An Effective Communication Plan...Effective Communication Plans Enhance Results Session Objectives :...

Effective Communication Plans Enhance Results

An Effective Communication

Plan . . .

During a state of transition in the

World of Educational Assessment


North Carolina NAEP State Coordinator: Dr. Iris Garner


Alabama NAEP State Coordinator: Ms. Rhonda Patton


Virginia NAEP State Coordinator: Dr. Wendy Geiger


Session Objectives :

• Review essentials of a communication plan

• Identify strategies for communicating to broad audiences

• Outline best practices for messaging in a complex environment


Communication Plan


Definition of Communication

• Activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior.

• Process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender.

• Exchange of information

• Intentional or unintentional

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information


Robert Marzano

Five Characteristics of Highly Successful Schools

• Guaranteed and viable curriculum

• Challenging goals and effective feedback

• Parent and community involvement

• Safe and orderly environment

• Collegiality and professionalism


Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Characteristics of Successful Schools

• Common focus on a few research-based goals

• High expectations

• Small, personalized learning environment

• Respect and responsibility for all

• Parent/community partnership

• Focus on performance

• Effective use of technology tools


Doris Quick and Custer Quick

International Center for Leadership in Education

Five Characteristics of High Achieving Schools

• Rigorous and relevant curriculum

• Testing Program to evaluate both students’ conceptual

knowledge and ability to apply knowledge

• Focused staff development program

• Commitment to addressing the issue of student behavior

• Willingness to make organizational changes for the

benefit of students


Level of Communication

• One Person

• Two groups of people

• Multiple groups of people


CHARACTERISTICS LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION

Goal & Feedback

Organizational changes for the benefit of students

Collegiality and professionalism

Research-based goals

Student behavior management

Small, personalized learning environment

Respect and responsibility for all

Focus on performance

Technology tools

Rigorous and relevant curriculum

Testing program: students’ conceptual knowledge

and ability to apply knowledge

Staff development program

High expectations

Parent & community involvement


Blueprints Direction Establish

Essentials of a Communication Plan

Establish & Publish a Communication Plan

• Plan Components: Tasks, Channels of

Communication, Strategies for

building awareness (Industry,

Customer, and Employee), steps and

milestones

• Use Bullets & Subheads

• Keep Paragraphs Short

• Avoid Busy Backgrounds

• Clean font



Maximize Visibility of Plan

Windows Allows Visibility

• Incorporate evidence of plan in

mission statement

• Include strands of plan in outgoing

voice message

• Create an abbreviated verbal plan that

all team members know and can

recite

• Include plan on your website



Utilize Multiple Platforms for Messaging

Mechanical Provide Systems Force • Popular Social Networking Sites

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Pinterest

MySpace

• Organization Website

• Signage in Elevators

• Email Signature



Establish a Time to Evaluate & Modify Plan

Inspection Examine Quality • Establish a standing time at every

meeting to discuss communication

plan

• Identify plan as a core element of

business

• Require a communication plan with

every initiative & a mechanism for

monitoring



Involve the Entire Team

Foundation Provides Support

• Everyone has to have ownership

• Everyone has to be able to articulate

the plan

• Uniform template

• Prominently displayed with every

initiative


Strategies for

Communicating


Using A Communication Plan

to Create Awareness about

NAEP in Alabama

Challenge:

Creating and disseminating a meaningful message that

encourages involvement and commitment in Alabama


Governors Staff

Department of Education Leadership

Local Education Agencies

Parents

Community Partners


“Not everything that is faced can be changed,

but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

James Baldwin (1924-1987)

Task: Facing the Challenges

• No Individual Student level data

• No School level data

• No reward or recognition


Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.

Task: Facing the Challenges

• Establish Value • People do not invest efforts in activities that they do not

value or do not see as worthwhile.

• Expand Visibility • NAEP has low state visibility and does not yield outcomes

that have direct consequences for students, schools or districts.


• NAEP Schools have regional training on NAEP data and NAEP resources.

• Grades 4 and 8 teachers are better prepared for NAEP assessments and state assessments.

• The invitation to participate in NAEP should be depicted as an honor for the students, schools, and community.

• Participating schools receive a letter of recognition from the state superintendent.

Steps : Motivational Strategies


• The Local Education Agency (LEA) appealed to the

student’s sense of school pride and community

responsibility.

• The LEA(s) had mock NAEP assessments

administrations for students who were not selected to

participate in NAEP.

• The mock assessment were aligned with curriculum

content and administered concurrently with NAEP.

• The NAEP Questions Tool were used as a resource for

test items.

Steps : Motivational Strategies


Strategies for Building Awareness: State Sponsored NAEP Motivation Contest

• The purpose of the competition was to recognize the school in each regional inservice area that has the most creative motivational activity for NAEP.

• Formulate a creative motivational activity for NAEP.

• Provide a brief description and picture or video of the activity.


• A winner was selected from each inservice area.

• Winners were presented a plaque by the State Department

of Education.

• Winners were featured on the Alabama State Department

of Education website.

State Sponsored NAEP Motivation Contest Outcome


Ape for NAEP!

Video Clip – Click to Play

ApeForNAEP.wmv

ApeForNAEP.wmv

ApeForNAEP.wmv

ApeForNAEP.wmv


Channels of Communication:

NAEP

in Alabama

PD for various

audiences

Teacher’s Fair

Display

WebEx

Book Marks

SDE Employees

College Professors

Deans of Education

District Testing Coordinators

Aspiring

Teachers

Principals

Teachers


Local Public Libraries

Students

Selected NAEP Schools

Regional Inservice Centers

Local Universities


NAEP in Alabama

Awards Ceremony

News Letters

Memos

Channels of Communication:

Students

Teachers

Principals

Superintendents

Parent Teacher Association

Local Universities

Public Libraries

Schools

Selected District Superintendents


Selected School Principals

Selected School Coordinators


Milestones

• Largest gains in the history of NAEP for Grade 4 reading.

• Participation in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

• Developed ongoing relationships with Regional Inservice Centers, Parent Teacher Associations, Universities, Local Public Libraries.

• Provided awareness throughout the State Department of Education.

• Developed ongoing dialogue about NAEP as well as providing professional development within the department.


Best Practices


Using A Communication Plan to Improve Inclusion

Students with Disabilities (SD)

English Language Learners (ELL)

Challenge:

Low inclusion rates on NAEP

SD and ELL students in Virginia


National Assessment Of Educational Progress

National Assessment Governing Board two

inclusion goals:

• 95% of all students

• 85% of students classified as either ELL or SD

Reporting Expectations:

• Report inclusion of Students with Disabilities by state

and prominently displays states with inclusion goals

• The inclusion percentages also are included on the

state’s “report card”.


Virginia's Inclusion in NAEP 2007

READING SD/SWD ELL/LEP

Grade 4 53 69

Grade 8 54 58

MATHEMATICS SD/SWD ELL/LEP

Grade 4 73 86

Grade 8 57 71


NAEP 2009 Revised Accommodation Chart and

“Guidelines”

• Distributed to schools

• Disseminated via NCES

(Assessment Planning Packet)

• Reviewed documentation with NCES contractors

Time at their training to go over accommodations

• Emphasized inclusion using NAEP Accommodations


2011 Gained Support for Guidelines

• Began thinking “communication plan” for the

guidelines

• Expectation Spelled out (Established Plan)

• Early and Often

• Identified Weak Links

• Provide Support (Included NAEP Team)


2013 Inclusion

• Revised all documents

NAEP decision tree “adjusted” to include

Virginia Assessment Program tests’ names

• Focused on distribution and previous weak links

• Results will be released in Fall 2013


SWD Mathematics Inclusion Grades 4&8

73

85

84

57

74

81

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

2007 2009 2011

Virginia NAEP Inclusion Students with Disabilities

Mathematics 2007-2011

SWD Gr 4 Mathematics SWD Gr 8 Mathematics Goal (85%)


53

72

81

54

74

77

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

2007 2009 2011

Virginia NAEP Inclusion Students with Disabilities

Reading 2007-2011

SWD Gr 4 - Reading SWD Gr 8 - Reading Goal (85%)


Virginia NAEP Inclusion

Limited English Proficient Students (Grades 4 & 8)

Mathematics 2007 - 2011


Virginia NAEP Inclusion

Limited English Proficient Students (Grades 4 & 8)

Reading 2007 - 2011


Thank You

• Iris Garner

[email protected]

• Wendy Geiger

[email protected]

• Rhonda Patton

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



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