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3D ::: Data-Driven Decision Making


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We are interested in compiling information about best practices and developing case studies of school districts that are using data-driven decision making systems to support continuous improvement and achieve their educational goals.

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Best Practices Case Studies

Chicago Public Schools
(www.cps.k12.il.us)

Name: Chicago Public Schools
Location: Chicago, IL
Schools: 623
Enrollment: 420,982

With over 420,000 students and more than 600 schools, Chicago Public Schools finds itself in all three stages of data-driven decision making at once: collection, analysis, and action.


Forsyth County Schools
(www.forsyth.k12.ga.us)

Name: Forsyth County Schools
Location:Cumming, Ga.
Schools: 30
Enrollment: 30,815

In the spring of 2008, Forsyth County Schools enhanced their community-led strategic plan by rolling out a special data collection and analysis tool called the R4 Dashboard.



Fox Chapel Area School District
(www.fcasd.edu)

Name: Fox Chapel Area School District
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high
Enrollment: 4,600

A small school district committed to individualized instruction, Fox Chapel Area School District is learning data-driven decision making from its own success as well as the success of its neighbors.



2006 Broad Prize for Urban Education Winners
The Broad Prize is an annual award that honors the nation's urban school districts making the greatest improvements in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between high- and low-income students.



Chugach School District
Rural Response to Local Expectations
Name: Chugach School District
Location: Prince William Sound, Alaska
Enrollment: 214
Chugach School District in south central Alaska transformed their district from a failure to a success by engaging the community, asking fundamental questions, and using real data to understand where resources needed to go. In 1994, the district was failing by almost all measures: staff turnover exceeded 50%; students scored lowest in the state of Alaska on California Achievement Tests; business leaders complained that graduates lacked basic skills; and only one student in 26 years had gone on to college.



Cleveland Municipal School District
Name: Cleveland Municipal School District
Location: Cleveland, OH
Schools: 125
Enrollment: 72,199
Cleveland Municipal School District has turned around the quality of education in the district by focusing on fiscal responsibility and improving education at the elementary and middle schools, using frequent, relevant data for more direct instruction.



Community Consolidated School District 15 (CCSD 15)/Ill.
(www.ccsd15.net)

2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Winner
Name: Community Consolidated School District 15
Location: Palatine, Illinois, northwest of Chicago
Enrollment: 13,000 students
Located in Palatine, Illinois, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Community Consolidated School District 15 uses the Baldrige Award performance criteria as a framework for self-assessing organizational progress. The district serves 13,000 students with 14 elementary schools, three junior high schools, a K-8 school, a special education school, and a newcomer's school.



Fulton County Schools
Name: Fulton County Schools
Location: Atlanta, GA
Elementary Schools: 52
Middle Schools: 18
High Schools: 12
Alternative high schools and charter schools: 6
Enrollment: 75,188
Fulton County Schools, a large school district outside of Atlanta, Georgia, has adopted data-driven decision as part of a comprehensive strategic planning process with everyone involved – from classroom teachers to principals to district administrators. The district data management and analysis systems provide increasingly customized and more frequent information to decision makers.



Lemon Grove School District
Name: Lemon Grove School District
Location: Lemon Grove, CA
Elementary Schools: 6
Middle Schools: 2
Enrollment: 4,441
Lemon Grove School District turned underperforming schools around by holding all students to high standards and using disaggregated data to target resources. Ubiquitous access to technology resources gives everyone in the district access to the tools they need to make better decisions and improve direct instruction.



Montgomery County School District: Daily Activities Tied to Vision
Name: Montgomery County School District
Location: Rockville, Maryland
Enrollment: 138,891 students
Located in one of the fastest growing areas in the country, Montgomery County School District (MCSD) in Rockville, Maryland, operates 191 schools. Like CCSD15, MCSD adopted the Baldrige model for continuous improvement and uses a business reporting format to communicate goals, progress, and expectations. The MCPS Strategic Plan offers a road map for where the school is going and how they are getting there.



Panhandle Area Education Consortium
Created in 1967 to support rural school districts in the northwest region of Florida, the Panhandle Area Education Consortium offers a professional development course in data-driven decision making to administrators and instructors in 20 Region I school districts. The consortium leverages resources across districts to deliver training and support. Because teachers rarely receive instruction in data-driven decision making during pre-service, they need to learn analysis techniques to make use of it.



Pearl River School District (PRSD)
(www.pearlriver.k12.ny.us)
Name: Pearl River School District
Location: Rockland County, New York
Enrollment: 2,467 students
Pearl River School District (PRSD) in Rockland County, New York, also received the 2001 Baldrige Award. The district began their change process in 1992 with a new board of education and three strategic goals: improving academic performance, improving public perception, and maintaining fiscal stability and improving cost effectiveness.



Plano Independent School District (PISD)
(www.pisd.edu/aos/facts.htm)
PISD in Texas moved from a rationale of "that's the way we've always done it" to a process of continuous improvement informed by real data from real students. According to Dr. Priscilla Kimery, Director of Research, Assessment and Evaluation, technology is the vehicle that helps Plano consolidate, illustrate, and communicate information necessary for educators-in partnership with parents-to impact student learning and performance.



Poway Unified School District (PUSD)
(powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/teaching/DataWareHousing/dw.htm)
Name: Poway Unified School District
Location: Suburbs outside of San Diego, California
Enrollment: 32,754 students
Poway Unified School District, a member of the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, realized that they were data-rich and information poor. The district has 31 schools and an enrollment of 32,754 students from the suburbs of San Diego, California. They started by bringing together disparate data sources including databases from transportation, human resources, student information systems, learning management systems, finance and special education departments. One of the first places they focused on delivering the information with clarity and meaning was the teacher's desktop.