One of the biggest evolutions and as a result, opportunities, that Education in the 21st Century has, is the availability of increasingly sophisticated and insightful production of data. In this assignment I will be analysing the use of data in schools and describing its impact on both teachers and students. The influx of technology and its usages has changed the ways in which we communicate and live our lives. Very few educators would disagree with the notion that technology has dramatically changed the teaching and learning process and will continue to do so. The world is ever changing and Education should follow. In 2006 the department for Education created RaiseONLINE as an online tool commissioned jointly by the then DCSF and Ofsted to provide data to schools to support their ‘self-evaluation’. It aims to provide a common set of analyses for schools, local authorities, inspectors and School Improvement Partners. RAISEonline data contains attainment and achievement information at subject and student level for each school. There are many and various subject graphs, tables and charts provided to schools. RAISEonline includes data from Key Stages 2, 3 and 4 and provides analysis for KS2,KS3 and KS4 transitions. According to helpmeinvestigate.com, RaiseONLINE is used “by 22,000 schools and 3,000 inspectors to support school improvement and school self-evaluation and the school inspection process.” In the same way, Fischer Family Trust(FFT) Aspire is the reporting and data tool for schools, local authorities and academy chains. FFT Aspire provides key target setting and school performance evaluation information using the latest curriculum and accountability measures - quick and easy to access and providing in-depth analysis to support future planning and preparation for Ofsted and Estyn inspections. There are other sources of data available to schools in England including Local Authority (LA) data, Learner Achievement Tracker (LAT) and commercial schemes.
At City of Norwich School the data is gathered from RAISEonline. Raise Online is used for setting targets, planning, mentoring and allocation of support staff according to student`s’ circumstances. In 2015, CNS designed its own bespoke and unique assessment system. Each subject area designed its own progression grid and has been refining it until the current date. There is a limitation and risk that individual and bespoke systems could lead to a siloed system where improvements and real classroom gains in data analysis and implementation may not be shared. At CNS this has been addressed by sharing data through the school`s’ intranet thus promoting communication between departments solidified by constant weekly meetings to analyse progress and share best practice. The CNS progression grid is based on the idea of progression of skills and concepts within a subject. The school uses a series of progress descri ptors that measure the progress of a student through the three years of KS3:(Beginning,Developing,Secure,Confident,Exceptional,Beyond). The basic expectation of all students is to reach a “secure” understanding in all subjects that they will be pursuing at KS4. CNS approaches the realisation of this ‘secure’ understanding by analysing the available data and mixing the classified ability of students based on this. This can almost be described as a utilitarian approach in that it is deducted that the greatest benefit for all will be achieved by the mixing of abilities and backgrounds to achieve a more beneficial learning environment. By assessing the classes over three years, the school has a clearer idea of pupil ability by KS4 and can then set pupils based on their progress rather than KS2 attainment.
From 2016 onwards, baseline assessments are performed on Year 7 students. These assessments should form a reliable and valid measure of the students’ abilities in each subject area and will map directly onto the progression grids. They will reflect the GCSE exam assessment criteria in each subject area, as should the progression grids. Intervention programmes are triggered within subject areas, with Raising Standards Leaders and with academic tutors if students have not achieved the standards CNS has projected. There are over 10 different intervention programmes provided by CNS for these identified groups, which are allocated by House leaders and curriculum leaders. Data is shared to teachers in Go4schools, which is an online system that supports whole-school improvement, by capturing, analysing and sharing classroom data in real time. This allows staff, students and parents to have access to students progress. Here teachers have access to behaviour logs, attendance, progression by students/subject, target grades, course grades and downloadable excel sheets in case the teacher wants to keep a physical copy of the records for interpretation and implementation. This powerful tool is simple to use and consolidates all the information in one place.
Some schools use KS2 data to inform their target setting for KS3. This is facilitated through the transmittance of data after SAT’s are completed in May so it can reach the databases by July. Through this, schools are able to utilise that data for their planning in advance of the student moving to the next key stage. According to the document ‘School`s Use of Data in Teaching and Learning’ by the National Foundation for Educational Research, some secondary schools struggle to obtain that information on time. This is the statement of one of the participants: “We do take the data from the primary schools, but we don’t set on stats from key stage 2 because we have so many different primaries from so many different authorities… We also, because we are not an oversubscribed school, we also get a lot of second choice pupils or pupils that have been on appeal, that come in last minute. So, it takes absolutely ages to get a key stage 2 SATS results. I think they mark them in school and send them off to [LEA32], so we have the results 6 months to a year later“. This not only affects the use of KS2 data but also promulgates the issue of using data at this age. Minds are still young and impressionable and although this data can be used to assess the level students are at in a standardised manner, arguably it doesn`t accurately indicate the level to which students are capable of reaching.
KS2 results in the form of SATS’s and Teacher assessed grades are shared with Norfolk Schools Council which in turn makes data accessible to RaiseOnline and FFT. Secondary schools are able to plan and have a starting point before they work with the students in Year 7. This information is valuable to secondary schools to inform transition. In order to plan for the curriculum, Secondary schools gather and disseminate data from KS2 results to promote teaching and learning by analysing performance data in greater detail looking at the test as a whole, by attainment targets/topics/strands and even individual questions/items. This can be used to highlight strengths and areas for development facilitating more effective allocation of staff and resources and most importantly realistic setting of targets for pupils based on their current level of ability. There is a danger in branding students with ability standards at this stage as data doesn`t account for sociological backgrounds, circumstances and opportunity at that age.The increasing availability of data gives teacher an insight into whether there methods and teaching styles are having a real and quantifiable impact on the students learning and understanding. However, there is a very real argument that sticking to the result of data in terms of testing results is limiting to both students and teachers in that the learning standard expected on both sides is based on an early judgement of a student`s’ ability. For sake of argument, we would expect a student that has achieved an average grade at KS2 to only achieve an average grade in future stages. This takes away the ability of students to grow on different ways and experience growth at different stages in favour of standardizing the learning of individuals into one pattern.
Having a strict reliance on data could also be argued to be a limitation on creative approaches to teaching and learning. Although data can reveal elements and facts i.e reading ages, ethnicity, Pupil premium, it also reduces the learner to its constituent parts rather than reflecting them as having ability as a whole and therefore perhaps aptitude in a certain skillset or subject. Debbie Light, an experienced head teacher with 30 years of experience said "When you`re a school that requires improvement, you don`t have time to plant a seed and watch it grow. You have to stand over it every day with a mountain of fertiliser and meticulously record all of its changes." This shows there needs to be a more holistic and broad approach to analysing learning. Triangulation in assessing social background is well-founded, the enlightenment period and the German concept of ‘Bildung’ - the linkage of philosophy and education, laid the foundations for this. Only now does data and historical insight allow us to fully embrace this in the educational sector. Sociologically, the combination of social, economic and educational background co-evolve and form the basis of learning for individual learners. Any insight into this is beneficial for teachers and are an important basis to form individual goals at each stage of learning. Data is a way of removing bias from analysis and determination of a pupil’s ability, however it does limit a complete analysis of students potential based on one factor.
Since I have started my teaching training I have been using data when planning lessons, creating seating plans and grouping students with specific needs. I have used systems such as Go4Schools, Sims, Bromcom and Show my Homework. By having access to information about the students, I am able to effectively differentiate. When planning lessons I generally start by analysing student’s circumstances (SEN, PP, abilities, reading age) so I can start having an idea how to group students(groups within groups) and how to create resources for specific needs the students might face. When creating resources for my classes, Data plays an important role: it allows me to have a better understanding of the types of students I am going to have in the classroom and plan for stretch and challenge and deconstruction of learning. This has proven to be a successful method in my lessons. By analysing their circumstances I am preparing my classroom to be inclusive of all abilities and dispositions. Data plays an important role when producing lesson plans. In every lesson plan I write information about class size, gender, pupils abilities, Pupil premium, SEN, medical conditions, attendance and reading age. In one situation I was able to prepare helpsheets for students with low reading age. This helped them access to learning from the get go. If I hadn’t had access to the information about the students it would’ve taken me longer to incisively fulfil the students needs. In that sense data was very helpful. Having a system, as simple as an excel sheet, can be extremely valuable when monitoring and assessing students. This has proven to be an effective method to keep track of students progress and achievement. On the other hand, by using systems such as Sims or Go4Schools, I can understand behaviour patterns and read other teachers comments about students progress in their subjects. An insight into both behaviour and academic assessment of performance can contribute to a more complete picture of a student`s’ ability. With that information, I’m able to make informed assessments as to the ability of students in my subjects and reflect in a progressive way on the finding and the effect of this in the classroom.I have used Data analysis to help me identify pupils who are under-performing in my subject by having a clear assessment structure that is then linked to other teachers. In order to keep developing my teaching career, I will keep using data when planning lessons in order to allow my students to make progress.
Data can be used in many ways: as a teacher it is my duty to keep informing students about their achievements and progress. As a form tutor I will be able to create and share weekly reports on attendance and progress and have discussions with students about their school life. At the same time, I will be able to communicate with parents in order to show relevant analysis. I will keep producing seating plans taking into account the student’s circumstances. I will be able to input grades on Go4 Schools or any other system used in secondary schools, sharing and updating progression grids. I also feel it is important for teachers to utilise data they have available to them whilst also using their intuition and discretion in setting standards for students. Quantitative and qualitative data only account for so much, it is the art and observation of teachers that also form an important benchmark in setting goals and standards for students to reach. To create a positive and enthusiastic classroom, students must be aware of how well they are doing but most importantly, how much potential they have to strive for better. This will be demonstrated by awarding praise points( both on the board, as stickers, postcards home and verbal feedback) which are not observed and awarded through data but are more importantly formed by noted performance. Data tells the story of past performance and potential promise observance and bespoke teaching tells the story of their future potential.
