Same resources better student outcomes - adapted webinar deck

Same Resources, Better Student Outcomes: Finding Inefficiencies with Data

Introductions

Nisha GargPrincipal AssociateEducation Resource

Strategies

Mariel MatzeCommunity Manager

Schoolzilla

1. Learn how to diagnose the alignment of current resources to strategic priorities

2. Assess where your school system is strong, and where it can grow the most

3. Consider potential solutions to take back to your teams

Learning Outcomes

The Call to Action: Allocate resources to

boost student achievement

Most schools organize people, time, and money the same as they did 50+ years ago

One teacher per class

20-30 students per

classStudying a particular

subject

For a set period of time (e.g., 50

min/day)

For a set duration (e.g.,

full year)

© Education Resource Strategies

FROM:A one-size-fits-all learning

environment that holds everyone back.

School Design

TO: A re-imagined school day with

new schedules, dynamic groupings and targeted instruction.


Every year, schools make designs on how to allocate resources through a seemingly similar process

Clarify the

VisionAssess

the NeedDesign

the Strategy

Make it Work

Implement

& Monitor

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

Throughout the process, strategic leaders reflect and revise initial answers and approach each

step with a willingness to make trade-offs.


A typical needs assessment or gap analysis includes…

▪Academic Performance: Student performance trends, growth, and proficiency▪Student Culture: Survey data,

absences, suspensions▪Adult Culture: Survey data, teacher

absenteeismNeeds assessments often miss Current Resource Use

How have we configured the resources in our school, or district, to support improvement in academics or culture? What structures

exist? What structures are missing?


ERS’ Strategic School Design Essentials


Resource levers to strategically support students’ most urgent needs include:

● Reductions in group size ● Maximizing total scheduled time● Increased time in priority content

area● Reduced teacher loads● Changes to teacher assignment

in a particular content area● Increase teacher planning time

Pause and ponder

Has your district attempted to leverage any of these resource levers? If so, which ones?

A. Reductions in group size B. Maximizing total scheduled timeC. Increased time in priority content areaD. Reduced teacher loadsE. Changes to teacher assignment in a particular content areaF. Increase teacher planning time G. None of the above

Improving student outcomes via strategic

resource allocation

▪Goal: Proactively support students in their transition between middle school and high school

District A:

Reviewing the Data

▪Goal: Proactively support students in their transition between middle school and high school

▪Class sizes are largest in 9th grade, and progressively get smaller throughout the upper grades

Making MeaningAcross the country, this trend persists. It’s often a byproduct of:

▪ Reduced enrollment in upper grades

▪ Additional course offerings for electives in upper grades, resulting in more, smaller classes

▪ 11th/12th grade students are under-scheduled

▪In District A, we saw that enrollment decline over the years was one factor in the class size variations in grades 9-12...

Enrollment by Grade

Novice Team Assignment

▪9th graders were most likely to have a novice teacher in core subjects and nearly twice as likely to have a novice teacher than 12th graders 9 10 11 12

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

49%

36%29%

27%

Novice Teacher Assignment

% Novice Teachers (Core Sub-jects)District Average

Grades%

Nov

ice

Teac

hers

35%

… beyond that, upon reviewing their resource use data, District A realized 12th grade students were also often under-scheduled for a portion of the school day

Instructional Time

Action Implications

Upon a full review of data, District A supported schools in:▪ Reassigning additional teachers to 9th grade

sections by reducing total sections in 12th grade▪ Evaluating online/virtual learning options to

maintain the breadth of electives to 12th grade students

▪ Improving guidance support to 12th grade students to ensure students are taking a full course load

▪Goal: Improve supports in ELA and Math by reducing teacher loads

▪To support this goal, School X double blocks ELA and Math classes in an effort to reduce the total number of students an ELA or Math teacher sees in a given year

School X:

▪Despite, similar structures in ELA and Math, Math teachers in School X see 1.5x as many students as ELA teachers

Reviewing the Data

▪When compared to other schools in the district, the higher than average teacher load in Math became even more apparent

Reviewing the Data

Upon a full review of data, School X:▪ Revised student assignment practices in

Math classes to ensure students were paired with the same teacher across multiple sections

▪ Provided additional administrative support to Math teachers to reduce strain of teacher load

Action Implications

Stay in Touch!ERS is hiring in Boston and the Bay

Area!https://www.erstrategies.org/info/careers

Thank you!