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S2 + Student Success Utilizing Student Surveys Equals

Student Success

Iris Garner, Education Consultant,

Testing Policy and Operation

Fay Gore , Social Studies Consultant

Curriculum and School Reform Services

Brian Swiger, Educational Consultant

NCSU/TOPS

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•History•Survey Purpose•Survey Design•Question Dimensions•Teaching Strategies•Future•Demonstration

Presentation Overview

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History• Been in existence for more than a decade • Joint effort between Curriculum, Test

Development, and Testing, Policy, and Operations

• Greenbook used to distribute results• Recently revised survey questions to

include more up-to-date information

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•The North Carolina Student Survey (NCSS) is a high-quality, structured, personal interview survey of North Carolina’s students conducted by NC testing program.

What is the student survey?

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NCSS Purpose • To generate systematic data on the

North Carolina student body

• To provide date to education that would assist them make informed discussions about instruction.

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NCSS Design • Each NCSS has a series of questions

on a special topic and a set of background, behavioral, and attitudinal items that are asked in successive surveys.

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NCSS Dimensions

• The questions on the NCSS include the following dimensions:

1. Extracurricular Participation

2. Instructional Participation

3. Educational Practices

4. Learning Styles

5. Demographic Information

6. Technology Usage

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Question Dimensions• Learning Styles: questions provide educators with

blueprints of students’ learning behaviors. This dimension will allow teachers to develop lessons that are fashioned to meet the cognitive demands of the students.

• Demographical Information: questions provide educators with students’ demographic trends such as education. This dimension allows educators to better understand the student population and their family units.

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Question Dimensions• Extracurricular Participation: questions provide

information to educators on students’ personal interests and goals. This dimension will allow teachers to craft instructional strategies that capture and maintain students’ attention.

• Instructional Participation: questions provide educators with a bank of typical instructional strategies customarily implemented. This dimension will allow teachers to develop multi-dimensional instructional activities that cater to diverse learning styles.

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Question Dimensions• Technology Usage: questions provide educators

with knowledge that certifies the students’ degree of technology awareness and availability. This dimension will allow teachers to promote and improve a key component of 21st century skills. Additionally, this dimension will inform the Information Technology staff on technical requirements and technology-based needs.

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Teacher Efficacy

• Curriculum Development & Alignment

• Aligned & Balanced Assessment Practices

• Aligned Instructional Strategies

• Professional Development

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Curriculum Development

My school and/or district has a written curriculum for U.S. History and Civics & Economics.

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Curriculum Development

My school/district’s curriculum is aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study.

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Curriculum Development

My school/district’s curriculum is vertically aligned.

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Assessment Practices

My school/district has a balanced assessment system that includes both formative/summative assessments.

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Assessment Practices

My school/district assessments are aligned to the written curriculum.

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Effective Teaching Strategies

• Makes work meaningful to students – authenticity

• Engages students’ intellect

• Incorporates use 21st Century skills

• Reflects content-specific methods of instruction

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Effective Teaching Strategies

Integrating Technology – computers, web 2.0

Reading – various texts: primary resources, news magazines and journals, daily/weekly newspapers, fiction, drama, poetry

Independent research, portfolios, collaborative group projects, educational field trips/travel, community service activities, social studies organizations

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Instructional Strategies

My school/district uses instructional strategies that involve current trends in effective instruction for Social Studies.

A.Always

B.Sometimes

C.Hardly ever

D.I don’t know

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Professional Development• Discipline-specific

– Knowledge

– Understanding

• Pedagogical

– Teaching in general

– Content-specific

• Sustainability

– Follow-up

– On-going evaluation

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Roles and Responsibilities

Test coordinators contribute to student success by:

A.Facilitating test administrations

B.Training personnel for test administration

C.Creating an awareness of related resources

D.All of the above

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Roles and Responsibilities

Who is the key player in fostering student success?

A. Testing Policy and Operations

B. Test Development

C. Curriculum and Instruction

D. All of the above

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Future

• New Web Page

Web Page Components:

1. General purpose

2. Types of questions asked

3. Overview of the findings

4. Standards course of study

5. Teaching strategies

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Demonstration

• Interactive PDF now online• Springboard for ideas• Feedback encouraged

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Surprise !

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Thank You

•We appreciate your attendance and continued support of the North Carolina Testing Program.