How Tracking Student Data Improves Teaching Practices

By Bernard Pierorazio

Introduction❖ Determining student progress is a process in which

teachers gather evidence to evaluate how students are progressing with the curriculum and their own annual learning goals.

❖ Planning ways to gather evidence of student learning is vital in determining the effectiveness of past instruction and a teacher’s ability to modify upcoming lessons that better support student needs.

Collecting the Data

❖ As an educator, it is your job to collect data on student performances and internalize it in the most efficient and effective way possible.

❖ To do this, teachers should use formative and summative progress checks to help ensure they are creating and delivering lessons that lead students toward mastery and ultimately meet their annual learning goals.

Tracking Students

❖ In addition, teachers should use this information and create a tracking system for each class and every student.

❖ Tracking student progress is not an end in itself, but a means of monitoring and promoting positive student outcomes.

Why is Tracking Important?

Why is tracking important?❖ Tracking propels student academic growth by helping

the teacher accurately identify students’ strengths and weaknesses for development, make more strategic decisions about future lessons, and plan for differentiated instruction that leads to student mastery.

❖ Teachers should use formative and summative progress checks to help ensure they are creating and delivering lessons that lead students toward mastery and ultimately meet their annual learning goals.

What can student tracking do for you?

❖ Tracking also provides your students with a sense of accountability for their own personal work and effort within the classroom. This in turn can motivate and drive students to individualize their own academic goals for future success later on within the year.

How Do You Track Your Students?

Follow or Create a System❖ Tracking your students can be a somewhat meticulous process. But as you can see,

there is more upside in developing each individual in order for them to hit their goals.

❖ To do this effectively, follow or create a particular tracking system. At many of your schools, they should already have a system in place to track between classes and amongst each students.

❖ This break down should highlight the overall average, your school’s set standards, and the individual student’s overall strengths and weaknesses.

❖ If possible utilize a coloring system

❖ Keep in mind, teaching is not a one size fit all system. Because of this, tailor your tracking system to reflect your style and your students’ interest.

For Each Student❖ To make sure your students get the best out of this, make sure you

break down your data in various checkpoints, Teacher notes, and overall assessments.

❖ Be sure to include their state mandated scores as well as your own benchmarks and standards for both formative and summative assessments.

❖ If possible, make sure a majority of this information is quantifiable and understandable to both you and your students. For your students to gain the most out of this process, they need to make sure they can understand and internalize these numbers.

Class Tracking System❖ As an option for student motivation, make sure you can

provide a class tracking chart that can assess how well each class is doing against one another.

❖ Make sure the system can break down the following:

❖ Items on an assessment

❖ Standards covered in class

❖ Content Skills

❖ Mastery

One-on-One Meetings

Reflection

❖ To make sure your students fully internalize the information, be sure to explain and reflect on your students’ results.

❖ Allow each student to create their own personal educational goals.

To Learn More❖ Please visit the following sites:

❖ Bernard Pierorazio Education

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