21 st Century Leadership- Using Data to Drive Decisions

1. Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan Executive Director Council of Chief State School Officers 21st Century Leadership- Using Data to Drive Decisions Dr. G. Thomas Houlihan Exec Dir- Education Leadership Institute

2. A National/International Perspective(what I’ve learned) Current Issues Lessons Learned 2007

3. LESSON #1 The Constant Tension Between State and Federal Control • Who pays for what • Is funding enough? • Constitutional questions

4. LESSON #1 The Constant Tension Between State and Federal Control THE REAL ISSUE IS WHO CONTROLS CREATIVITY OF OUR SCHOOLS– 21ST CENTURY IMPLICATIONS!

5. LESSON #2 Educators have a difficult time believing in schools they haven’t seen. (Just can’t grasp) • “We are different” • “You don’t teach our kids” • “Our kids have too many problems”

6. LESSON #3 The Growing Consensus for HS Reform! • NCLB - The tip of the iceberg • Bill Gates - NGA Summit • Global Issues - China, India, European Common Market * Partnership for 21st Century Skills

7. LESSON #4 Leadership Matters! • “As the teacher goes, so goes the classroom” • “As the principal goes, so goes the school.” • “As the superintendent goes, so goes the district.” • Single biggest obstacle in education- leadership ability to lead change!

8. 21st CENTURY ISSUES Research on attitudes towards high schools

9. Alliancefor Excellent Education A Presentation of Survey Research on the Public’s Views on Public High Schools (2005-2006 results)

10. Views Toward High School For the first time high schools top people’s concerns

11. The American public feels the most urgency to improve high schools, but they see room for improving all levels of education. Now I am going to ask you some questions about different types of public schools. For each one please consider everything you know or have heard about public education and tell me how urgent you think it is to improve this kind of school. Here’s the first one ___ __(read item). Is it extremely urgent, very urgent, somewhat urgent, a little urgent, or not at all urgent to improve ___item? Across demographic groups the public sees more urgency surrounding high schools.

12. The public thinks the percentage of students attending college, followed by drop-out rates and the percentage of students getting jobs are the best indicators of how well a public high school is doing. For each of the following please tell me how good an indicator it is of how well a public high school is doing. Using a scale of 0-5, where zero means it is not a very good indicator and 5 means it is the best indicator ? Mean 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.1

13. Defining the Problem Preparing for Jobs

14. Given the goals they see for high schools- preparing for jobs and college- Americans do not see high school living up to their goals. Do you think a diploma from America’s public high schools prepares graduates to get a good-paying job?* Do you think a diploma from America’s public high schools prepares graduates to succeed in college?* No demographic group thinks schools prepare graduates for jobs. More educated people also think schools do not prepare for college. *Split sampled questions

15. Solutions for Success Americans believe improving reading and writing is key

16. By increasing and overwhelming margins, Americans believe that improving reading and writing is the most important factor to increasing the graduation rate. Now I am going to read you some pairs of statements. As I read each pair, tell me whether the FIRST statement or the SECOND statement comes closer to your own views – even if neither is exactly right. Improving reading comprehension and writing is not the most important factor to increasing the graduation rate Improving reading comprehension and writing is the most important factor to increasing the graduation rate 2005 All demographic groups side with this statement. 2004 *Split-sampled questions

17. Americans are not ready to give up on our high school students and they strongly feel that poorly-performing students can still get the help they need to succeed, rather than thinking it is too late. When you think about students who do not do well in high school, do you think by the time they get to high school it is too late to turn them around and help them succeed or do you think students can still get the help they need to succeed? There is little difference across racial groups

18. When asked which of several factors they would be most willing to pay more in taxes for, they pick these top priorities. Now I am going to read you some strategies that some people believe are the building blocks to help every high school student to succeed at college or in life. For each item please tell me how willing you would be to pay more in taxes to make that item happen – extremely willing, very willing, somewhat willing, a little willing, or not at all willing?

19. The public sees the high drop-out rate as having an impact on the nation’s economy and ability to compete in the global economy. SSA: What impact does a high drop out rate have on the nation’s economy, does it have a lot of impact on the economy, somewhat, a little, not at all or will it make no difference on the economy? SSB: What impact does a high drop out rate have on America’s ability to compete in the global economy, does it have a lot of impact on global competition, somewhat, a little, not at all or will it make no difference on America’s ability to compete globally? Impact of high drop-out rate on nation’s economy* 91% Impact of high drop-out rate on America’s ability to compete in the global economy* 92% *Split sampled question

20. 21st CENTURY ISSUES The ability (or inability) of schools to embrace change

21. Ready or Not . . .The World is Different • Work is different ... • Tools are different ... • Communication is different ... • Information is different ... • Kids are different ... • Learning is different … • Teaching must be different ... And Leading must be different!

22. 20th Century 21st Century 1 – 2 Jobs 10 – 15 Jobs # of Jobs Mastery of One Field Flexibility And Adaptability Job Requirements Subject Matter Mastery Life Long Learners Teaching Model Expectations have changed

23. Who would you hire? Someone who could · master a core subject Someone who could: · master a core subject · effectively communicate · effectively collaborate · be a self-directed learner · be creative · be information/media literate · be a critical thinker · be a problem solver · be accountable and adaptable · be socially responsible

24. How do educators move forward- 21st Century skills?DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING +SYSTEMS THINKING!! 2007

25. CHARACTERISTICS: MODEL SCHOOLS • Laser-like focus on data- assist classroom teachers • Use of teacher knowledge • Wide variety of data collected • Only essential data collected ALL LEADING TO……………………………

26. THE DRIVING FACTOR: DATA In school after school, the key for all data is in making appropriate instructional decisions……………and to inform students, parents and others on an ongoing basis!

27. KEY ISSUES- USING DATA #1 Issue- Data rich, analysis poor WHY- THE EPIDEMIC OF IMMEDIACY IN US Questions; ** Do we sometimes confuse achievement and learning? ** Do we teach skills or develop skills?

28. KEY ISSUES (#1 cont); • Do we really know what data is saying? • Do we really understand the powers and limits of data? • Do we make guesstimates based on data? • Do we use data to ‘sort and select’ or to guide continuous improvement?

29. KEY ISSUES (Cont); #2 Issue- Balancing Data • Hard data- test scores, drop-out rates, ADM, etc. • Soft data- case studies, student morale, and faculty attitudes

30. KEY ISSUES (#2 cont); In many cases, hard data is the total focus at the exclusion of soft data. This is often a short-term fix but a long-term mistake!!!!!

31. KEY ISSUES Issue #3- The Systems Factor

32. SYSTEMS THINKING Any system is designed to produce exactly what it produces!

33. To change performance we must change the SYSTEM, and this requires new approaches and a new way of THINKING and DOING

34. KEY ISSUES (#3 Cont); • We often make decisions using data and don’t factor in the systems perspective. Most common examples- Drop-outs, student achievement………………….

35. KEY ISSUES (#3 Cont) • Student Achievement Data- Do you know if data really means improvement, statistically? Do you know the trends over time and statistical significance? Does this data guide long-term planning?

36. KEY ISSUES Issue #5- “Doing your best isn’t good enough if you don’t know what your doing.” -- W. Edwards Deming

37. NCLB IS NOT BASED ON Traditional Improvement Higher performance at a later time period

38. NCLB IS BASED ON Continuous Improvement A positive trend in performance from year to year

39. THE KEY TO NCLB: Breakthrough Improvement Significant performance improvement of a system’s indicator value over time

40. BREAKTHROUGH IMPROVEMENT Based on the use of Statistical Process Control: BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

41. Performance Over Time UCL LCL

42. CONCLUDING COMMENTS • Good data should result in two actions: classroom action and public action 1) Classroom action- appropriate action school practitioners take after reviewing data that is relevant and meaningful - modify instructional practices

43. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 2) Public Action- social consequences that occur after the public reviews the data regarding the school

49. 21ST Century Issue; Good is the enemy of GREAT. We don’t have GREAT schools, principally because we have good schools.

50. 21ST Century Issue; Good is the enemy of GREAT. High Schools; • Athletics • Other Extra-curricular activities • Cultural impact of high schools