Direct Access to Achievement

Posted May 2 
The third annual Summer Assessment Institute promises to be the biggest and best yet. The three-day conference, "Targeted Classroom Assessment and Instructional Strategies that Support Student Learning," will be held from Aug.1-3 at the Eugene Hilton. Keynote speakers for the event include Dylan William, Rick Stiggins and John Woodward. Featured presenters include Bill McCallum, Tony Alpert, Aimee Guidera and Nancy Golden. More than 20 breakout sessions are planned on topics including: CCSS implementation; Smarter Balance and formative and summative assessment; AYP and the Oregon Report Card; and reading, writing, ELA and math. The conference will also include time for district teams to meet to map out a plan for the next school year. It's never too early to register--click HERE for a page with more information, including registration and room reservation links.

Updated March 14, 2012
The Data Quality Work Group met Wednesday, March 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Willamette ESD. Agenda topics included regional data warehouse activities, early-childhood assessment data needs and data quality training possibilities. The Data Quality Work Group provides guidance to the Oregon DATA Project and other data-related initiatives at ODE. For the agenda, click HERE. For the survey on data quality, click HERE. For questions, contact Megan Monson.

Formative assessment was the phrase of the day, as teachers and administrators from Southern Oregon gathered in Roseburg to attend a two-day training at Douglas Education Service District. The objectives of this session were to:

• Improve assessment literacy through a deeper understanding of the assessment design process.
• Understand how formative assessments are the centerpiece of an integrated standards and assessment system.
• Create a first draft of a formative assessment that can be used immediately.
• Practice using tools and techniques to evaluate and improve the quality of formative assessment.

The highly interactive session allowed participants to explore how the implementation of the formative assessment process improves learning for all students. Educators practiced how to pre-assess students’ level of mastery of concepts and skills, provide focused feedback to guide student learning and how to design post-assessment measures to determine next steps in the learning cycle. Participants will be provided with follow-up coaching and support to strengthen these skills and to go deeper into the formative assessment process.

The Direct Access to Achievement Project has been featured in several national publications recently. An article in Governing magazine, "States Lead Effort to Utilize Data in Education," mentions Oregon as a state taking "great strides" in the push toward harnessing data to improve instruction and policy. Read the entire article HERE. In Converge, a national educational technology magazine, writer Tanya Roscorla explores the project in depth, talking to state officials as well as participants in the DATA Project at the ESD and district level. Click here to read the article.

Updated Oct. 24
More than 60 teachers and administrators gathered in Portland on Oct. 24 and 25 to participate in the Direct Access to Achievement Project's two-day certification session. A similar session in the Medford area earlier in the month drew 50 educators from Southern Oregon. Attendees participated in an online study group course to prepare for the training. Participants who successfully complete the two-day course become certified trainers for the Oregon DATA Project, enabling them to support the work of data teams in their district. The Oregon DATA Project has certified more than 400 trainers through the rigorous training. 

A recording is now available of a national webinar featuring  the Oregon DATA Project and two participating districts, Redmond and Oregon City, where creating a culture for data use is taking hold. The webinar was held as part of a series by the School Turnaround Learning Community on "Using Data for Effective Turnaround." To listen to the 90-minute session, click HERE.

Updated Aug. 10
Today's elementary students will retire around the year 2065 -- what will prepare them for a world we cannot imagine? The bottom line, says Dr. Rick Stiggins, is that all students must become lifelong learners. Stiggins, president of Assessment Training Institute in Portland, served as keynote speaker for the 2011 ODE/COSA Oregon Summer Assessment Institute in Eugene.

The Institute, which opened Wednesday, Aug. 3, drew about 550 educators from throughout the state for its three-day run. "We have districts here that came over in a bus so their entire administrative team could attend," said ODE's Mickey Garrison in her welcoming remarks. "They worked all the way up and they'll work all the way home, too--that's dedication!"

Updated Aug. 2
More than 30 people attended the Direct Access to Achievement-sponsored session for coaches on Tuesday, Aug. 1, in Eugene. "Working to Stop What Stops the Work," conducted by Patty Parnell of Linn-Benton-Lincoln ESD, served as a pre-session for the annual Summer Assessment Institute, which begins Wednesday, Aug. 3.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rachel Wente-Chaney of High Desert ESD conducted a hands-on training for the DATA Project's Toolkit for Accountability, a Google-based suite of accountability tools. A team from the U.S. Department of Education was on hand to meet coaches and hear first hand about the effects of the Oregon DATA Project, which is funded by a federal grant.

Posted July 15
The Oregon Department of Education has had several opportunities lately to contribute to the resources available to states receiving Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) grants from the Institute of Education Sciences.

Posted July 15
ODE recently hosted a three-member team from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) who came to Oregon to learn about the Direct Access to Achievement Project. Under their SLDS grant, Kansas is embarking on a data use training initiative similar to Oregon's to educate and empower educators to use data to improve instruction. "We are huge supporters of the Oregon DATA Project and feel fortunate to be able to work directly with Mickey Garrison and her colleagues," says Kateri Grillot, senior trainer for KSDE. "We were specifically interested to learn how the project was constructed and modified over time to meet the needs of educators." During their two-day visit on July 13-14, the Kansas team met at ODE to discuss data issues, talk to Oregon DATA Project personnel, and develop a 100-day plan of action to take back with them. The visit is courtesy of the Personnel Exchange Network, a U.S. Department of Education-sponsored program that provides travel funds so organizations can share knowledge about education data issues.