KNOW THY IMPACT: THE THREE‘ A’ S TO BECOMING A DATA POWERFUL SCHOOL
BY SAM HOLLIDAY
“ My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.” Charles Kettering
In Volume 5: Issue 2, of Teach Middle East Magazine, I talked about how schools can be Data Powerful to enable Assessment Capable Learners. In this article, I would like to delve a little deeper.
Charles Kettering always provides inspiring quotes to reflect on and the above quote is one of my favourites. When considering the future of our learners, from a data perspective, we should study The Three‘ A’ s; Attainment, Aptitude and Attitude.
Sharing Good Practice
Attainment
Attainment is the most common focus and the likely‘ default mode’ which schools go into when reporting and reviewing data. Of course, we can analyse historic data and identify trends, strengths and areas of focus( for individuals and cohorts) and naturally refer to it as evidence of our success when speaking to parents and inspection teams.
Here is my question: What about the children?
As schools, we are responsible for their development: academically, socially and morally. This is where we should be studying the other two‘ A’ s.
Aptitude
A child’ s potential is much more than a motivational phrase or advertising byline; it is a fact. We need to identify exactly what batteries our children are strong in and where a deficiency may be holding them back. We should identify preferred learning styles to aid progression and full curriculum access. We ought to set consistent and appropriate levels of challenge for our pupils and share their potential with them.
At Kings’ School Nad Al Sheba, our teachers use the CAT4 outcomes to challenge pupils to move themselves through a series of progressive learning objectives which are moulded around Bloom’ s Taxonomy. The culture and atmosphere allows for this, as our pupils understand that learning is not achievement. They understand that the development that takes place in reaching and exceeding their potential, through the learning pits, is their true achievement. We invite everyone to come and see the wonderful work our teachers are doing in action.
Naturally, this brings some challenges, and this is where the third‘ A’ is crucial.
Attitude
As common with every other learner on the planet, a large majority of learning depends on attitude. Pupil conferencing is key, as is learner voice. Finding out what concerns pupils face, be it academically, socially or emotionally, will highlight many inconspicuous pupil difficulties, to schools. Changing mindsets of what makes a good learner has to become priority. Work to move children’ s responses from sitting quietly and looking at the teacher, to persevering and taking risks.
In addition to this, reflect on the PASS outcomes. These review tests look at Pupils Attitudes to Self and School and the outcomes can be grouped into how pupils feel about themselves, their learning or their school. They can often highlight a child’ s perspective that pupil conferencing can’ t, especially for pupils that have difficulties articulating their feelings and opinions.
Combining The Three‘ A’ s is no quick fix. It may be a cultural shift in a school’ s practices and is most effective when fully embedded. Using the data outcomes of the CAT4 tests for challenge and the summaries of PASS scores alongside Learner Voice, can help turn opinion into fact, making it very difficult to argue with. When facts are presented and actioned, a whole range of barriers to learning can be removed.
Sam is an Assistant Head teacher at Kings’ School Nad Al Sheba where he is responsible for whole school Data, Assessment and Curriculum. He has a Masters Degree in Primary Education and is completing his National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership. Follow him on Twitter: @ mrhollidayteach.
Class Time | | Jan- Feb 2018 | 11