"Before the Commonwealth Institute (parent training in understanding data and school systems), I had no idea how to get involved.  I was at school all the time but not making a difference."

—Pam Taylor, parent

1999 Commonwealth Institute Fellow

"This the critical point of data:  It's not necessarily the answers that are most important; it's the discussion that occurs and the questions that are asked because of the data."

—Karen Bates, superintendent

Lake Washington (Wash.) School District

Do you want to make a difference in your child's school?  If so, one of the most effective tools you have is the data about your child's school and school district.

What is the big deal about data?

If community members and educators have a shared understanding of what schools should do, they can work together to make that happen.  Effective and equitable schools requires determining what data matter most to the community.

What do we frequently hear from parent and community leaders?

I've looked at the data and I more confused than ever!

Contact FOCUS Guilford to schedule a workshop to learn a simple process for how education leaders at your school or organization can make sense of data and use data to make your school a better place for students to learn.

Not ready to assemble a group for a workshop? For do-it-yourself data analysis, try these resources (link to below)  

For data about Guilford County Schools visit the NC Department of Public Instruction ABC/NCLB website:

http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/

Adequate Yearly Progress Reports for all districts in NC

http://ayp.ncpublicschools.org

List of districts in Needs Improvement Status in NC 

http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs

Disaggregated data for all school districts in NC

http://disag.ncpublicschools.org

List of Title 1 Schools in Needs Improvement Status for 2003-2004

http://ayp.ncpublicschools.org/

(Click here for the Excel document containing only Guilford County Schools)

Understanding and Using Data

If you have difficulty accessing any of the links below, please contact us and we will email the documents to you.

Visit the Parent Leadership Section of KSA Plus
http://www.parents.ksaplus.com/framespla.html

Many of the publications are free, but you still have to click on the "order" button to get the free materials.

Free materials include:

Learning 360: At Home and At School
11 Tips to Help Parents Create Safer Schools
The Case for Parent Leadership
8 Tips on Using Your School's Report Card
10 Tips for Parents Who Choose To Stay Put
12 Things Parents Should Know and Expect

There is a charge ($7.50 or both volumes for $12.00) for these are step-by-step guides to looking at and using school data:

Closing the Achievement Gaps: Using Data To Drive Action  (Vol 1)
Closing the Achievement Gaps: Collecting and Analyzing Your School's Data (Vol. 2)

From the American Association of School Administrators, Using Data to Improve Schools: What's Working by the American Association of School Administrators, 2002. This document is packed with easy to read tables and summaries.  Highlights include:

• Questions to ask about what data is being collected and reported and why
• Lessons learned from districts that have used data to strengthen relationships with community and parents
• A very useful glossary of terms related to testing and data reporting
• Results of a survey of parents, taxpayers and educators in which each ranked what data is most important to them
• A table outlining the importance of broad participation in school improvement efforts and the role of the superintendent and school board in leading the data-driven decision-making process.

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