DRAMATIC ACADEMIC GROWTH
Despite the ever expanding list of proverbial hats that teachers wear on any given day, one that remains consistent both in expectation from administration and in implementation within the classroom is a facilitator of dramatic academic growth. And for good reason. Although social, emotional, and mental practices are incredibly important, the best indicator of student success after school is their academic abilities. Therefore, in order to best prepare my students for success - academically and beyond - I utilize a variety of data in order to inform my instruction and best practices. These include both quantitative and qualitative measures of academic growth
QUANTITATIVE
Quantitative data provides me with a snapshot of where my students are academically at various points throughout the year. I utilize data from theses online assessments, called iReady, in order to inform future instruction and make the most positive change within my students as possible in the short time that they have with me.
QUALITATIVE
Qualitative growth is demonstrated through my analysis of student writing samples at the beginning, middle, and end of the academic school year. In conjunction with quantitative data, this provides me with a holistic picture of where my students began and ended after 180 instructional days in my classroom.
In order to facilitate substantial growth within the academic community, teachers must be reflective and strategic with every aspect of their teaching practices. By administering and reflecting upon the data of both quantitative assessments as well as deeply analyzing growth demonstrated through qualitative measures, I am able to emphasize the important skills and understandings in my instruction while utilizing data-driven measures to fill any instructional gaps that may be present in each cohort of students.
In using both quantitative and qualitative measures to analyze and facilitate deeper academic growth, I am ensuring that each and every student is met at their academic level in order to promote as much academic progress as possible.