right people
  2. The right data
  3. The right decisions

Meetings often occur every 4 to 6 weeks. This ensures that data is current and relevant. Let’s talk about each of these elements. 

Your district’s MTSS plan dictates who should attend these meetings. It may even differ depending on whether you are discussing tier 2  and tier 3 students. Meeting participants might include
  1. Classroom teachers
  2. Interventionist
  3. Reading coach
  4. Counselor
  5. Administrator
  6. School Psychologist
  7. Parents 
Classroom teachers are boots on the ground and are very close to the student. They offer insight into student learning, behavior, and home situation. Counselors and school psychologists offer a more objective perspective while bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience. Reading coaches and Interventionists have likely spent some one-on-one time with the student allowing them to share their observations. Administrators are highly valuable at data meetings, offering experience and ensuring that processes are followed. Communication with parents is key! If parents can’t be there due to work schedules, consider using technology such as Facetime to allow parents to participate.  

Each person has a role and offers a different perspective. This eclectic group is designed to be able to look at each student from a variety of vantage points to ensure a complete picture and then formulate the most appropriate next steps. 

Now let’s look at the right data. This information will determine how the student is responding to the intervention. 

You are actually looking at the State of the Intervention -

  1. What has been done? 
    1. One-on-one tutoring?
    2. Individualized Learning using software? (Such as Classworks)
  2. How was it done?
    1. During computer lab?
    2. Intervention pull-out time?
    3. Extra Learning time?
    4. In lieu of an elective?
  3. Who facilitated?
    1. Classroom teacher?
    2. Interventionist?
    3. ELT Facilitator?
  4. Results -
    1. Mastery of skills within the intervention promote growth - Standards Mastery Report
    2. Growth within the intervention - Progress Monitoring Data

For documentation of skill mastery - Classworks Standards Mastery Report shows skills and standards a student is working on and identifies mastery for each skill. 

Progress Monitoring Results are key in SST meetings! This is evidence of the student response to the intervention right? 

Use these results to make the right decisions for each student. So what are some of the right decisions? 

First, let’s talk about when the intervention is on the right track.
  1. The student is showing growth within the intervention (PM Data)
  2. Skill mastery is evident within the intervention (Stand Mast Rep)
  3. The student is showing overall growth on the screener (Screener Data)

- with any of these scenarios, proceed with the current intervention and progress monitoring

What if the intervention is off-track - what instructional changes should be made?
  1. You may see that the Student is not growing (progress monitoring) 
  2. Skill mastery is not achieved 

What now?
  1. Analyze Mastery - Reassign any instruction below mastery.
  2. Conference with students - Discuss scores. Celebrate success and strategize how to improve weak areas. 
  3. Ensure that student is tracking scores using their MY Scores page. Student ownership is SO powerful!

Students track results using their My Scores page! This builds student engagement in their learning. It also ensures fidelity of the intervention and ultimately impacts student outcomes! This page can be shared with parents too - a great way to build community ownership of student learning. 

This last example is my favorite - when the student is above target - 
  1. It’s time to move the level of progress monitoring which will automatically move the level of intervention. 
  2. And don’t forget to consider tier movement, when appropriate, as you review student data. 

That’s when it’s time to celebrate! Check out Part 5 of this web series for more specific progress monitoring examples

The bottom line is that meaningful data meetings result in action! Data drives these decisions, so it is crucial to understand what data you need and have it available during meetings. In Classworks you have two options for data - live data and data from printed reports. Reports should be printed when you need to have documentation for student folders or to share with parents. 

Live data allows you to see what is happening and then take action. Actions may include analyzing the mastery of student intervention and reassigning or stopping a set of CBMs to adjust the level for a student - literally taking data to action -with just a click!

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