Evaluating data for inquiries

Today's PLG for our CoL teachers focussed on how we analyse data. There were definitely a lot of great learning which I took away from the PLG. 

I have always thought about collecting data as qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative giving more statistical information with numerical values and qualitative where the information is more categorial. Today Naomi Rosedale did share that there are ways to analyse qualitative data to give more numerical information. I am booking a time to meet with her so she can give me more support in doing this. 

Data is really important in our teaching as inquiry. Whenever I analyse students data, there are always so many questions and wondering which come to mind when looking at data especially over a number of years. I always say that data tell a story about what is happening for our students and also our teaching as teachers. 

This year, because my sample group are our teachers, I have collected my profiling data using surveys and also quantitative data from the assessments of the target students in each teachers' group. As we are heading towards end of year assessments, I am very keen to see what the summative data will show in the students' assessments and also the end of year qualitative data from my sample group of teachers. 

"Just saying they have made progress because they have a higher test score or jumped xxx levels is not enough.

Need to compare to something more than just pre and post test data.

Are the learners in your target group making progress in comparison to... Norm, Data from last year, other comparative learners in school/cluster?" (PLG slide 63)

The information above from our PLG slides highlights the importance of comparing the achievement of our students to the norm, past data and also learners in other schools and clusters. I think this is important because if we just compare our students by themselves, then we will not know how they are achieving compared to other learners in the cluster or NZ. 

The template above from our PLG slides is one way we can compare our student data with the norm and a comparison group.