Data: Friend or Foe?

Bob BardwellMonson High School

Monson, MA

Thanks to Trish Hatch & Sheila Deam for slide sharing

Who Is Here?• Secondary school counselors• Guidance directors • Graduate students • Community Based Organizations• Independent counselors• College Admission Counselors• Other

Why Are You Here?• Professional development• Your school made you come• Nothing else to do• Didn’t like the other sessions during this time slot

What Can I Offer?• 20 year School Counselor and K-12 Director of School

Counseling• Leader – local, state, regional & national• Advocate for students, school counselors and our

profession• Not a data geek but I know enough that data is the

key to the continuation of school counseling as we know it

Why is Data Important• It improves our programs and the services for

students and families• Students benefit from it

– Achievement & Opportunity Gaps• You probably already have it• Others are using it• We are accountable• Why not?

Turn to a neighbor• What kinds of data are important to

school/independent counselors in 2013?• How are you using that data in your school/college

counseling program?

Challenges of using dataMost school counselors

• are not comfortable using data• do not have the training or resources to collect

and analyze data• Think that working with data is too time

consuming considering everything else they have to do; not important enough

• Are uncomfortable reporting data to and advocating with policy makers

Types of College Admission Data

Student-Achievement Data • Standardized Test Data

– SAT/ACT, PLAN/PSAT, AP Scores• Grade Point Averages

– Weighed/unweighed– Recalculated

• Completion of College Preparation Requirements (Graduating college eligible)

Types of College Admission Data (continued)Achievement – Related Data• Course enrollment patterns• Number of students taking PSAT/SAT/PLAN/ACT/AP • Discipline referrals• Extracurricular activities

Types of College Admission Data (continued)• Standards and Competency-Related Data

– Percentage of students who demonstrate: • Belief (attitude) in importance of taking

rigorous courses• Skill to set goals• Knowledge of college requirements

Collecting data• Commercial programs

– Naviance • www.naviance.com• http://workspacek12.naviance.com

– Connectedu• www.connectedu.net

– PrepHQ• www.myfootpath.com

– State portals• MA- www.yourplanforthefuture.org • OR - http://oregoncis.uoregon.edu/home

Data From Other Sources• College Board/ACT

– SAT/ACT– PSAT/PLAN – AP Potential– AP Exam Scores

• State testing results• Colleges & Universities• Regional Higher Education Consortia

– WICHE

Other Options to Organize College Admission data

• Access• Excel• Create your own method of record keeping

Access Database fields

Analyzing Data• EZ-Analyze

– www.ezanalyze.com• Using Access or Excel• State education department• Locally developed program

Reporting of Data

• Scattergrams– Grade Point Average (x axis) vs. SAT’s (y axis)

• Other reports– Access Report– Placement percentages

Scattergram ExampleWestfield State College

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

55 65 75 85 95

AcceptDeny

Placement Report Example

Evaluation of your College Admission Counseling Program

• Surveys, questionnaires– Online vs. paper

• Google Drive - www.google.com • www.suverymonkey.com• www.counselingtechnology.net

• Pre & post surveys– Gives immediate feedback about the need or impact of your

program/intervention

Program Evaluation Data • Three types

– Process data– Perception data– Results data

Process data

• “What you did for whom” • Evidence that event occurred

• Example: Counselors taught students how to fill out a college application

Students Know Language Requirements

Perception Data

• Attitudes or Beliefs– 32% believe they will succeed in college – 42 % believe they have enough money to attend college

• Competency Achievement (Skills) – Every student in grades 9-12 completed a 4 year plan – Every 10th grade student completed an interest inventory

• Knowledge Gained– 89% of students demonstrate knowledge of college entrance

requirements

What type of question?

• “I believe” is an Attitude so use a scale• Application/Demonstration = Skill• Information or answer = Knowledge (clear

answer – not scale)

What Do Students Believe (Attitude)?

0102030405060708090

100

Strongly Agree Agree

34

6568

32

PrePost

I believe that understanding the college preparation requirements will help me be successful in school…

What Can Students Demonstrate? (Skills)

What is your GPA based on a 4.0 weighted scale?

Students Understand Options After High School (Knowledge)

Results Data• So WHAT” data• Hard data – application data• Have your activities contributed to students

ability to utilize the knowledge, attitudes and skills to effect behavior?– Attendance– Behavior– Academic achievement (graduating college eligible:

College going rate improved 14% over three years)

# of AP Exams Has Increased!

2006 2007 2008 20090

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

78

104 110121118

149 151162

number of students number of exams

4 Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rates are UP!

Increased College Post Secondary Plans!

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

89 90 91 91 9094 95

Results ReportHow are students different as a RESULT of what

you do?

• What does the data tell you?• Was the program successful?• What worked?• What did NOT work? • What needs to be changed?

Data Over Time• Immediate

– Change course offerings• Intermediate

– Change course selection pattern• Long range (Impact Over Time)

– Improve college placement rates

Sharing Your Data• Celebrate what you find

– School Profile– Accountability Report Card

• MARC of Excellence• http://www.masca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti

cle&id=116&Itemid=117SPARC• www.sparconline.net

– Press release, faculty meeting or school board presentation, parent programs, etc.

– NCLB Report Card– Data bulletin board

Cautions About Using Data

• Data doesn’t always give you the information you want

• College admissions is not an exact science• Data shouldn’t take the place of human

connection/intervention

Important Questions..

• What is the purpose of the college admission counseling program at your school?

• What are the desired outcomes or results?• What is being done to achieve results?• What evidence is there that the objectives have been

met?• Is the program making a difference?

Resources to assist you with data• Evidence-Based School Counseling: Making a Difference With

Data-Driven Practices– Dimmitt, Carey & Hatch

• Making Data Work: An ASCA National Model Publication– Kaffenberger & Young

• Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap: How to Measure Equity in Our Schools – Johnson

• Using Data To Focus Instructional Improvement– James-Ward, Fisher, Frey & Lapp

Resources to assist you with data (continued)

• Center for Excellence in School Counseling & Leadership– www.cescal.org

• Ronald Frederickson Center for School Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation– www.cscor.org

Next steps– Create an action plan

• Pick one item to do upon your return to school– Educate your colleagues about what you learned– Get other stakeholders on board– Attend further training about using data– Celebrate your accomplishment(s)– Use your results to improve your program!

Questions & conversations

• What is not clear?• What more do you need?• How can we help each other?• Who wants to share a success with data?

Contact info

Bob BardwellSchool Counselor & Director of School CounselingMonson Innovation High School55 Margaret StreetMonson, MA 01057413.267.4589x1109www.bobbardwell.com bardwellr@monsonschools.com