Preparing & Analyzing CRCT Data

Topic 1: Preparing and Analyzing CRCT Data Leading a Team Through Grade-level CRCT Analysis

Updated 4/8/2011 Page 10 of 52 ©2013 Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement, Inc. (GLISI). All rights reserved. Not to be used or reproduced without written permission.

Topic 1: Preparing and Analyzing CRCT Data

Leader Preparation As any good attorney will tell you, you never ask a question in the courtroom to which don’t already know the answer. This statement underscores why it is important for you, the leader, to do your homework and to thoroughly prepare and analyze your school’s test results prior to leading teachers through the same type of analysis. Thorough preparation allows you to ask provocative questions of staff members to ensure the data being analyzed provides useful information to improve teachers’ instruction and student achievement.

In this topic you will:

Prepare for a CRCT grade-level analysis meeting

Conduct your own independent, preparatory analysis of the available data

What Resources are Required?

Grade-level CRCT reports:

o Class Performance Summary

o School Performance Summary

o System Performance Summary

o State Performance Summary

Copies of forms:

o Form #1-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Analysis (Appendix A)

o Form #2-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Trend Comparison (Appendix B)

o Form #3-A: LEADER’s Reflection on Grade-level Analysis (Appendix C)

One 3-ring binder and tabs to use as an Assessment Notebook:

o Sufficient size to hold all reports used during the process

o Sufficient number of tabs for all desired sections



How Do I Do It? Read through the steps in the step-action table (see next page)

Study any accompanying examples

Complete the practice exercise

Share the results with your Performance Coach



Step-Action Table

Step Action

1. Obtain CRCT data reports

Assemble the following reports for the grade-level with which you are working:

Class Performance Summary Report (One for each teacher in the grade-level you are working with)

School Performance Summary Report

System Performance Summary Report

State Performance Summary Report

Make sure the data reports you obtain reflect CRCT test data from the school year just completed. (For example, if you are doing this task in June 2011, access the data for School Year 2010-2011.)

Work with your coach to access these reports. All reports should be available in your school office (usually from the principal and/or test coordinator) and may also be obtained from the district office.

Important: Handle these reports with care to maintain confidentiality for students and teachers.

2. Complete Form #1-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Analysis

Prepare one copy of the form for each grade-level with which you will be working.

Fill in the identifying information at the top of the form (school name, school year, grade-level).

Write the names of the teachers in this grade-level into the space provided below the letters A – I. Alternatively, if you feel it would make teachers more comfortable to remain anonymous, you may assign each a letter and allow them to record their test results in the space provided.

Use Teacher A’s Class Performance Summary to fill in the % of students meeting and exceeding for each Strand (subject area).

o As a team, agree to calculate the total percentage of students MEETING and EXCEEDING standards using either of these two methods:

SUBTRACT the Performance Level 1 figure from 100…or,

ADD the numbers for Performance Level 2 and Performance Level 3



Step Action

Use Teacher A’s Class Performance Summary to fill in the percentage of questions answered correctly for each domain, for example, Literary Comprehension.

Repeat this process until all cells are completed for all teachers.

Complete Range column for each row:

o The range is found by simply identifying the lowest and highest numbers in columns A – I

o For example, if columns A – I are filled with the numbers 45, 17, 89, 27, 33, 68, 93, 49 and 83, then the range would be 17-93

Refer to the data reports School Performance Summary, System Performance Summary, and State Performance Summary to fill in the School, System and State columns for each row, using the same techniques as in the steps above.

Compare the school grade-level data by subject and domain to that of the system and state. Use a green highlighter to identify strengths and a pink highlighter to indicate areas of needed improvement.

Compare class performance data. Use the same color highlighters to indicate higher and lower scores for further analysis.



Step Action

3. Complete Form #2-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Trend Comparison

Prepare one copy of the form for each grade-level with which you will be working.

Fill in the identifying information at the top of the form (school name, grade-level).

Referring to the School Performance Summary for the applicable grade-level(s), begin completing the form with the oldest data available. Enter the total number and percentage of students under each category (does not meet, meets, exceeds) the standard for the CRCT for each subject area tested. Remember the terminology used on the reports:

For each STRAND (Reading, Mathematics, etc.) record the data found under both the Numbers (N) column and the Percentage (%) column.

Repeat this process to complete the remainder of the form (all strands, for as many years as data is available).

Tip: This is the beginning of collecting test results to develop trend data. Trend data indicates a pattern from one year to the next. For example, there is a “pattern” of increase for fourth grade students who exceed the standard in mathematics. Most experts believe that trend data becomes important when you have at least three years of consecutive data.



Step Action

4. Complete Form #3-A: LEADER’s Reflection on Grade-level Analysis

Fill in the identifying information at the top of the form (school name, grade-level, school year).

Compare the grade-level’s meeting and exceeding scores with those of your system and state. Look at the trend data for each major subject area tested if available:

o Identify grade-level areas of strength in each subject and domain

o Identify grade-level areas of need in each subject and domain

o Determine any preliminary conclusions that you may draw from the data

o Brainstorm areas where the data reveal questions for further study

Compare the results of individual teachers on the Form #1-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Analysis form. Do you notice any scores that indicate cause for concern? Examples:

o Is there an overall increase/decrease in scores in a specific content area with the exception of one teacher?

o Can you identify teachers whose scores in particular areas were stronger (or weaker) than those of their colleagues?

Tip: Avoid drawing conclusions on the performance of students based on one year of test data. A number of factors enter into class performance. Leaders should also be aware of scores that are “outliers,” which are single student’s scores that are considerably higher or lower than the range of scores for the class. Outliers may project an inaccurate view of overall class performance. Teachers should be provided adequate opportunity to carefully analyze student performance relative to their subject area data.

5. Save your work Once you have completed your initial CRCT analysis, save your work and place it in your Assessment Notebook to use to help you guide a group of teachers through ongoing CRCT analyses.



Practice Exercise

Instructions Complete the steps in the Step-Action Table for this topic

Fill out the Practice Worksheet and/or forms, listing results that are realistic based on the information in the practice scenario below

Check your work

Meet with your Performance Coach to review the results and decide what to do next

Practice Scenario Chose one grade-level whose students participated in the CRCT the previous school year.

Working on your own, work through the steps in the process of preparing for a CRCT Grade-level Analysis meeting, including conducting your own independent, preparatory analysis of the data.

Make copies of the appropriate forms from the Appendix, and fill them out.



Topic Practice Performance Checklist

Select one: Performer’s self-assessment Performance Coach’s observations

Performer’s Name:

Performance Coach’s Name:

Date of Performance:

Check off each criterion that is observed. If the performance meets criteria with satisfactory quality, mark Yes. If not, mark No and provide feedback (use the back of the page for more space). Enter this performance into your portfolio when all items are marked Yes.

Evidence Criteria Proficient? Give Feedback.

1. Obtained appropriate CRCT Reports for the identified grade-level

The following forms are present:

Class Performance Summary

School Performance Summary

System Performance Summary

State Performance Summary

Yes

No

2. Form #1-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Analysis is complete

All strand and domain scores were entered correctly

All teachers’ scores listed accurately

Range accurately computed

School, system and state performance data accurately reported

Strengths and areas for improvement were highlighted in green and pink

Yes

No

3. Form #2-A: LEADER’s Grade-level Trend Comparison is complete

Included past years CRCT data if available

Number and percentage of students in each category and subject area were accurately reported

Yes

No



Evidence Criteria Proficient? Give Feedback.

4. Form #3-A: LEADER’s Reflection on Grade-level Analysis is complete

Appropriate areas of strength noted

Appropriate areas of improvement noted

Feasible conclusions are drawn

Appropriate questions for further study are identified

Yes

No

Documents

Preparing & Analyzing CRCT Data