Organization Station: Data Collection Reminders

Yep, this pretty much sums up how we feel about data! We know it can be tricky to find time to record data but it is absolutely essential to monitoring progress and planning future interventions. In today's Organization Station we are going to share some of the data collection strategies we have seen when out coaching to hopefully make data collection easier and meaningful. 

Baseline Data

To determine what a student needs, it is important to first determine where they are at through taking baseline data. This could come from ETR testing or classroom assessments. For some skills, a rubric can be a great way to see where the student's current level is and also provides a progression of skills to get to proficiency. 

Communication Rubric
Emily Beck
Bradford Elementary, Bradford

Behavior Data

Often when coaching teams they will report student behavior that is interfering with the student's success at school. Behavior is so tricky because there is often a lot of emotion involved. The truth is, reporting on behavior without data is just an opinion. Taking baseline data on behavior provides a starting point for where to start with behavior interventions and addressing skill deficits and takes the emotion and opinion out of the equation. We love using this scatterplot data collection sheet because it makes it easy to visually see patterns of data and determine when to provide interventions. 

Brandy Beirise
Wayne High School, Huber Heights

Goal-Specific Data

Once baseline data is taken and analyzed, then goals and objectives are determined. Often, teachers will create goal-specific data collection tools to ensure that staff is keeping the goal in mind when working on needed skills. 

Granville Bastin
Preble County ESC

Data Organization

Many of us have been here! We get ready to write an IEP or progress report and realize that we don't have enough data. Or we want to trial a new intervention and realize we really don't have enough data to determine if the current interventions are being used with fidelity. Creating a system for organizing what data will be taken and who will take it ensures everything gets taken care of. 

Tim Sullivan 
Springfield High School, Springfield

Annette Black
Springfield High School, Springfield

Mandy Schetter
Northmoor Elementary, Northmont

Keep data collection materials in a designated area for easy access by teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service personnel. Using the same data collection sheets can reduce discrepancies and allow for easier collaboration and problem-solving. 

Rylie Jarrett
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Jackie Vollmer
Driscoll Elementary, Centerville

For more great ideas from our regional classrooms for data collection don't miss our previous posts:

Data Collection

Collecting Data

More Ideas for Data Collection