Same Resources, Better Student Outcomes: Finding Inefficiencies with Data
Introductions
Nisha GargPrincipal AssociateEducation Resource
Strategies
Mariel MatzeCommunity Manager
Schoolzilla
1. Learn how to diagnose the alignment of current resources to strategic priorities
2. Assess where your school system is strong, and where it can grow the most
3. Consider potential solutions to take back to your teams
Learning Outcomes
The Call to Action: Allocate resources to
boost student achievement
Most schools organize people, time, and money the same as they did 50+ years ago
One teacher per class
20-30 students per
classStudying a particular
subject
For a set period of time (e.g., 50
min/day)
For a set duration (e.g.,
full year)
© Education Resource Strategies
FROM:A one-size-fits-all learning
environment that holds everyone back.
School Design
TO: A re-imagined school day with
new schedules, dynamic groupings and targeted instruction.
© Education Resource Strategies
Every year, schools make designs on how to allocate resources through a seemingly similar process
Clarify the
VisionAssess
the NeedDesign
the Strategy
Make it Work
Implement
& Monitor
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
Throughout the process, strategic leaders reflect and revise initial answers and approach each
step with a willingness to make trade-offs.
© Education Resource Strategies
A typical needs assessment or gap analysis includes…
▪Academic Performance: Student performance trends, growth, and proficiency▪Student Culture: Survey data,
absences, suspensions▪Adult Culture: Survey data, teacher
absenteeismNeeds assessments often miss Current Resource Use
How have we configured the resources in our school, or district, to support improvement in academics or culture? What structures
exist? What structures are missing?
© Education Resource Strategies
ERS’ Strategic School Design Essentials
© Education Resource Strategies
Resource levers to strategically support students’ most urgent needs include:
● Reductions in group size ● Maximizing total scheduled time● Increased time in priority content
area● Reduced teacher loads● Changes to teacher assignment
in a particular content area● Increase teacher planning time
Pause and ponder
Has your district attempted to leverage any of these resource levers? If so, which ones?
A. Reductions in group size B. Maximizing total scheduled timeC. Increased time in priority content areaD. Reduced teacher loadsE. Changes to teacher assignment in a particular content areaF. Increase teacher planning time G. None of the above
Improving student outcomes via strategic
resource allocation
▪Goal: Proactively support students in their transition between middle school and high school
District A:
Reviewing the Data
▪Goal: Proactively support students in their transition between middle school and high school
▪Class sizes are largest in 9th grade, and progressively get smaller throughout the upper grades
Making MeaningAcross the country, this trend persists. It’s often a byproduct of:
▪ Reduced enrollment in upper grades
▪ Additional course offerings for electives in upper grades, resulting in more, smaller classes
▪ 11th/12th grade students are under-scheduled
▪In District A, we saw that enrollment decline over the years was one factor in the class size variations in grades 9-12...
Enrollment by Grade
Novice Team Assignment
▪9th graders were most likely to have a novice teacher in core subjects and nearly twice as likely to have a novice teacher than 12th graders 9 10 11 12
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
49%
36%29%
27%
Novice Teacher Assignment
% Novice Teachers (Core Sub-jects)District Average
Grades%
Nov
ice
Teac
hers
35%
… beyond that, upon reviewing their resource use data, District A realized 12th grade students were also often under-scheduled for a portion of the school day
Instructional Time
Action Implications
Upon a full review of data, District A supported schools in:▪ Reassigning additional teachers to 9th grade
sections by reducing total sections in 12th grade▪ Evaluating online/virtual learning options to
maintain the breadth of electives to 12th grade students
▪ Improving guidance support to 12th grade students to ensure students are taking a full course load
▪Goal: Improve supports in ELA and Math by reducing teacher loads
▪To support this goal, School X double blocks ELA and Math classes in an effort to reduce the total number of students an ELA or Math teacher sees in a given year
School X:
▪Despite, similar structures in ELA and Math, Math teachers in School X see 1.5x as many students as ELA teachers
Reviewing the Data
▪When compared to other schools in the district, the higher than average teacher load in Math became even more apparent
Reviewing the Data
Upon a full review of data, School X:▪ Revised student assignment practices in
Math classes to ensure students were paired with the same teacher across multiple sections
▪ Provided additional administrative support to Math teachers to reduce strain of teacher load
Action Implications
Stay in Touch!ERS is hiring in Boston and the Bay
Area!https://www.erstrategies.org/info/careers
Thank you!
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