Disaggregated Data Analysis

PLC 2: Brittany Bisese, Carissa Davis, Kari Pollio, Alura Soles, Lauren Valentino
Presentation: https://app.emaze.com/@ALLZZQTZ/presentation-name
Disaggregated Data:
Effective Strategies
Trace

Maker camp
Dr. Seuss Week
Read for the Record
Up Up and away science
Investigations Math program
Emphasis on hands on activities and
manipulatives
Daily 5 reading

Oliver

Daily 5 reading
Daily 3 math
Hands on activities
Small group and independent work
Go math program
Promethean board integration
PBL science in upper grades

Roles of Support Personnel To increase Student Achievement

Trace

Math coach Ms. Puchta

Reading coach Ms. Stubblefield
Title 1 teacher Dr. Morrison
Instructional coach
Special ed personnel
Morning intervention programs

Oliver

Reading coach
Math coach
Instructional coach
Ms. Hall tier 3 instructor
Ms. Berney instructional coach for teachers
Farmer scientist

Accountability Resources to Track Student Progress

Trace
Running records
Weekly team meetings

Oliver

AR Tests
STAR Test track progress
Student Work Displayed in the art room
Morning folders

Parent Involvement and Students Achievement

Trace
Tech nights
PTO

Oliver
ASPIRE test reports sent home
AR Data

Finley award ceremony

Math night and Reading night
Talent show
Parents chaperone field trips

STAR Data
PTC
Parents chaperone field trips

How teachers work together to share Data

Trace

Oliver

Weekly grade level meetings

Ms. Puchta gives math assessments
Weekly grade level meetings

Weekly grade level meetings

Strengths
Trace

Oliver

Emphasis on parental environment

Hands on emphasis in math
Variety of school wide events
Accountability for teachers

PBL and Science

PBIS Behavioral system
Wood Lawn Innovation Zone- prepare student
to finish high school and continue to college

Weaknesses
Trace

Oliver

Scores near 50% for reading and math

High transient population

Go math curriculum- not a lot of hands on

emphasis, not as engaging
Majority of students below grade level in
math and reading
Need strong reading and math initiatives

Trace Crossings Data Analysis/ Action Plan:

After analyzing the reading and math scores for Trace Crossings Elementary for the past
two consecutive years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, it is evident that the switch from the Alabama

Math and Reading Test (ARMT) to the ACT Aspire test significantly impacted reading and math
scores at Trace Crossings. In 2012-2013, which was the last year students took the ARMT,
92.52% of all students met state expectations for proficiency or were above state expectations
for proficiency in reading. However, when the school switched to the ACT Aspire in 2013-2014,
the percentage of the student body who met state expectations for proficiency or were above
state expectations for proficiency decreased to 50.88%. Math scored experienced a similar
decrease from the 2012-2013 school year to the 2013-2014 school year. In 2012-2013, 86.92% of
the student body met or exceeded state expectations for mathematics. However after the shift to
ACT Aspire 2013-2014, the percentage of the student body who meet or exceeded state
expectations for mathematics decreased to 53.51%.
Upon analyzing how Trace Crossings 2013-2014 math and reading scores compared with
those of the entire Hoover City System, Trace Crossings reading scores were approximately 5%
lower than Hoover School System. Their math scores were approximately 6% lower than the
Hoover School System. Thus Traces scores were fairly consistent with their surrounding system
as a whole. However, when analyzing Traces math and reading scores for the 2013- 2014 in
comparison to local schools such as Oliver Elementary, Mountain Brook Elementary, and
Cherokee Bend Elementary, Traces scores were significantly higher than those of Oliver
Elementary and significantly lower than those of Mountain Brook Elementary, and Cherokee
Bend in both math, and reading.
A variety of factors influence why Trace Crossings scores decreased drastically when
switching from the ARMT to the ACT Aspire and why Trace Crossings scored higher than Oliver
Elementary and lower than schools such as Mountain Brook, and Cherokee Bend. When
analyzing why scores decreased drastically after the shift to the ACT Aspire, the State

Superintendent of Education, Dr. Tommy Bice, said the results on the ACT Aspire create a new
baseline for student achievement. Bice commented that the results from the Aspire to the AMRT
are not comparable any longer because the ACT Aspire shifted how students were assessed and
increased expectations for student content knowledge. Currently, the ACT Aspire involves less
select response items than such as multiple choice than the ARMT and a greater amount of
supply response items such as short answer and essays. The ACT Aspire also showcases the new
more rigorous CCRS which require students to have a deeper knowledge of content. Therefore
because of these two factors, there is a shift in how students are assessed and an increase in depth
of content knowledge. This explains the dramatic decrease in scores that is evident to various
degrees in a variety of local schools including Oliver Elementary, Mountain Brook Elementary
and Cherokee Bend Elementary. However, the scores from the recent ACT Aspire exam, allow
schools to see a more authentic representation of their strengths and areas of need.
Also, Trace Crossings unique circumstances have caused the school to achieve higher
scores than certain schools, such as Oliver Elementary, as wells as lower scores than other
schools such as Mountain Brook Elementary, and Cherokee Bend. Trace Crossings has a variety
of school initiatives to increase student engagement in learning and parental involvement.
Students are engaged in learning through events such as Maker Camps, Read for the Record, Dr.
Seuss Week, and Up Up and Away Science that makes learning more interactive and hands-on
for students. Trace also offers a variety of events to increase parental involvement such as Tech
nights, Math and Reading PTO nights, and the Finley Awards program. Thus the high frequency
of quality events to engage students in learning and to increase parental involvement has allowed
Trace Crossings to score higher than schools such as Oliver Elementary that do not have these
events and initiatives occurring as frequently.

However, Trace Crossings has a variety of challenges that have a negative on student
achievement scores. Trace Crossings has a significant ELL population within their school as well
as high transiency rates. Students at Trace Crossings often leave and join the school on short
notice due to job decisions of working parents. Thus, it is difficult for teachers to significantly
impact student achievement when students are only in their classrooms for a short period of time.
Trace Crossings also has a significant ELL population at their school which offers challenges for
teachers that may or may not have been trained in teaching English language learners. Through
observing at Trace, meeting the needs of ELLs in the classroom seems to be one of the biggest
challenges for teachers and this is evident in students scores. Thus, to support Trace Crossings in
their professional development as a school, this plan of action recommends that Trace Crossings
should implement an on-going professional development program for classroom teachers on
best-practice strategies for meeting the needs of ELL learners. Upon extensive research, this plan
proposes that Trace Crossings should hire experts from the organization Project Glad, to lead this
professional development program for Trace teachers.
Project Glad is a systematic, researched based, staff development program that was
developed nine years ago by the United States department of Education. Project Glad is a
program that equips teachers with the knowledge of how to effectively work with ELL students
on language acquisition and academic success. The trainers that work with the program help
inform teachers how to apply useful strategies into the classroom, they offer demonstration
lessons, and coaching sessions to help teachers find what strategies work best for them and their
students.
The training conferences occur over time, in several sessions rather than one time staff
development meeting. The trainers offer individualized and grade level support for the school

teachers working with ELL students. Because the training occurs over multiple sessions, this
gives the teacher the opportunity to learn strategies, practice implementing the strategies in the
classroom, and reflect on how effective they are and what strategies are successful or not
successful in the classroom. These development seminars give strategies for both reading and
math as well as overarching strategies that can be implemented into the classroom.
Overall, through implementing a professional development program through Project
Glad, on how to best meet the needs of ELLs in the classroom, this panel anticipates that Trace
Crossings will see improvement in their reading and math scores as a whole. The panel finds that
educating teachers about effective instruction for ELL students is the greatest need for Trace
Crossings, and that improving this instruction will positively impact student learning.

References
ACT ASSESSMENTS ESTABLISH NEW BASELINE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
New Scores Show Snapshot of Current Academic Standing. (2014, December 11).

Retrieved May 1, 2015, from https://www.alsde.edu/sec/comm/News

Releases/12-11-2014 Statewide Assessment Results.pdf
Department Of Education Assessment Reporting System. (2014) Retrieved May 1, 2015 from
http://www03.alsde.edu/accountability/accountability.asp
McDermott, P., & Rothenberg, J. (2000, October). Why urban parents resist involvement in
their children's elementary education [61 paragraphs]. The Qualitative Report [On-line
serial], 5(3/4). Available: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR5-3/mcdermott.html
Staff Development for Teachers of English Language Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015,
from http://www.districtadministration.com/article/staff-development-teachers-englishlanguage-learners
Welcome to Glad. (n.d.) Retrieved May 2, 2015. from http://www.projectglad.com

Henry J. Oliver Action Plan

Oliver Elementary is a K-5 school located in Birmingham, Alabama. The majority of the
population at this school is African American with a low percentage of Whites added in the 2014
school year. Looking at data provided by Alabama State Department of Education in 2012-2013
the schools ARMT, Olivers reading and math scores were passable according to the state
standards for 4th grade. Olivers reading score on level three (meeting state expectations for
standards) and four (exceeding state expectations) had a combined percentage of 75%. Olivers
4th grade math scores reflected 75.44% of all students passed at the states proficiency level.
In 2013-2014, Jefferson County schools switched from ARMT to a state-wide assessment
known at the ACT Aspire. State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Tommy Bice, explained that
the previous assessment, ARMT, had low expectations for the College and Career Ready
Standards (CCRS) and the ACT Aspire is going to provide a new baseline for students
achievement. The ARMT and ACT Aspire results are not comparable as the ACT Aspire is more
rigorous and challenging, while being aligned to the new CCRS. The ACT Aspire focuses less on
multiple-choice questions and more on open-response questions. This switch in examination was
made to better track and prepare students to be college and career ready while teachers received
honest feedback on student achievement.
Oliver Elementarys 2013-2014 ACT Aspire scores for both reading and math were below
the states expectation of proficiency. The scores for reading dramatically decreased from 75% to
10.94% as the result of taking a more rigorous exam. The math scores also significantly
decreased from 75% to 29.69%. The combined average between the two subjects reached a 54%
drop in scores in reaching state proficiency.
When analyzing data between Oliver Elementary and Birmingham City schools for 20132014 school year, Birmingham city school reached 16.31% compared to Olivers 10.94% in

reading on the ACT Aspire for all 4th graders. When analyzing data from surrounding schools,
Mountain Brook Elementary excelled in reading with 81.7% of the student body reaching
expectations or exceeding them. In comparison, Olivers math scores were higher than
Birmingham city schools at 29.69% compared to 27.94%. But when contrasted to local schools,
Oliver Elementary did not match Mountain Brook Elementarys ACT Aspire math scores of
86.59%.
Based on this data, our panel finds that Oliver should implement a plan of action, starting
with parental involvement. According to Mattingly, Prislin, McKenzie, Rodriguez, and Kayzar
(2002), parental involvement has an influence on student performance in school. Parental
involvement includes communicating, volunteering, and supporting learning at home. In order to
increase parental involvement, there needs to be a change in the behavior of parents and school.
In order for Oliver to make these necessary changes, the plan of action is to implement home
visits, begin empathy workshops for teachers, and create resource tabs on each teachers website.
Home visits will be implemented and occur quarterly. This is when the teacher visits the
home of each student to discuss the progress of the child. This time will be used for teachers to
gain more information about the child and this knowledge can be incorporated into their
learning. The teacher can also inform the parent of their childs needs and how they can support
their child at home based on their needs in the classroom. Home visits allow parents that work
around the clock to have a chance to meet with the teacher, better accommodating the parents
schedule. Research shows this is an effective practice on student success.
In addition, empathy workshops will be implemented for teachers at their weekly team
meetings. The administration will provide resources for the team and teachers will take turns
leading discussions on how they can better show empathy and warmth to students and parents.

Another part of the plan of action is adding resource tabs on each teachers website. The
tabs will be available so that parents may see examples of students work and videos on what
students are learning. In this way parents can better assist their child with homework and be
informed on what the child is working on at school.
Implementing this plan of action should lead to an increase in attendance and teacher
effectiveness. Oliver Elementary can greatly benefit from home visits, empathy workshops, and
resource tabs.

References
ACT Assessments Establish New Baseline For Student Achievement
New Scores Show Snapshot of Current Academic Standing. (2014, December 11).
Retrieved May 1, 2015, from https://www.alsde.edu/sec/comm/News
Releases/12-11-2014 Statewide Assessment Results.pdf

Department Of Education Assessment Reporting System. (2014) Retrieved May 1, 2015 from
http://www03.alsde.edu/accountability/accountability.asp
Mattingly, D., Prislin, R., Mckenzie, T., Rodriguez, J., & Kayzar, B. (2002). Evaluating
Evaluations: The Case of Parent Involvement Programs. Review of Educational
Research, 549-576.
McDermott, P., & Rothenberg, J. (2000, October). Why urban parents resist involvement in
their children's elementary education [61 paragraphs]. The Qualitative Report [On-line
serial], 5(3/4). Available: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR5-3/mcdermott.html
Staff Development for Teachers of English Language Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015,
from http://www.districtadministration.com/article/staff-development-teachers-englishlanguage-learners
Welcome to Glad. (n.d.) Retrieved May 2, 2015. from http://www.projectglad.com

***Parent Letters Attached