As a K-12 administrator, you have probably encountered the challenge of helping your teachers navigate state assessment data. This information is crucial in identifying gaps in student learning and planning effective teaching strategies for the coming year. Understanding and analyzing this data can be challenging, and requires proper training and guidance. To support your teachers in this process, it can be helpful to set up a professional development day dedicated to reviewing state assessment data. Here’s a guide to help you plan and implement a professional development day dedicated to helping teachers review state assessment data. 

Identify the Focus Areas

 The first step in planning a professional development day for teachers is to identify the focus areas you want to concentrate on. You can do this by examining state assessment data and analyzing areas where students performed well and those where they didn’t. You can use this data to focus on specific high-need areas and create targeted instruction plans. Having a clear objective for the professional development day will help you tailor the training to meet the specific needs of your teachers.

Prepare the Teachers

Once you have identified the focus areas for the professional development day, you need to prepare your teachers. This involves informing them of the goals and objectives of the day, and what they should expect. You can also provide pre-workshop materials for teachers to study before the day. The pre-workshop materials should be curated to support teachers in analyzing the state assessment data and getting a better understanding of the data analysis tools.

Invite an Expert

Consider inviting an expert in data analysis to lead the professional development day. An outside expert can help teachers to understand the data in a comprehensive way and provide them with additional resources to support student learning. You can also use this opportunity to invite teachers from other schools or districts to create a community of learning.

Include Hands-on Activities

 Data is technical and can be difficult to comprehend without hands-on activities. Teachers might have different skill levels in data analysis, so, create activities that cater to different skill levels. These activities can involve working with interactive data visualization tools or group discussions. This way, teachers can apply what they have learned and get feedback from their peers. Ensure that teachers have adequate time to reflect and share their findings with each other at the end of the process. 

Follow Up

A professional development day is not the end of the process. You should define a follow-up process and track the progress of your teachers. Encourage teachers to apply what they learned in their classes and provide opportunities for them to share their successes and failures with their colleagues. Hosting a follow-up session after a few weeks will also enable teachers to provide feedback on the professional development day, and help you plan a more effective session in the future.

Providing professional development opportunities for teachers to review state assessment data can go a long way in improving student learning. As an administrator, it is your responsibility to ensure that your teachers have the necessary skills and expertise to analyze and interpret this data effectively. By following the guidelines in this post, you can help your teachers to leverage state assessment data to drive instruction and improve student outcomes. Remember, learning doesn’t stop with a professional development day, so, be sure to follow up with your teachers and enable them to apply what they have learned.

Progress Learning provides regular webinars to help teachers with professional development and training. Request a demo to see how we can further support you and your teachers. 

Download our free ​​3-step guide on leading a professional development day with your campus or district.