How can Ms. Flores and Mr. Ericson use the school summary data to guide their efforts to help improve the scores of students with disabilities?
Page 2: Understand the Data
Naturally, some data systems are capable of producing more useful data than others. Systems that are limited in the amount of information they contain (for example, type of disability) will make the process of analyzing a given school’s performance more difficult. Data from assessments should always be interpreted carefully, and principals should remember to:
- Obtain information about the data system from the state or district assessment office
- Know what information is reported
- Determine what additional information is necessary to understand student performance
- Understand key factors about students with disabilities who take tests, including:
- Which accommodations are being used
- The number of students who take alternate assessments
- Which scores are not included in the school’s improvement index (some districts do not include the scores from tests taken with accommodations or those from alternate assessments in data reports)
Keep in Mind
If data have been collected but not reported, principals can request the additional data from the state or district assessment office. In the event that the data have not been collected, principals can usually implement procedures to collect them for their particular school.
