3/25/2020

How Data-Driven Plans Can Increase Teacher Effectiveness

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) is committed to using student performance data to inform instructional design. For educators, however, using assessment data to personalize instruction can often be a challenge. Yearly state-mandated assessments and universal screenings only give teachers and educational leaders a snapshot of a student’s profile, and can be skewed by day-of-testing factors that can influence the outcome: test anxiety, lack of sleep, hunger, etc.

Liz Brooke, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Chief Learning Officer, Lexia, writes, “we present teachers with a rather daunting task: giving them massive amounts of data and expecting them to determine ‘how does this data affect my instructional plan for tomorrow?’ Unraveling that challenge begins with a solid understanding of how to use assessment data to clearly define a profile of each student’s strengths and weaknesses.”

When teachers have access to real-time data, they can better predict a student’s probability of meeting end-of-year benchmarks, and prioritize additional instruction for those students who may be struggling. Lexia® Core5® Reading, Lexia’s research-proven personalized literacy instructional program, is an adaptive, technology-based literacy program for students of all abilities in grades pre-K–5. Core5 supports and aligns with the NYC DOE’s goals to help students become proficient readers and confident learners, while also taking the heavy lifting off of teachers through:

• Real-time Assessment Without Testing® 

• Personalized learning paths

• Supplemental instructional materials for individual and small group discussion

• Data-driven, easy to interpret interventions

Students Make Progress Through Personalized Learning
 

As students work within Core5, the program adapts based on their responses. Each activity incorporates instructional branching, allowing students to work independently, and offering immediate support only when needed. Progress bars, animations, and the ability to repeat directions further strengthen students’ self-monitoring and executive functioning skills. To support autonomy for English language learners, directions for Core5 are available in Spanish, Mandarin, Haitain Creole, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Assessment Without Testing® 
 

As students work within Core5, real-time performance data is collected through Lexia’s patented embedded assessment tool, Assessment Without Testing®. Educators can access their students’ data reports online via myLexia.com on a computer, phone, or tablet.

Within these myLexia reports, a data-driven action plan is provided for each student, helping teachers focus their attention on those who need the most support. This action plan identifies the skill areas in which the student is currently working, their completed levels, as well as the skills they may need teacher-led instruction to master.
 

Teacher Support
 

Teachers often lack time and resources to adapt their instruction for students of all abilities from diverse backgrounds. With Core5, teachers can access their class’ data to inform small group instruction through scripted, targeted offline materials for face-to-face instruction and student practice. These instructional materials — such as Lexia® Close Reads, Lexia Lessons®, and Lexia Skill Builders® — fit seamlessly into existing classroom models to help teachers’ address each student’s specific needs and provide direct instruction where students need it most.
 

The Results Are In
 

For NYC teachers and administrators, having students’ performance data at their fingertips has tremendously helped their efforts to accelerate literacy gains. During the 2018-19 school year, New York City students of all abilities made substantial progress in Core5:

• The percentage of students who were classified as working at or above grade level nearly doubled by June (increased from 51% to 88%).

• More than half of students (68%) reached their grade level benchmark in Core5. 

• Most students who started below grade level substantially reduced their risk of reading failure, ending the year working on skills at or above their grade-level benchmark in Core5 (reduced from 49% to 12%).