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Learn to find and use data to improve educational outcomes for students

No Child Left Behind and Education YES! require all school administrators to be "data driven" What does that mean? Educators need to know and understand how to use data to improve educational outcomes for students. Data is not only crucial for school improvement planning and action, but also for other initiatives such as grant and bond proposals and for NCA accreditation.

Use MEAP data to measure the gap.

Michigan State University's Data Services Unit, in the Office of K-12 Outreach, can help your district:

Learn to use a variety of data sources, including the Single Record Student Database, Census of Population and Housing, MEAP scores and other sources to collect relevant data.

Link building and district test scores with curriculum standards, benchmarks and grade-level expectations.

Disaggregate and analyze data to create a comprehensive picture for program planning.

Use data for short and long range planning for individual students, classes, schools, and the district.

Determine the indicators that will be useful to parents, educators, and community members for school improvement planning and action.

Train staff to use data more effectively to impact teaching and learning.

Find best practices by examining "beat the odds" schools.

Complete a profile for NCA - North Central Accreditation.

Prepare for school bond or mileage proposals.

Find and compile data for grant proposals.

Make effective presentations of data and information.

Effective decision making must be based on realistic and detailed information about how students and their schools are performing now. Data driven decision making requires the collection and analysis of appropriate data about school and student performance and other school and community indicators. This information is critical for determining the goals and objectives of the district, and making decisions about where the district wants to be and what it will take to get there.

Display community characteristics.

The Data Services Unit Provides :

Hands-on Workshops (offered at MSU or on site):

Workshop 1: Data for Educational Decision Making: Information for No Child Left Behind and Education Yes! This all-day workshop will help you find data and transform it into useable information. A comprehensive workbook will guide you through the maze of data available from the state and federal agencies - and more importantly, illustrate how the data might be embedded in the school improvement process and used to inform decision making.

Workshop 2: Data Analysis 101: Turning Your District's Data into Information and Developing Strong Presentations (2 days): Participants will use their own school district data from the Census and other longitudinal data sources to develop charts and graphs. At the end of the two days, you will have a finished presentation that can be used to inform discussions in buildings, the district, and the larger school community. At the end of the training, you will be an Excel and PowerPoint wizard!

Workshop 3: Census 101: Utilizing the Census of Population and Housing (1 day): Education is inextricably linked to demographic trends. School districts that take the time to analyze demographic, social and economic data will be better equipped to restructure their educational programs, find the data they need for grant applications, or develop an NCA profile.

Additional workshops, tailored to your district's or building's needs, can be designed by request.

Average 3 years of MEAP data to show annual progress.

On Site Consultation

Bettie Landauer-Menchik, of the Data Services Unit, will provide on-site consulting services for districts and building teams. She has 20 years of experience in data analysis and specializes in helping districts turn data into useful information. She counsels districts on how to best employ data driven decision making for systemic school improvement.

Testimonials:

"The format of the workshop was perfect. We were all excited to start using the pieces that best fit our needs and the format was flexible enough to accommodate that growth."

"Our consultant worked one on one with our administrative staff; she analyzed our data in a way that empowered school leaders to rethink our goals and objectives in light of NCLB."

"The graphs and charts provided helped our school bond committee understand the demographic changes in our community. The consultant is helping us frame a bond proposal that has a realistic chance of being supported by the community."


Bettie Landauer-Menchik of the Data Services Unit in the College of
Education's Office of K-12 Outreach at Michigan State University, is a research analyst and applied demographer. She has extensive experience in assisting people find and apply statistical and demographic information they need for their schools, communities and projects. Bettie has been a demographer for 20 years and has worked on projects with the Center for Demographic Policy in Washington, D.C., the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, and the Education Policy Center at MSU. She served as policy analyst at the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, coordinated the Michigan Database of social, economic and demographic information, and has done hundreds of demographic presentations and trainings for a broad cross section of organizations. She is now applying her knowledge and skills exclusively to help schools use data more effectively for school improvement, and to comply with the new requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
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