Maximizing the Impact of Winter Screening Data
When fall to winter academic growth falls short of expectations, it’s natural for educators and administrators to feel frustrated, especially when teams are quickly expanding their knowledge of science-aligned practices and hope to see strong student growth. This situation is more common than you might think and often signals a need for system-level adjustments rather than individual student interventions. Here are some ways to maximize this mid-year checkpoint.
Consider System-Level Needs
Winter screening data provides crucial insights into system-wide patterns, rather than just individual student performance. Therefore, instead of leaving teachers to review student data alone, consider the following as grade level teams or PLCs:
Review Tier 1 Success
Examine classwide and grade level trends to identify areas of need
Use data to identify when Tier 1 intervention is needed from now until Spring
Use fall to winter growth data to identify priorities for instructional coaches and other professional learning
Use Growth Norms Effectively
Growth norms help compare student progress to peers who started at similar levels. When reviewing growth data:
Compare observed growth to growth targets
Identify classrooms and grade levels with more and less growth
Use these data to prioritize professional learning and coaching
Proactively Plan for Effective Data Conversations
To make the most of team data review meetings, consider the following practices:
Review data before the meeting to identify celebrations and priorities
Use a structured team agenda and data protocol to maximize meeting effectiveness and efficiency
Identify areas of celebrations and specifically what those teachers did to achieve those results
Identify barriers to implementing the improvements the team had planned to implement this fall
Leave the meeting with specific, actionable plans to improve growth from winter to spring, as well as a plan to support educator implementation of changes
Winter screening data is particularly valuable because it provides growth information that can be used to make meaningful instructional adjustments while still having several months to impact student learning. Use this mid-year checkpoint to celebrate successes, identify needs, and refine instructional approaches for the remainder of the school year.
