Educators in Ohio from Jackson City Schools and the Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center (ESC) are using SAS Education Visualization and Analytics Solution (EVAAS) for K-12 to enhance data-driven problem-solving for students.
In a recent SAS customer success story, Changing the Data Conversation in Ohio Schools, the administration from Jackson Middle School reported a 10% increase in student achievement in seventh-grade math, which they attribute to the outcome of transformative, collaborative conversations.
We’ve extracted five promising practices that we learned from our conversation with these Ohio educators related to collaborative, data-driven conversations. These practices can be a blueprint for other school districts to follow.
Promising practice 1: Structured professional development and coaching support
Ohio educators emphasize intentional, vertically aligned professional development and support. The Gallia-Vinton ESC provides professional support to Jackson City Schools leadership, who then deliver it to their staff. This iterative cycle focuses on data-driven problem-solving and structured team collaboration, contributing to academic improvements.
Promising practice 2: Protecting time for collaboration
Jackson Middle School administration ensures that collaborative team meetings and planning time are built into the weekly schedule. This dedicated time for discussions around student data and instructional planning, protected by the administration, communicates that it is a priority and maintains consistency.
Promising practice 3: Active leadership engagement
In addition to ensuring this time is scheduled weekly and protected, the school administration at Jackson Middle School actively participates in these team collaborations. Administrators hold one day on their calendar each week to participate in these collaborative sessions and remain informed on student progress and instructional priorities among each grade level at their school.
Promising practice 4: Parent engagement in data discussions
Jackson Middle School leadership speaks to how their teachers engage parents in data and progress discussions. They use EVAAS data to support conversations with parents about their child’s progress and use this information to increase transparency with parents regarding their child’s performance.
Promising practice 5: Data-driven goal setting with students
These educators engage parents in data-driven conversations and work with students to set individual goals. These discussions empower students with an awareness of their performance and the opportunity to provide input into their future academic goals. Educators use these conversations as motivation for students. Mark Broermann, Principal of Jackson Middle School, captures the essence of these conversations best. "When educators can show a student their progress, it can encourage a child who is struggling in school to see how much they’ve grown,” Broermann said. “It can also motivate high-performing students to reach their next milestone when they see the path outlined clearly through data.”
A blueprint for others to follow
In summary, Ohio educators are successfully implementing transformative conversations through intentional professional development, protected collaboration time, active leadership engagement, parent involvement in data discussions, and data-driven goal-setting with students. These practices form a comprehensive blueprint for others to follow. By adopting similar strategies, educational institutions can substantially improve student academic outcomes. This will create a more effective and student-centered learning environment.
