School Improvement

Planning
Assessing Teacher Learning
Needs

Session 1

Session 2

School Improvement Planning/SEF

LINK
Area of Planning
Literacy
Numeracy

Programs and Pathways

Community Culture and
Caring

Category of School
Effectiveness Indicator
1. Assessment for, of, and as
Learning
2. School and Classroom
Leadership
3. Curriculum, Teaching, and
Learning
1.

Programs and Pathways

4. Student Voice
5. Home School and Community
Partnerships

Helen Timperley, Using assessment data for improving, teaching

practice , University of Auckland, New Zealand

The only
way to
increase
student
achievemen
t is to
change
classroom
practice.

Principal
leadership is
second only
to classroom
practice on
impacting
student
7
achievement

St
ud
of
th
e

TASK

ge

Ro
le

led
ow
Kn
rs
he
ac
Te ills
Sk

en
ts

The Instructional Core Elmore

an
d

Content

Three Ways to improve student learning at scale

1.Increase the level of knowledge and

skill that the teacher brings to the
instructional process.
2.Increase the level of complexity of
the content that students are asked
to learn.
3.Change the role of the student in the
instructional process.

Effective Schools are coherent

learning environments for adults
and students.
Coherence means that adults agree
on what they are trying to accomplish
with students and that adults are
consistent from classroom to
classroom in their expectations for
what students are expected to learn.
Coherent learning environments
cannot exist in incoherent
organizations
( Leithwoods concept of Planful
Alignment its all about planning and

10

Schools &Teachers
Make a Difference
Entering

Achievement Percentile after

TWO Years

Average School
Average Teacher

50

50

Highly Ineffective School

Highly Ineffective Teacher

50

Highly Effective School

Ineffective Teacher

50

37

Highly Ineffective School

Highly Effective Teacher

50

63

Highly Effective School

Average Teacher

50

78

Highly Effective School

Highly Effective Teacher

50

96

Robert Marzano: What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, NSCD,
11
2001 p. 74

Aligned Curriculum, Assessments,

Instructions and Standards

Douglas Reeves Presentation to the Literacy/Numeracy Secretariat,

What the Research Says

Classroom instruction is the single greatest predictor
of student success - greater than SES, Family
background, etc.
Highly effective schools overcome all of the impact of
SES and other non-school related factors. (Schmoker
Results Now)
Most Educators are working, at, or very near, the
limit of their existing knowledge and skill.
You improve schools by using information about
student learning, from multiple sources, to find the
most promising instructional problems to work on,
then systematically develop with teachers and
administrators the knowledge and skill necessary to
solve those problems focusing on building a coherent
approach across the school. (Richard Elmore

School Improvement
1. Concrete and specific achievement goals,
based on student achievement data, which are
continuously monitored.
2. Non-negotiable goals for instruction in every
classroom which are:
Consistent across every classroom, decreasing the
variability between teachers
Supported by systematic and system wide teacher
preparation and professional development

3. Effective Leadership practices

Professional development which supports the
development of strong instructional leaders.
Committed leaders who engage the parent and
community to support the goals of education

Helen Timperley, Using assessment data for improving, teaching

practice , University of Auckland, New Zealand

Session 1

SMART Goal
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Resultsbased, and Time-bound
Specify a few SMART learning and achievement
goals from the schools needs assessment and
relate the targeted evidence based / actions to
the four pillars
By 2012, 90% of students will integrate the reading
strategies when responding to reading comprehension tasks
and use higher order/ critical thinking skills.
As a result, we will have a 10% increase in the number of
students performing at standard on the EQAO.
We will also see a 15% increase in the number of exceptional
students achieving at standard.

By 2012, 90% of students will integrate the

reading strategies when responding to
reading comprehension tasks and use higher
order/ critical thinking skills.
As a result, we will have a 10% increase in the
number of students performing at standard
on the EQAO.
We will also see a 15% increase in the number
of exceptional students achieving at
standard.
On the basis of the Needs Assessment and Analysis of
the Data
AND
the SMART goal
What would our teachers need to learn in order
for us to accomplish this goal?

Selecting SEF Indicators

Review the SEF Indicators that will address the needs
identified from the data dialogue
Assessment for, of, and as Learning
School and Classroom Leadership
Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning

Review the Evidence for each of the Indicators

Once the SEF Indicators are chosen, highlight the
evidence that will become the focus of the SEF
process.
Choose any 4 Indicators from the following
Components:

5 Minutes

Learning Network Focus

From each indicator, identify
the examples of evidence
which will focus the
assessment of practice.

20

1.3 Students are taught, and regularly use self-assessment skills to

monitor their progress toward achieving learning goals, and to set
their own learning goals within the context of the Ontario
curriculum and/or Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Beginning
I generate learning
outcomes based on
the Ontario
Curriculum and
related success
criteria which are
posted.
My students know
that learning
outcomes and
success criteria
relate to the
instruction of the
program but are
not using these to

Progressing
Learning Outcomes
reflect the Ontario
Curriculum.
Students help to
create the success
criteria and the
exemplars of good
work
Students can
explain the
importance of the
learning
outcomes and are
beginning to
assess their work
on the basis of

Exemplary
Students refer to
the criteria
charts and the
exemplars to
develop their
self-assessment
skills and set
Students
use
learning goals
success criteria
as a basis of
discussion with
peers and/or
teachers to
reflect on their
21
progress and

Summa
ry of
data

By 2012,
90% of
students
will
integrate
the
reading
strategies
when
responding
to reading
comprehen
sion tasks
and use
higher
order/
critical
thinking
skills.

1.1
1.5
4.2
4.5

Beginning
Progressin
g
Beginning
Beginning

Oct
22
Jan
31
Jun
29

Monitoring Changed Classroom

Practice
1. Critical Friend SEF visit
. focused ONLY on the identified indicators
. Protocol developed
2. Daily classroom walk-throughs
. Comment only on the identified indictors
3. Teacher Growth Plans
. Promote self-assessment and action research
focus.
4. Analysis of impact using Trailing Indicators
Its About Student Achievement!

THIS IS THE REAL WORK

There is no evidence of increased student achievement
without changes in classroom practice.

Planning for that work is the

beginning of the improvement