March 27, 2017
Learning data can open up a world of possibilities for educators. Take a look at the success stories below to see how four schools are using data to promote student growth and improve test scores.
One school’s road to reading mastery
Today, Cleveland School of the Arts is a certified Reading Master School. It’s been recognized as an Ohio School of Promise for nearly a decade and consistently scores in the 90th percentile for reading on the Ohio proficiency test. It wasn’t that long ago, however, that the school’s reading score was just 19%.
To ensure students received the proper level of reading instruction, Cleveland School of the Arts began using Renaissance Accelerated Reader. One year later, the school’s reading scores had doubled. By year three, the school began scoring in the 90s consistently.
“It’s been a journey, but Accelerated Reader has been the critical piece in our success,” said former Principal Dr. Barbara Walton. “Accelerated Reader not only taught our students how to read and made the difference in our scores, but also engaged parents and brought us together as a faculty. Accelerated Reader has played a huge part in everything we’ve done, and we have a culture of readers to show for it.”
Read the full story: Ohio arts school celebrates an encore performance in reading achievement.
Improving math scores with differentiated instruction
It’s no secret that personalized learning can help students achieve tremendous growth, but that’s often easier said than done—unless you’re Newport Heights Elementary School in California.
After starting the Renaissance Accelerated Math program, teachers at Newport Heights were able to quickly discover who understood the material and who didn’t, allowing them to personalize instruction for each student.
“With Accelerated Math, you have a differentiated math program for every student—one so individualized that every strength and weakness is clearly defined and can be acted on immediately,” said John Daffron, who teaches second and third grade. “The amount of feedback and the daily interaction with each child make it impossible for anyone to fall through the cracks.”
The proof is in the results. In the 2009-10 school year, 100% of Daffron’s third grade class scored ‘Proficient’ or ‘Advanced’ in math on the California Standards Test. Out of his 22 students, 18 scored ‘Advanced’ while three earned perfect scores.
Read the full story: Differentiated math instruction key to large classroom gains.
Data makes all the difference
Five years ago, the staff at Dr. Levesque Elementary in Maine began searching for a way to improve their falling New England Common Assessment Program scores. After trying out paper-intensive, curriculum-based solutions, it was clear that something needed to change.
That’s when they started taking a closer look at the Renaissance Star assessments they’d been using for the last ten years.
“We weren’t using Star assessments the way they were intended until we started ongoing progress monitoring and tracking about two years ago,” said Principal Lisa Bernier. “We were guessing for years, but now Star data gives us a real grasp on how our kids are learning and how to differentiate their instruction. It also proves we’re moving in the right direction.”
Teachers at Dr. Levesque began using the assessment data to inform their classroom instruction and personalize the learning experience for each student, and it paid off. The school earned an ‘A’ rating from The Maine School Performance Grading System, up from a ‘C’ just two years prior.
Read the full story: Data moves a Maine school’s rating from “C” to “A”.
Meeting new standards with learning data
When Kentucky became the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English/language arts and math in 2012, Paducah Concord Elementary School had their work cut out for them to master the new standards.
The school began using a variety of Renaissance learning data solutions, and has already begun reaping the benefits of data-driven education, recently ranking 19 out of 733 elementary schools on Kentucky state assessments and being counted among the top 3% of schools in Kentucky. It’s also been named a School of Distinction and a Distinguished School.
“Renaissance has definitely played a role in our accomplishments,” said Principal Ginger Stewart. “We have excellent students, master teachers, involved parents, and a supportive district team, but the Renaissance products work if you work them. Each year, we refine the fidelity with which we use them.”
Read the full story: Kentucky school meets challenging reading and math CCSS goals.
>Learning data can open up a world of possibilities for educators. Take a look at the success stories below to see how four schools are using data to promote student growth and improve test scores.
One school’s road to reading mastery
Today, Cleveland School of the Arts is a certified Reading Master School. It’s been recognized as an Ohio School of Promise for nearly a decade and consistently scores in the 90th percentile for reading on the Ohio proficiency test. It wasn’t that long ago, however, that the school’s reading score was just 19%.
To ensure students received the proper level of reading instruction, Cleveland School of the Arts began using Renaissance Accelerated Reader. One year later, the school’s reading scores had doubled. By year three, the school began scoring in the 90s consistently.
“It’s been a journey, but Accelerated Reader has been the critical piece in our success,” said former Principal Dr. Barbara Walton. “Accelerated Reader not only taught our students how to read and made the difference in our scores, but also engaged parents and brought us together as a faculty. Accelerated Reader has played a huge part in everything we’ve done, and we have a culture of readers to show for it.”
Read the full story: Ohio arts school celebrates an encore performance in reading achievement.
Improving math scores with differentiated instruction
It’s no secret that personalized learning can help students achieve tremendous growth, but that’s often easier said than done—unless you’re Newport Heights Elementary School in California.
After starting the Renaissance Accelerated Math program, teachers at Newport Heights were able to quickly discover who understood the material and who didn’t, allowing them to personalize instruction for each student.
“With Accelerated Math, you have a differentiated math program for every student—one so individualized that every strength and weakness is clearly defined and can be acted on immediately,” said John Daffron, who teaches second and third grade. “The amount of feedback and the daily interaction with each child make it impossible for anyone to fall through the cracks.”
The proof is in the results. In the 2009-10 school year, 100% of Daffron’s third grade class scored ‘Proficient’ or ‘Advanced’ in math on the California Standards Test. Out of his 22 students, 18 scored ‘Advanced’ while three earned perfect scores.
Read the full story: Differentiated math instruction key to large classroom gains.
Data makes all the difference
Five years ago, the staff at Dr. Levesque Elementary in Maine began searching for a way to improve their falling New England Common Assessment Program scores. After trying out paper-intensive, curriculum-based solutions, it was clear that something needed to change.
That’s when they started taking a closer look at the Renaissance Star assessments they’d been using for the last ten years.
“We weren’t using Star assessments the way they were intended until we started ongoing progress monitoring and tracking about two years ago,” said Principal Lisa Bernier. “We were guessing for years, but now Star data gives us a real grasp on how our kids are learning and how to differentiate their instruction. It also proves we’re moving in the right direction.”
Teachers at Dr. Levesque began using the assessment data to inform their classroom instruction and personalize the learning experience for each student, and it paid off. The school earned an ‘A’ rating from The Maine School Performance Grading System, up from a ‘C’ just two years prior.
Read the full story: Data moves a Maine school’s rating from “C” to “A”.
Meeting new standards with learning data
When Kentucky became the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English/language arts and math in 2012, Paducah Concord Elementary School had their work cut out for them to master the new standards.
The school began using a variety of Renaissance learning data solutions, and has already begun reaping the benefits of data-driven education, recently ranking 19 out of 733 elementary schools on Kentucky state assessments and being counted among the top 3% of schools in Kentucky. It’s also been named a School of Distinction and a Distinguished School.
“Renaissance has definitely played a role in our accomplishments,” said Principal Ginger Stewart. “We have excellent students, master teachers, involved parents, and a supportive district team, but the Renaissance products work if you work them. Each year, we refine the fidelity with which we use them.”
Read the full story: Kentucky school meets challenging reading and math CCSS goals.