CAIS: Data-Informed Decision Making -- Insights from A Small California Private School

Orientation: this was a presentation at the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) annual conference for Heads and Boards of Trustees.  Crane School is an 80 year old a k-8 independent school in Santa Barbara, CA.

Data-Informed Decision Making Joel Weiss, Head of School, Crane Country Day School; Laura Shelbune, President, Board of Trustees; Debbie Williams, Director of Admissions

Many of us have read Jim Collins’ book Good to Great. He advocates that we must continually refine the path to excellence with the “brutal facts” of reality. As one leader summarizes, “My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things underneath!” So what does “confronting the brutal facts” mean in a practical way at a small independent school? In this session, one school will share some of the techniques it has used to generate important data for the administration and Board. Annual parent surveys, demographic studies, grade analysis of our graduates, and open-ended meetings with the Head of School, are all examples of tools we have used to create a culture where people (and the truth!) are heard.

The team defined "data-informed decision making" (DIDM) as:

• Creating a culture that regularly conducts research and analysis as crucial tools for any decision-making process

The Crane team has found that for their school, collecting and analyzing data

• Increases quality of decision-making
• Increases the transparency in administrative decisions, which in turn fosters trust and  a sense of community
• Allows entire school community to assess if school is "living the mission".

The school did not arrive all at once at a DIDM culture; it evolved over time.  When Weiss took over the headship in 2000, his "entry process" was to hold structured interviews with a wide range of stakeholders (parents, faculty, trustees, alumi parents). This awakened in him a thirst for more information.

The advent of inexpensive or free survey instruments (such as Survey Monkey) has made it even easier to collect data. Some schools use the National Association of Independent School's survey maker.

Crane uses three web-based surveys annually.

1. A parent survey assessing the just-past year's experience.  The response rate is fairly high.  The instrument allows parents to assess not just individual programs, but also satisfaction with their child's teacher.  The instrument assesses all programs annually, and goes in-depth on one aspect on a rotating basis. The administration collates the responses, which are presented to the faculty individually.  There is a mandatory community meeting in the fall, at which the Head of School presents the previous year's survey. 
2. Several admissions surveys.  (My notes are a bit vague here -- I don't know if they survey families who were not accepted to Crane).  One version is sent to families who were accepted at Crane, but declined to attend; the other is sent to families were accepted at Crane, and who accepted.  The responses are collated by the admissions office, and the responses have driven changes both in the administration and the curriculum.
3. Evaluation of the Head.  A web-based survey is sent to the full board, plus the Board's Head Evaluation Team inteviews 12 stakeholders in depth.  The results are collated by the Head Evaluation Team and presented to the Board of Trustees and the Head.

Occasional Surveys:

1. The Crane School commissioned a demographic survey a few years ago, which found that the birth to preschool population (future students) was smaller than they anticipated.  They recommend that schools commission or perform such surveys on a regular basis, perhaps every five years.
2. Grade analysis: asking graduates to provide their post-Crane grades, to ensure that Crane is not falling into a pattern of grade inflation.

The team then presented several other survey or fact-finding opportunities that could be used.  The Board President made the point that surveys can be very useful for dayschools whose boards consist largely of current parents: results can help the board have the proper future focus.

Why are schools reluctant to adopt Data Informed Decision Making

Debbie Williams, Director of Admissions, confessed that she was a "reluctant adopter", and identified four reasons why schools may be slow to move in this direction

1. The weight of tradition -- if the school has "always" used some other decision-making methods, then adding data seems somehow wrong.
2. Data-based decision making seems somehow cold and foreign to educators -- it makes school seem too much like a business.
3. Many educators lack training in statistics or quantitative methods. 
4. Concerns about confidentiality and the collection of data.

Williams stressed that all four of these conditions can be overcome.

I am also wondering about schools getting more out of their online gradebook/attendance programs, such as Blackboard . Purdue is piloting the Signals progam to do just that .  The quote below describes another public school program

How Data can put at-risk students on a college and career path Wouldn't it be helpful if educators could figure out, as early as 8th grade, whether a student was on track not just to graduate from high school but to go on to college or start a career? Wouldn't it be even better if educators could also determine exactly how far behind that student was along the achievement spectrum and pinpoint which interventions were best suited to a student at that level of readiness?

Reporting from the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) 2010 Heads & Trustees Conference (links will be added as posted)

• Overview & "What Is A Private School?  What Is An Independent School"
• Keynote: Mark David Milliron at CAIS 2010:  “Ten Emerging Insights on Learning and the Road Ahead” --Elaborations & Reflections; Live Tweeting a Presentation
• Equity Pedagogy and the Diversity Journey -- Lessons Learned by Lick Wilmerding
• Data-Informed Decision Making Lessons from Crane School
• Charter Schools and the Shifting Educational Landscape
• Closing Keynote from NAIS President Patrick Bassett  The "New Normal" -- A Game-Changing Model for Financially Sustainable Schools

Comments

[PhilipDeely]

I remember years ago saying to a faculty group that was resisting my attempts to develop a questionnaire based teaching assessment, "We can learn from real data or we can continue to rely on our three old favorites-rumor, innuendo, and character assassination!" DIDM is the way to go.