Data-based instructional decision making related to basic early literacy skills in the Intermediate Phase
Abstract
Arising from the increasing demands of the twenty-first century workplace, concern
over learner reading performance is at the forefront of national education. The
increasing demands have raised the literacy bar for learners and subsequently,
schools have been forced to accommodate instruction for these increased
expectations. As teachers increasingly are held responsible for learner achievement,
school teachers struggle to find ways to effectively document learner responsiveness
to interventions and track progress towards important reading literacy outcomes.
Data-based instructional decision making pertains to the systematic collection,
analysis, examination, and interpretation of data to inform practice and policy in
education settings. Effective use of assessment data to plan, judge, and modify
teaching is a fundamental competency for good teaching. Teachers need to actively
use the information collected via the assessments to critically evaluate their teaching
in order to determine how it could be changed to better meet the learner‘s needs.
Generally, schools collect enormous amounts of data on learners‘ attendance,
behaviour, and performance. But when it comes to improving teaching and learning,
it‘s not the quantity of the data that counts, but how the information is used.
The purpose of the study was to determine what assessment data a district (i.e.,
Fairy Tale district) requires schools (i.e., sample namely, Grade 4 in the Intermediate
Phase) to submit; what a district expects from schools and/or teachers in terms of
assessment data analysis, interpretation and instructional decision making; what
assessments teachers use to assess basic early literacy skills such as oral reading
fluency and reading comprehension; how teachers assess basic early literacy skills;
what instructional decisions teachers make related to their learners‘ basic early
literacy skills assessment results; and how the implementation of a data-based
instructional decision making model (i.e., Outcomes-driven model) affected teachers‘instructional decision making as related to basic early literacy skills.
This study was conducted with an interpretive research paradigm. A proactive action
research design was chosen for this study. The aim was to collaborate with a subject
Summary iv
specialist (district level), school management team (school level) and two Grade 4
teachers (classroom level), in order to obtain an in depth understanding of
assessment practice in general, and specifically the assessment support needs of
teachers and learners.
Overall, the results indicated that use of data is part of an ongoing cycle of
instructional improvement. After collecting multiple sources of data about learner
learning, teachers should interpret data and develop hypotheses about how to
improve learner learning then modifying instruction to test those hypotheses. The
results also clearly indicated that data in a district and school context isn‘t powerful
or valuable until tools, processes, and training or supports are put in place for users
to accurately understand it and put it into action.
In this study, I developed a system-wide basic early literacy skill assessment and
instructional support framework for the Intermediate Phase. The framework is
intended to ensure that all partners in education accept collective responsibility for
ensuring learner reading achievement by addressing data-based instructional
decision making at all levels of the educational system related to reading literacy
assessment practices and data-based instructional practices. All components of a
coherent system are aligned with the key goals for learner‘s learning. A
comprehensive assessment system addresses a full range of knowledge and skills
expected by the curriculum (i.e., CAPS). It provides different users at different levels
in the system (district, school, and classroom) with the right kinds of data, at the right
level of detail, to help with decision making. A system that is continuous provides ongoing
streams of information about learner‘s learning throughout the year.
Key words: accurate and fluent reading, reading comprehension, vocabulary and
language skills, assessment, progress monitoring assessment, instructional decision
making, data-literacy, data-driven decision making, data-driven instructional
practices, assessment literacy, data-based instructional decision making.
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- Education [1687]
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