Protocols for Scaling the Assessment Data Mountain

Each fall, educators are met with mountains of numbers – too much to digest all at once!  In addition to the standardized test scores from last spring, we’re busy collecting back-to-school benchmarks and individual inventories. The key for avoiding data overwhelm is to look for useful patterns. I’ve found that using clear protocols helps teams identify these patterns, moving beyond numbers and into purposeful conversations. Last week’s post offers options for structured analysis that lead to potential root causes. Below I offer protocols for finding solutions that respond to these causes.
 
Chalk Talk
One of my go-to tools for seeking solutions is the Chalk Talk Protocol. This is a flexible protocol, useful in many contexts, and one of those is for examining data. Here are the steps:

·        To prepare, write each underlying cause that has been identified in the center of a chart or large sheet of bulletin board paper—one cause per sheet. (For example, if your data review pointed to large intervention groups as a possible factor, that goes in the center of one sheet.)

·        Place the charts around the room, on tables or hanging on the wall.

·        Using colored markers so they can track their thinking, teachers move silently from paper to paper, jotting ideas, drawing arrows between related thoughts, and using their pens to noiselessly argue and challenge ideas they feel need rethinking.

This approach makes sure all voices are “heard” while keeping a lively pace—many conversations happen at once. (Pro tip: Divide the number of participants by 5 to figure out how many sheets will give you the best flow. If you have fewer topics than that, duplicate some so groups stay small and ideas keep moving.) By the time everyone has rotated through the different charts and then circled back to comment on what others have added, you’ll have a rich, collective idea bank.
 
Next, have participants pick their favorite ideas from the charts and write them down, one per post-it note. After that, you can make the number of ideas more manageable by having teachers talk at their table or with a partner to narrow their post-its down to one or two per person.
 
Realms of Concern / Realms of Influence Protocol
At this point, your group still has too many possible solutions. Using the Realms of Concern / Realms of Influence Protocol helps us separate what we wish we could change from what we can change, zeroing in on actionable solutions. On chart paper or a big piece of bulletin board paper, draw 3 large, concentric circles, labelled like this:

Ask teachers to describe the difference between these two realms, or give non-education examples of something in each realm to help folks start to process. Then, ask teachers to come forward and place their sticky notes on the appropriate spot in the target. The stickies in the realm of influence are now your potential actionable solutions.

 
The time it takes for Chalk Talk, stickies, and Realms of Concern may feel formulaic – but I guarantee that the outcomes that surface will be worth the effort.
 
(Check back next week for ideas on turning  potential  solutions into  active  ones!)
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Collecting coaching data to demonstrate impact:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/coaching-for-impact-starts-with-collecting-data
 
 
Offering opportunities for students to keep thinking:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/alert-mistakes-in-progress/
 
 
Helping students overcome learned helplessness:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/guiding-students-overcome-learned-helplessness
 
 
An entertaining video with advice to first-year teachers:
 
https://video.edweek.org/detail/video/5574068218001/second-year-teachers-share-some-advice-for-rookies
 
 
This podcast episode about how new teachers can find great mentors:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/podcast-43
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: FDNS25 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!