Professional development for data-driven improvement
Spurred on by the Obama administration, U.S. school systems are making significant progress in using student achievement data to drive continuous improvement. But a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education suggests that educators are still looking for examples of how best to connect data to instruction, underscoring the need for more professional development focused on best practices in data-driven improvement.
With the generous support of CompassLearning, we’ve put together this collection of stories from our archives that address this important topic. As you explore these resources, we hope you’ll find ideas to help you bolster your staff development programs in your own district.
—The Editors
Advanced analytics: Helping educators approach the ideal
In the business sector, companies have been using predictive analysis for years to improve performance, predict stocks, or take action and change direction when troubling trends appear. They…
Are qualified teachers always effective teachers?
Amid a growing consensus that “highly qualified” doesn’t necessarily mean “highly effective,” a movement is under way to reshape how the nation views successful teaching.…
Superintendents turn to tech academies to boost skills
As the need for tech-savvy students becomes more pressing, school leaders' technology skills must also keep pace, and superintendents across the nation are enrolling in technology-focused professional development…
NCTAF: Transform teaching through collaboration
According to a new report, 21st-century teaching and learning can only occur if teachers and school staff work together as a collaborative team; simple adjustments to antiquated school…
Survey: Staff development is top ed-tech challenge
Making sure staff members have the professional development they need to ensure effective 21st-century education is the top challenge facing school district CTOs, according to a recent survey.…
Videos highlight successful school reform
To help local leaders with their own school-reform efforts, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has produced a new series of online videos highlighting successful school improvements from…
Duncan: Superintendent prep programs must change
States and school systems, with the help of the federal government, must work harder to improve the way superintendents are trained and prepared to lead the nation’s schools,…
Schools need models for linking data, practice
States and school systems are making significant progress in building educational data systems and are starting to use these systems to improve student achievement, according to a new…
Victory in Victorville: A replicable model for school improvement
Sixth Street Prep School is a K-6 charter school in the Victor Elementary School District in San Bernardino County, Calif. Linda Mikels became Sixth Street's principal in 2001…
Gates Foundation seeks keys to effective teaching
Ever since Americans sent their children to one-room schoolhouses, parents have known what makes a good school: inspiring, organized, and creative teachers. But researchers haven't been able to…
Duncan: Use tech to leverage change
To avoid being caught short when stimulus money runs out, school officials should use the short-term federal funding to upgrade technology and improve the tracking of student data,…
eSN Special Report: 21st-Century Teacher Education
When Sandy Armstrong was studying to become a teacher, technology instruction was limited to learning how to use an overhead projector or run a reel-to-reel movie over a…
RTI: Not just for special education
Once a concept only well known in special-education circles, Response to Intervention (RTI)--which responds to individual students' needs by taking a data-based approach to instruction--has taken hold in…
Forum calls for better data use in education
Speakers at a forum about the use of longitudinal data in education stressed the importance of comprehensive data systems that follow students throughout their educational careers--from kindergarten to…
Technology key to award-winning district’s excellence
A North Carolina school system has won a prestigious national award for excellence, and its superintendent credits the district's use of technology for such initiatives as distance education,…
Technology key to analyzing assessment data
Through the careful application of technology in classroom assessments, schools and teachers can improve instruction for students, and states can develop comprehensive longitudinal data systems to better analyze…
Teachers: Give us better tech training, support
After more than decade of investment in school technology, educators say they still don't feel adequately prepared to integrate instructional software into their classrooms and aren't getting the…
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CompassLearning Resources Case Study: White Paper: Advanced PD for Continual Support School Effectiveness Report: White Paper: In-Person and Virtual Learning |