CEdu 527--Week 5: Data Use and Instructional Leadership

This past week, I found many ways in which to observe and implement what we have learned in CEdu 527. The interpretation and use of test scores in Menomonee Falls was a popular topic this week around our town and Chapter 6 of our text helped prepare me for the beginning of school in three weeks.

First, as Megan and I prepared our Virtual Data Retreat worksheet, I began to understand how our district uses this data. The WINSS website was particularly informative as I learned how to observe trends and look at subgroups in the various content areas. Because Menomonee Falls did not meet AYP in reading and math for 10th graders with special needs, testing data immediately become of personal interest. The timing of this class could not have better as, in the last few weeks, I have received letters from our administration, read articles in the newspapers, and attended our district annual meeting. In all of these, test data and interpretation and courses of action to improve these test scores were all hot topics. I am very glad to see that excuse making was kept to a minimum and that concrete measures were recommended by our administration in order to improve our work with students with disabilities. On a side note, I also used WINSS to help my wife obtain demographic data about her youthful parishioners at her new church in Janesville. It was fascinating to compare not only these demographics, but also WKCE test results of Janesville, Menomonee Falls, and Marshall, the town we lived in from 2000-2005.

Chapter 6 of our text served as an excellent preparation for me with opening day of school only three weeks. I found it helpful, reinforcing, and motivating to read again about meeting all of our students' needs through effective instruction, curriculum mapping, differentiation, assessments, creating community, communication and relevancy. Our superintendent also stressed these best practices last night at our public budget hearing and annual meeting. I look forward to beginning the school year, using many of my new resources as well as continued, and even better, use of past best practices.