Disaggregated

Data Analysis
PLC 2
Julia Sansom
CaDric Moulton
Lindsey Harding
Rebecca Hastings

Data Analysis
Category

Trace Crossings Elementary

Avondale Elementary

Reading Scores

Chart

Chart

Math Scores

Chart

Chart

Strategies,
Professional
Development,
Resources, and
Programs

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trace has adopted the STEAM

initiative, which includes specific
instruction in science, technology,
engineering, art, and
mathematics. This includes an
extensive Marker Studio and
STEAM lab
Trace uses Math Investigations
Trace engages in Problem-Based
Learning across all grade levels
Trace has three Title 1 teachers
that work with struggling
students in reading and math
Trace utilizes technology
through: chrome books, iPads,
Smart boards, computers, and
Maker Bots.
Trace supplies the teacher with a
leveled book room for teachers
to check out book selections for
guided reading and literature
circles

Trace is a STEAM school,

therefore they have many
opportunities for hands on
learning
Through the use of grants and
fundraising Trace has many
useful resources available.
4th grade reading scores have
remained consistent from 2010-
2012

Their test scores decreased in all

areas from the 2010-2011 school
year to the next.

Avondale is a Title I
school therefore there
are resources available
for the parents.
Avondale Elementary
School offers after
school care for students
that need it.
Each teacher had a
Promethean Board in
his or her classroom.
Go Math was the chosen
math curriculum.
Avondale Elementary
School has an extensive
garden that the students
are able to work in and
benefit from.
The teachers at
Avondale Elementary
School had Professional
Development
opportunities available
to them.
In 2010, Avondales 5th
grade math and reading
scores were above
benchmark.
The 4th grade all have
interactive whiteboards
The 4th grade shares a
set of chrome books.

In 2010, Avondales 4th

grade math scores were
below benchmark.
Low expectations of
students

Do not have strong

support staff

Initiatives and
School
Improvement
Plans

STEAM
Professional Development
Opportunities (EdCamp)

Response to
Intervention (RTI)

Parent
Involvement

PTO
Parent Volunteers

Parent Improvement
Program

Accountability
Resources

Progress monitoring

Continuous
Improvement Plan (CIP)

Support Personnel

Three Title I teachers

ELL teacher
Two ESE Instructional Support
Occupational Therapist
Speech Pathologist
School Counselor
Ms. Joyner (Technology/STEAM
Leader)

Reading and Math coach

Special Education
Teacher
School Counselor
Technology Teacher

Team grade level meetings

Data meetings with
administration

Teacher
Collaboration

Weekly grade level team

meetings

Data Analysis and Action Plan for Trace Crossings Elementary School
Trace Crossings Elementary is a Pre-K-4th grade Hoover City School. In 2010-2011, the
school administered the ARMT standardized test. While reviewing Trace Crossings data for 4th
grade during the academic school year of 2010-2011, we noticed several interesting observations
in the reading and math scores. When analyzing the 4th grade data, we recognized a few differences
between Poverty and Non-Poverty and White vs. Black students. Students from a poverty
background scored 42.9%, whereas Non-Poverty students scored 68.7%. Non-Poverty students
exceeded expectations greater than their peers from a less affluent background. 74.6% of white
students scored about benchmark in regards to their math scores, while 42.4% of black students
were proficient. We found this difference interesting between both race and socioeconomics, and
we then looked further into the cause of the different test scores. This data tells us that there is a
distinct difference in the performance at Trace Crossings with students who live in Poverty versus
Non-Poverty as well as a difference in test scores regarding race. We also noticed a difference in
reading test scores in these same subgroups. Non-Poverty students scored 80.6% and Poverty
students scoring 57.1%. White students scores were 81.8%, and Black students scores were 63.6%
proficient. Once again there is a distinct difference in student test scores. Even though these scores
were not below benchmark, we questioned the cause of the difference in test scores. This data tells
us that students from lower income homes perform lower on standardized tests. Students from
lower income homes are generally minority students, explaining why Black students had lower
scores than their White peers. After viewing this data, we began to ask what is impacting these test
scores and what can be done to make improvements.
First, we concentrated on the attendance at Trace Crossings and the transient student
records. Overall, students are in class and present at school, but it cannot be said that attendance is
100% every day of the year. There are also a lot of new students throughout the year. In my time at
Trace Crossings, I experienced three students leave the school to move somewhere else, and I also

witnessed two new students join the classroom I was observing in March. While this is just one
classroom, it was present across the school. This change in attendance at the school has an affect on
the test scores that are achieved.
Next, we began to look at the poverty level of the school. As seen in the test scores
previously mentioned, poverty has an impact on the student growth and achievement. Not only do
we see this in the test scores, but it has also been proven through research. ASCD says,
Socioeconomic status forms a huge part of this equation. Children raised in poverty rarely choose
to behave differently, but they are faced daily with overwhelming challenges that affluent children
never have to confront, and their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that
undermine good school performance. Trace Crossings has a mixture of low income families and
families that are affluent. In 2011, this school had 34% of their students on free and reduced
lunches. Because this number is large enough to make an impact on data, it can be observed how
this amount of poverty will affect the test scores of Trace Crossings. Living in a lower
socioeconomic home can put stress on children and influence the development of those children.
While some schools may use this information as an excuse, this knowledge should make teachers
and administration work that much harder to give these students more opportunities to grow
academically.
Not only do these students home lives affect their academic success, but the morale of the
teachers does as well. Currently, teacher morale is on the higher end and in favor of the students.
Teachers attend teacher workshops learning how to better implement STEAM into their classroom
and how to use new effective strategies to benefit student learning. While teachers strive to use
hands on learning for their students, they still make excuses for certain students and could improve
in this area. Many times teachers do not give their students that are struggling enough support in
the classroom. Trace Crossings has an ELL teacher who will pull students from the class in order to
work with them. Some teachers tend to rely on the ELL teacher to give these students the extra

support they need, but in reality, these students need that support in the classroom from their
teachers as well.
An initiative that has been recently implemented at Trace Crossings is STEAM education.
While this type of education has been able to spark an interest in learning for students, there is still
a lot more that needs to be done for this type of learning to make the greatest impact it could make
on student growth. While teachers have attended STEAM workshops, there needs to be more
guidance on how they can implement this type of education into their classrooms and curriculum.
Trace has a STEAM teacher who works with the students during the week as a Special, but it needs
to be seen throughout the classrooms. While it is continuing to be researched and tested, STEAM
has the power to create deeper thinking in students and spark a new love for education. Deron
Cameron from TCSS says, STEAM represents a paradigm shift from traditional education
philosophy, based on standardized test scores, to a modern ideal which focuses on valuing the
learning process as much as the results. In essence, we dare our students to be wrong, to try
multiple ideas, listen to alternate opinions and create a knowledge base that is applicable to real life
as opposed to simply an exam. If Trace Crossings teachers will adapt this type of learning in their
classrooms, they will be able to see a more cohesive impact of STEAM in the school. Teachers need
support and resources from the administration in order to fully accomplish this task.
Overall, an action plan for Trace Crossings would consist of several elements. In order to
impact and improve student attendance, having communication with parents could be a benefit for
this issue. If parents feel involved and a part of their childs classroom, they will have more
motivation to make sure their child is attending daily. Not only can parent communication improve
attendance, but it could also impact support from parents to children at home. In order to improve
teacher morale throughout the school, teachers need to be given more resources and support in
knowing how to improve their students growth in learning. With this extra support, the teachers
will have more motivation to be an effective teacher and meet their students needs. Along with

these resources and support, teachers need to have enough guidance with STEAM education to
know how to implement it well in their classrooms. Giving teachers more opportunities to learn
how to implement STEAM into their classrooms and providing them with lessons or other problem
based learning activities would give the teachers more support that they need. If the teachers of
Trace Crossings will teach with effective strategies and resources and care about each and every
students success, there could be improvements in the education of these students.

Trace Crossings Elementary School Parent Letter

Dear Trace Crossings 4th grade Parents and Guardians,

We are sending you this letter to inform you of the results we have recently received
from the Alabama Reading and Math Test (ARMT). We find it important to keep all of our
parents and guardians informed on the results that have been collected regarding the
2010-2012 ARMT. The primary purpose of ARMT is to assess students mastery of state
content standards in reading and mathematics. This test is given to students in the 3rd
grade through 8th grade. After recently looking at the school wide reading and math scores
for the 4th grade, we have noticed that we are facing some challenges. Despite the decline in
test scores, we are positive that this problem will be fixed, and we are ready to implement
new strategies to help us improve student test scores for the next year.
After reviewing the data, we as a school administration have put together a plan of
action for this upcoming school year. We are aware that the reading and math scores have
decreased overall. We have also noticed a difference between subgroups of economic levels
and ethnicities. We want you to know that we are looking and striving to improve these
areas in order to better our school and most importantly our students. Trace Crossings is a
school with an increasingly diverse population of learners and cultural backgrounds. In
order to serve the needs of our students, we plan on implementing instructional practices
for our teachers in order to best serve the students. In addition in order to increase reading
and math scores, a reading and math coach will be more involved with helping the
classroom teacher in planning and working with students. We have been provided with
numerous resources in order to help make learning easier for students. In order to do so
we are able to provide students with hands-on opportunities. By implementing a Maker

studio and encouraging the use of STEAM in the school, we believe that we can make a
great change in our students test scores.
We want to encourage student learning not only inside the school but at home as
well. We would love to have all of our parents support. Thank you for all that you do for
our students. We are working very hard to ensure that your students are getting the
education they need. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know
and we will do our best to assist you. As we progress through the school year, we will
continue to keep you updated with the progress the students are making.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Harding, CaDric Moulton, Julia Sansom, and Rebecca Hastings

Data Analysis and Action Plan for Avondale Elementary School

Avondale Elementary School is a preschool through 5th grade Birmingham City School
located in downtown Birmingham. Their mission is to provide an environment that accepts,
teaches, challenges, and creatively inspires students. There are approximately 530 of students that
and attend and 34 teachers at Avondale Elementary. The students that attend come from
predominantly low-income homes. Avondale is classified as a Title I school, and 87% of their
population is on free and reduced lunch. Avondale receives additional Title I funding from the state
of Alabama that is dedicated to specific areas of schools improvement.

One of the ways that Avondale Elementary seeks to improve their school and test
scores is having a specific attendance plan. This plan includes incentives that are aimed to
motivate the students to attend school regularly. Attendance is a key component to student
achievement. Many issues can occur if the students do not attend school on a regular basis.
Inconsistency in school attendance can cause students to significantly fall behind in their
schoolwork, lose motivation, and develop a dislike for school. In extreme cases of low
attendance, truancy could become an issue. Truancy is when students are absent from
school for a large number of days without an excuse. When the students were taking the
ACT Aspire tests, the teachers asked the parents to have their child at school each day and
have them arrive on time. The childs absence or tardiness not only affected the teachers
but also other students. Avondale addresses the issue of attendance through an attendance
plan that provides rewards for students that have a good attendance record. Students who
showed up each day for testing received candy that week and were praised for coming.
Avondale Elementary currently has 530 students enrolled in school. Of these
students, 87% qualify for free and reduced lunch. A large number of the students at
Avondale come from low-income backgrounds. Poverty can cause extreme stress on whole

families affecting the childs cognitive development and therefore impacting test scores.
Children who are born into low-income homes hear one third fewer words than children
who are raised in higher income home. Decades of research concludes that children in
low-income families typically enter school with poorer language skills the language gap
and they often score more than two years behind on standardized language development
tests by the time they enter school (Urban Child Institute, 2014). This is something that
effects the population of Avondale Elementary because of the district they live in.
One of the ways that Avondale Elementary works to include parents into their
students education is through the use of the Parent Improvement Plan. This plan is
purposed to include students into the daily functions of the school. Many times parents do
not get involved in the school that their child attends due to a lack of understanding of
where help and assistance is needed. Parents also have a limited amount of time to
dedicate because of busy work schedules, and managing family life. This plan provides
practical ways for families to get involved in a realistic way. For example, part of the
Avondale Parent Improvement Plan is the implementation of Parents University. Parents
University is comprised of a series of parent seminars on topics concerning education. For
instance, the second seminar provided on October 24th was entitled Math Taking Tips.
The 3rd grade teacher team led the seminar. Parent involvement is a key piece to student
achievement. A journal entitled Parent Involvement and Student Academic Achievement by
Xitao Fan and Michael Chen confirmed through their studies that when students whose
parents are actively involved in their education are overwhelmingly more successful in
school (Fan, 2001).

Teachers are one the main factors that impact student achievement. One consistent
finding of academic research is that high expectations are the most reliable driver of high
student achievement, even in students who do not have a history of successful
achievement (Lemov, 2010). At Avondale we saw low teacher morale due to the behavior
of students and lack of support staff. We believe this is one reason why students test scores
are low. When teachers take the time to intentionally praise and encourage students
achievement has been shown to heighten.
Through our research and observations we have created an action plan that will
seek to provide professional development for the teachers at Avondale Elementary. We
also think that additional funding for more support staff would be beneficial in improving
the student achievement rate and supporting the teachers. We plan to implement effective
professional development at Avondale Elementary through the use of online seminars such
as NASSP. This online resource will provide a cost effective option for teachers to further
their knowledge of instruction. This website also provides a wide variety of professional
development options therefore teachers will be able to select helpful resources that are
specific to their needs. We believe that the implementation of professional development
with impact overall student achievement at Avondale Elementary. We plan to receive
funding through the use of grants to provide the needed funds to hire an additional reading
and math teacher at Avondale. There is a wide variety of grants available for Title I schools
that we would utilize to provide this additional support. We believe that they the additional
intervention and instruction that would be provided through the use of a reading and math
coach would greatly impact students overall achievement in math and reading.

Avondale Elementary School Parent Letter

Hello Avondale 4th Grade Parents and Guardians,

Avondale Elementary School recently completed that Alabama Reading and Math

test (ARMT). After analyzing the data we have determined our schools strengths and
weaknesses. Students test scores in reading and math between the 2010-2011 school year
and the 2011-2012 school year increased. Although they improved we are pleased with the
achievements of our fourth grade students, we feel that there are areas that need
improvement in order to boost standardized test scores. We have created a practical and
effective action plan to strengthen areas that need improvement.

After consulting the administration, we have decided to implement additional

professional development and plan to bring on more support staff. We believe that if
teachers are more equipped, they will be able to better instruct students and that student
achievement will rise. We wanted to inform you all of this decision and ask for your
support. Our teachers work hard to educate your children and we want to see them reach
their highest potential. We look forward to implementing a new online professional
development program and begin writing grants for funds to hire additional math and
reading coaches to work with students.
We want to say a big thank you to each of you. We believe that the most effective
form of education occurs when teachers and parents collaborate together. Thank you for
collaborating with us and working together to keep the students our focus and priority.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Harding, CaDric Moulton, Julia Sansom, and Rebecca Hastings

References:
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on The Path to
College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analys. (n.d.).
Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1009048817385
Professional Learning | NASSP. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
https://www.nassp.org/professional-learning?SSO=true
The Opportunity Gap: Avondale Elementary School. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://projects.propublica.org/schools/schools/10039000103
Urban Child Institute. (2014, February 3). Is Your Child Worth an Investment of 30 Million?
Retrieved May 10, 2016, from
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/perceptions/is-your-child-worth-an-
investment-of-30-million