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Data Coaching for Building Principals

Helping principals move from data overload to data informed.

Research shows time and time again, that school principals are the key to improving student outcomes. But, the demands on principals' time make it challenging to move from raw data, to action, to results. This all-new Data Coaching for Principals service is designed to help principals transform raw numbers into actionable insights for their school community.

Meet The Data Coaches

Dr. Steven Snead brings over two decades of experience in K-12 Schools, using data & assessment to improve systems that grow student achievement. He currently serves as the Supervisor of the Curriculum & Assessment Unit at Oakland Schools, and he also serves as the Board Secretary for the Michigan Assessment Consortium. He's been a high school teacher, data specialist, ISD Consultant, and ISD Administrator. He's given numerous keynotes, workshops, and panel discusions at local, state, and national conferences. His specific areas of practice include:

  • School Turnaround
  • MTSS
  • Collaborative Data Analysis
  • Formative Assessment
  • Common Assessment Development
  • Interim Benchmark Assessment
  • M-STEP - P/SAT Data Analysis

Dr. Snead utilizes the Cognitive Coaching(SM) approach designed by The Thinking Collaborative.

Dr. Megan Throm brings over 25 years of experience in K-12 and post-secondary educational environments, bridging the classroom to district-level leadership and countywide service, helping to grow systems of data and assessment to inform student learning. She currently serves as a Research, Evaluation, and Assessment Consultant with Oakland Schools leading countywide projects such as the Oakland-Renaissance DnA Collaboration, MI School Data State Leadership Team, and FAME Coach (Formative Assessment for Michigan Educators). She's a sought-after presenter for numerous annual conferences, including the Michigan School Testing Conference, and the Building a Better Assessment Future Conference. Her specific areas of practice include:

  • Equitable Grading
  • MI School Data
  • Renaissance DnA
  • Data Visualizations
  • Data Protocols
  • M-STEP - P/SAT Data Analysis
  • Formative Assessment
  • High Quality Summative Assessment

Dr. Throm utilizes the Cognitive Coaching(SM) approach designed by The Thinking Collaborative.

Our
4-Step
Data
Coaching Cycle

Data Coaching for Principals takes a simple approach to support building principal data & assessment literacy.

  1. Principals determine a specific task they want to create & accomplish:
    • School Board Presentation
    • Parent & Caregiver Presentation
    • Whole Staff Data Meeting
    • Small Team Data Meeting
    • 1:1 Staff Data Meeting
    • MICIP Strategy revision based on data
  2. Principals schedule an initial coaching session.
    • This initial session helps to set the professional relationship, create goals, and formulate a flexible 30-90 day plan of support.
  3. Principals schedule a follow-up coaching session(s).
    • All initial coaching sessions are followed by a follow-up coaching session up to 30 days after the initial coaching session. Principals may schedule as many coaching sessions as they need to support the task.
  4. Principals complete a feedback form to the Data Coach providing critical feedback and reflection on their growth during their coaching cycle. These data are kept confidential between the coach and principal.

Resources

Assessment Literacy Standards - Michigan Assessment Consortium
Assessment Literacy Standards - Michigan Assessment Consortium

Assessment literacy is essential for equitable learning by all students. Therefore, the purpose of the Standards is driven by both the users and uses of assessment to achieve equitable outcomes for all students. The Assessment Literacy Standards show what assessment literate students and their families, teachers, administrators, and policymakers value, know, and can do. There is a section in this collection of Standards specifically for builing administrators.

Dr. Steven Snead served as a contributor to this revised set of standards.

Understanding Assessment Culture - Center for Educational Assessment
Understanding Assessment Culture - Center for Educational Assessment

How do attitudes and beliefs about assessment affect teaching and learning in your school? In partnership with ISTE, the Center for Assessment has created the Understanding Assessment Culture Guide that’s intended to help school and district leaders understand these dynamics. While it is not designed for use as a step-by-step toolkit to support evaluation, this document does provide a foundation for leaders to learn more about their school or district’s assessment culture.

Dr. Steven Snead served as a reviewer for this guide.

Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making
Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making

The recommendations in the Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making create a framework for effectively using data to make instructional decisions. This framework should include a data system that incorporates data from various sources, a data team in schools to encourage the use and interpretation of data, collaborative discussion sessions among teachers about data use and student achievement, and instruction for students about how to use their own achievement data to set and monitor educational goals.