7/14/2024

How Leadership Can Leverage District Data Assessment for Literacy Change (Part 1)

The roles and responsibilities of the district administrator have evolved in recent years as dynamics in and around education become more complex. 

While continuing to lead through long-standing obstacles like budget shortfalls and teacher turnover, district administrators are also balancing resources to more effectively promote equity and inclusion, address parent and community concerns in an increasingly politicized environment, keep learning environments safe in an era of school violence, stay up to date on trends in educational policy and changes in legislation—and more.

As a result, it’s an extremely demanding and stressful job with high turnover. Many district leaders find themselves needing to quickly get up to speed with the specific needs of their districts—and little experience in managing districtwide initiatives.

One universal area of concern for district administrators is the growing literacy opportunity gap. Whether or not they have the bandwidth to keep up with the evolving intricacies of literacy education, administrators are aware of the wave of legislation sweeping the U.S. outlawing outdated modes of literacy instruction and requiring approaches to literacy education to be evidence-based and grounded in the science of reading.

So, where can a district leader begin as they take their first steps toward improving literacy education in their district? What are the steps from here to successful implementation in school districts of all sizes?

This is the first of a three-part blog series focused on actionable steps district administrators can take to move in the direction of successful implementation, including:

1. Performing a needs-based district data assessment
2. Assessing solutions and creating an implementation plan
3. Initiating implementation

This blog series will also examine the specific experience of one new district administrator who successfully implemented a project and got it up and running within four years of starting her new role.

Why a Needs Assessment is Critical

Any time district leaders consider a significant and sweeping change, they must first develop a deep understanding of the needs driving that change. By uncovering successes and challenges, district administrators will better understand what types of shifts will foster improved performance across the board. A needs assessment helps administrators identify gaps so they can begin considering appropriate solutions and developing an appropriate implementation plan.

Ultimately, the data doesn’t lie. District leaders can seek out and analyze existing data they already have at their disposal, and they can also launch additional research as needed to get a full picture of the current state of affairs. Before solving the problems, the full extent of the problems needs to be understood.

Once district leaders have a comprehensive view of the district's overall performance, they have a “before” picture they can more readily transform into a successful “after.” 

What Are the Components of a Needs Assessment?

By examining existing practices and systems in depth, administrators can gain insight into the effectiveness of existing resources and better align current policies with desired outcomes.

Here are a few ideas about ways to perform a needs assessment:

Pull Existing Student Testing Data

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when district administrators already have access to so much data. This data should provide insight into how well students are performing relative to grade level and where the gaps are.

1. Beginning with the big picture: How many students’ literacy scores are on track relative to grade-level expectations? This is a snapshot of the present moment and the point of departure.
2. Then, looking at prior academic years, determine whether scores are trending up or down over time. The data can be viewed through the lens of academic years, individual teachers, specific populations of students, and even an individual student throughout the course of their educational years.
3. Investigate the answers to questions like:
   • Are specific populations more at risk than others for reading difficulties and lower scores? 
   • What kind of effect did events like the COVID-19 pandemic have on overall performance? 
   • When was the last time a new literacy approach was adopted in the district, and how did that influence test scores over time?
4. Drilling into specific areas of deficiency can help district administrators clarify where they need to focus. With a good understanding of the data, they can craft a compelling story to share with key stakeholders in the district as leaders work toward solutions.

Gather Input From Teachers

How do district educators feel about the way things are going? Are they enthusiastic or resistant to making changes? What do they think about test scores and the picture they paint about student progress? 

1. Teachers have profound insight into what’s going on in classrooms—and that insight can be extremely useful to district leaders. This qualitative data lends depth, humanity, and anecdotal details to the story told by the quantitative performance data discussed above. Teachers are also critical to the success of any transformative solution, so their contributions can help shape the plan and increase their buy-in.
2. Administrators can go on a “listening tour,” sitting in on classrooms, meeting one-on-one with teachers, and developing trusted relationships to open lines of communication with those who interact with students daily. 
3. Another option is to run written surveys via a simple (and free) application like Google Forms, where they not only capture teacher perspectives about what problems need solving and why—but they can help administrators identify and recruit experts with insight into the latest research and specific training or skills that would benefit the district. These talented educators could become champions, run committees, assist with training and implementation, and more.

Review Curriculum Resources

Now, it’s time to connect the dots between curriculum resources and student performance. This is another lens through which to examine current educational practices and how well they align with desired outcomes. What part do learning materials play in districtwide literacy?

1. By looking at student performance data in the years immediately following the adoption of current resources, district administrators can evaluate how student performance changed (or didn’t change) and whether a shift is warranted. When gathering input from teachers, administrators can specifically ask their opinions about the current curriculum—how well is it working? What do they like and dislike about it and why? What are they hearing from students about their experiences?
2. School leaders can also evaluate the content of the learning resources to determine how well it aligns with the latest research in literacy education. Is the approach up to date? Is the material inclusive and timely? Are technology resources user-friendly and easily integrated into districtwide systems?
3. Finally, administrators can assess whether educators have access to professional learning opportunities—and whether these are aligned with the curriculum. A lack of professional learning opportunities that align with student learning can be enough of a disconnect to throw student performance off track.

How One District Managed the Needs Assessment

When Ebone Johnson joined Columbus City Schools as supervisor of literacy and library services, the district had already been conducting research with the support of the Ohio Department of Education to shift toward evidence-based literacy instruction. 

Johnson hit the ground running. She began by asking, “What would be the best method for engaging our teachers in a way that will have the greatest impact on student achievement?” She knew they needed to support every student in 75 elementary schools, and providing educators with professional learning would be the best way to ensure each pupil received the instruction they needed. 

The data helped her and her team demonstrate that the current methods, in most cases following a balanced literacy approach, worked for some students but not the majority. The need to re-evaluate and make adjustments was evident. Having the data and presenting it clearly and persuasively helped the team gain buy-in and determine priorities.

Johnson recognized she couldn’t be an expert in every area and would need support. Columbus City Schools is the largest district in Ohio, so she knew there would be experts of many kinds within the district. “We started the work with our internal team, so our literacy coordinators, and as we began the work, we added people who were champions,” Johnson said about developing the expert team. She also began to look at the existing curriculum to more deeply understand what wasn’t working.

The research led Johnson and her team to conclude science of reading-based professional learning for every elementary teacher was the missing link—and, In 2021, the team decided to shift from balanced literacy to a Structured Literacy approach—and a whole new way to train teachers.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 to learn more about what happened next on the Columbus City Schools implementation journey!

More from Ebone Johnson

Check out Ebone Johnson’s appearance in our Science of Reading Week 2024 panel, “District Administrators: Create an Ecosystem for Science of Reading Instruction,” where she discusses the transition in detail with Micki Ray, chief academic officer for the Kentucky Department of Education, a leader in policy development for improving instruction and learning for K–12 schools, and Kerri Larkin, Lexia® senior education advisor.

Read the full series

Part 2: How District Leaders Can Identify and Plan for Science of Reading District Solutions 

Read part 2

Part 3: How Leaders Can Approach a Science of Reading-Based District Implementation

Read part 3