DATA USE SERVICES

PCG-CRM provides comprehensive Data Use Services that facilitate systemic, purposeful, and sustained uses of data at district, school, and classroom levels. These services are designed to help district and school leaders effectively address three core areas of effective data use: Data Quality, Data Capacity, and Data Culture. Our approach incorporates building organizational readiness and capacity, building literacy around data analysis and various types of assessments, integrating data use into school reform initiatives, and data-driven action planning.

Key features of PCG-CRM Data Use Services are:

• The Data Quality, Capacity, and Culture Audit (QC²)

• A structured inquiry-driven approach to data use

• An emphasis on deep data disaggregation to support meaningful analysis and action

• Professional development to build the data use skills of district and school teams

The QC² Audit

The QC² Audit engages district and school staff in examining current uses of data, and is an important first step in the process of establishing a district and school-wide culture of data use. The QC² Audit includes the use of a Data Inventory and School Culture Profile to capture: the range of data used in schools, access to data, additional needs for data, how data could be used more effectively, existing structures and practices that support a data use culture; and barriers to data use. In addition to providing valuable information, the QC² Audit provides districts and schools with a model for efficiently and systematically examining core elements of data quality, capacity, and culture.

A Structured Inquiry-Driven Approach

PCG-CRM data services include 1) defining Essential Questions about student performance and school effectiveness, and 2) a structured inquiry process to foster purposeful analysis and action. When the dialogue about school effectiveness is driven by important questions about student performance, school staff will ask for more extensive data on factors that affect student success. Clearly focused questions become a key stimulus for involving school teams in a structured collaborative inquiry process that engages everyone who has a stake in student success to look deeply at student progress and the effects of school policies, beliefs, programs, and practices on student performance. To facilitate the work of leadership/data teams, PCG-CRM provides examples of Essential Questions that are tied to an examination of equity, program effectiveness, and continuous improvement.

Deep Disaggregation

The depth of data use called for in today’s education arena requires deep disaggregation that allows an examination of outcome and achievement results for sub-populations and programs, coupled with timely access to data displays that facilitate analysis and use. PCG-CRM helps districts assess their data system capability in this area, which requires versatility in linking outcome, program, and student variables. We utilize PCG-CRM’s Socrates Data System to model and provide this type of data system support in our data services projects with districts and schools where additional support is needed. Socrates is a highly flexible and robust relational database application that provides immediate data warehousing capability and rapid generation of data reports. The Socrates Data System can integrate data from any student information system, state assessment files, diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring files, locally developed assessments, and other sources, and link all data to individual students. Setting up a Socrates Data System to incorporate all of the user-defined variables desired can be done with no additional programming required.

Professional Development

PCG-CRM provides professional development sessions that address multiple aspects of data use, and build the capacity of district and school personnel to lead and facilitate the use of data for continuous improvement. Training is provided for school and district teams, data teams, instructional coaches, data coaches, administrators, and teacher representatives. Professional development topics include: using essential questions as a focus for data use and data analysis; developing assessment literacy; utilizing protocols for structuring data use conversations; overcoming barriers and resistance to data use; creating structures that support collaboration and communication; developing data-driven action plans. PCG-CRM staff also provide ongoing coaching support for Leadership Teams, including co-facilitating data use sessions with school level data teams.