This post was updated on 12-29-13
Note: For those of you that are familiar with Robert Marzano, you can see I am following his fabulous book, The Art and Science of Teaching. For those of you that have not had the opportunity to read it, it's ok! Keep reading on, and I promise you won't even need the book!
Research shows that when students track their own learning and data, they take ownership of their learning, have intrinsic motivation, and perform better on high stakes tests.
Today, I want to talk to you about the next step on this Common Core/student data tracking journey. Marzano's book addresses several questions:
- How will I establish and communicate learning goals?
- How will I track students' progress?
- How will I celebrate successes?
- What will I do to help students effectively interact with the new knowledge?
The answer? My new Student Data Tracking Binders.
I stated in a previous post that I had over 75% of my class WELL above grade level for math due to these Student Data Tracking Binders (seriously). I am by no means an expert teacher, but I do believe in these methods, which is why I love to share the successes. Trust me, when those scores came back, I about did the SUPER SUPER happy dance.
When it comes to your students tracking their own data (learning and progress), each student should have their own Student Data Tracking Binder to track their progress and keep their data as the math unit (or ELA unit) occurs in your classroom.
{Click the links to check out my Student Data Tracking Binders for both ELA and Math in grades 2 through 6.}
With these Student Data Tracking Binders, I created and posted learning targets with my students and also allowed my students to create and set their own learning targets using the new Common Core State Standards. All of my students' learning targets came from my new Common Core "I can" or "We can" statements, which are written in kid language, and are very easy to understand.
What is the purpose of the "I can" or "We can" statements? Well, as teachers, we need to understand exactly what each standard calls for in order to communicate what we want students to know and/or be able to do. When looking at both the Math and English Language Arts standards, we have to take the items identified in the standards and translate them into measurable, descriptive language that students can understand.
Can your students understand a standard that says, "Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fit together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem?" Maybe some students can interpret this, but most can't.
Ultimately these standards become the students' learning targets and will determine what your students will know/be able to do at the end of the unit (or teaching of the standard), so it's important they understand them.
Now, getting back to the meat of the binder! Within each binder, each student will receive:
- A checklist page of learning targets, that are written in kid language, based on the grade level's Common Core Standards
- A table-like page of the same learning targets as above, in order for students to rate it/date it (see below), and record their post-assessment scores
- Pre- and post-assessment graphs to graph their data
- Levels of Understanding posters (levels 0 through 4)
- Levels of Understanding rubrics
Here is how my Student Data Tracking Binders work:
1.) Introduce and explain the "I can" statement for each new lesson/standard.
Get your students familiar with the checklist of "I can" statements. Although this isn't a necessity, you should make a data wall and post the kid language Common Core standards on it. The posters align with the checklists of "I can" statements.
As a class, you can work to check off each "I can" statement as they are taught, or depending on your class, allow students the freedom to check off the statements on their own to give them a bit more independence in their learning.
2.) Have the students rate and date their understanding in their Student Data Tracking Binder.
The "rate it/date it" idea is my original idea, and comes from Marzano's The Art and Science of Teaching. In my classroom, students are rating their level of understanding on a particular standard, I can statement, and/or their performance on a pre- and post-assessment.
I always have them show me their level of understanding so that I can gauge the room, and see how they are feeling about a particular standard. Do know that even your high kids will be a level 0 or 1 at the very beginning of a standard. You can only go up though! :)
We "rate it/date it" a few times throughout a unit, and I promise you they are honest, and it's a quick process. Once they show me, they write their level and the date in their Student Data Tracking Binders.
You can see that this section of their Student Data Tracking Binder is in a table-like format with room to document the start date of the standard, their rate it/date it levels, and then room to document their post-assessment score (see below).
You can read more about the posters and rubrics that go with the "rate it/date it" section HERE. And you grab a free "analogy" poster that I created, to help teach students what each level actually means.
3.) Pre-assess students on a particular standard.
I created math assessments and teaching notes for grades 2 through 6, and currently have ELA assessments and teaching notes for grades 4 and 5 (3rd coming soon!). They are aligned perfectly to use with my Student Data Tracking Binders (and can also be used without them!). These assessments are used for both pre- and post-assessments. As teachers, we know that pre-assessment plays an important role in your ability to differentiate instruction. You administer pre-assessments in order to understand what students know and are able to do before you begin instruction.
4.) Grade the pre-assessments, hand back the pre-assessments, and have students record and graph their scores in their Student Data Tracking Binder.
Once the assessments are graded and handed back, have the students record their pre-assessment scores in their Student Data Tracking Binders and color in their scores on their graphs (also included in my Student Data Tracking Binders).
Remember that their pre-assessment scores will most likely be low. This is perfectly normal. Most students have not seen this material before.
The pre-assessment data is used to plan your teaching and group your students (if you teach math in small groups vs. whole class). You can group students with similar strengths/weaknesses so that you can effectively emphasize particular concepts to various groups. Obviously, you can spend less time on subjects that students are proficient in across the board or group students with similar strengths/needs to focus time on the concepts that are most needed. Throughout the learning and teaching, you can also give small formative assessments to gauge understanding of your teaching (I may do a few problems on a sticky note, white board, etc.).
I have a Teacher Data Tracking Binder that makes group planning and organization a breeze! Check it out HERE.
6.) Have students rate it/date it a few times throughout the teaching of a unit, and record their level of understanding in their Student Data Tracking Binder.
7.) At the completion of the unit, post-assess students on that standard.
At the end of the unit, give your students the post-assessment (same test). Click here to see the pre- and post-assessments I use.
8.) Grade the post-assessments, hand back the post-assessments, and have students record and graph their scores in their Student Data Tracking Binder.
Note: I have my students color code their scores. Anything in green means a score of 80% or higher, yellow means 70%, and red means anything below a 70%. This allows for a quick visual view, and is great for parents to see as well.
Giving students the ability to actually see the progress they make is an incredible thing. With this quick visual, they are now taking ownership and responsibility for their learning, and are extremely excited about the results they see.
Like I said, these binders have been an amazing tool in my classroom! I absolutely love the organization of them, and my kids love them as well. They have even changed my parent/teacher conferences for the better, because I now have easy to understand feedback I can give to both parents and students with these Student Data Tracking Binders!
And, while your working hard tracking all of that data, your students should have binders that look organized and cute, right?! :) To help with that, I created this freebie for you! They are my Student Data Tracking Binder Covers and Binder Spines! Click HERE to check them out!
In this freebie are ten different colored binder covers, and tons of different sized binder spines! Five of the covers have girls, and the other five have boys. I've also included them in black and white! Click HERE to check it out!
Here are the binders, folders, and other supplies I use for each student's Student Data Tracking Binders:
If you need more help implementing them, I have created this FREE Frequently Asked Questions Pack in my store:
Click HERE or the picture below to check out the Marzano Level of Understanding Assess Yourself Posters and Rubrics:
Below are all of my Student Data Tracking Binders for both Math and ELA. Click HERE to check out a preview of each grade level!
Want more information on my Student Data Tracking Binders? See these posts below, or click the "Data Binder" label on my right sidebar!
**Read MORE about the Standards Based Assessments I use with my Student Data Tracking Binders HERE and HERE!
**See how I use my Student Data Tracking Binders to report grades and feedback efficiently to parents at conferences HERE!
**See how to implement my Student Data Tracking Binders in the middle of the year HERE!
**See how I use my Student Data Tracking Binders with standards based grading: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.