Volume 11, Spring 2005
Part 2: S.M.A.R.T.ToolsTM —
The Goal-Driven Learning Management System
S.M.A.R.T.Tools from QLD provides professional learning communities software brains and brawn to support data-driven goals and multiple assessment strategies to meet accountability challenges.
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S.M.A.R.T.Tools can help educators design curriculum and instruction to embed goal-driven learning, assessment and data analysis into daily practice. What follows is an example of an elementary school leadership team using S.M.A.R.T.Tools to address accountability challenges in the area of writing in the context of everyday teaching and learning.
Step 1: Needs Analysis
Using the S.M.A.R.T.Tools Goals and Progress module to assess progress toward state Accountability Goals, the school team discovers that writing proficiency, tested at grade 4, is significantly lower than any other competency addressed by state ELA and Math tests. Writing proficiency is low across all demographic subgroups. Free and reduced lunch students scored especially low on the writing portion of the ELA test — and are hovering just above the current AYP target for English Language Arts.
A closer look at writing, based on local ELA Performance Goals, reveals a similar pattern at all grade levels, where writing is tested each trimester by a common district assessment. Students scored significantly lower on these assessments of writing than on district reading tests.
Armed with this data, the school team strategizes on how to make dramatic and lasting improvement in writing proficiency across all grades and demographic subgroups.
Step 2: Setting a SMART Goal
Although writing is taught at various times in the context of language arts instruction, the school team determines it is not a major focus of student learning. They conclude that the best way to systematically improve student writing performance is to create a SMART Goal that addresses writing across the curriculum. The goal is to increase writing proficiency from less than 40% to 85% or higher in 3 years, with annual progress targets. Indicators include standards for the writing process, as well as for different genres and writing purposes. State and district assessment is expanded to the classroom by including periodic writing prompts in all subjects to reinforce both writing and general understanding. All prompts will be scored with the same 6-point rubric used to score state and district assessments.
Using the Assessment and Goals and Progress modules, the team sets formative (assessment for learning) and summative performance targets throughout the year — based on a multiple assessment model. They also use the S.M.A.R.T.Tools Courses and Guides module to set up a Writing Across the Curriculum Guide in which writing prompts, the rubric and additional writing resources are shared. The writing prompts are added to Lesson Plans in all grade level Guides and scheduled on the Calendar for instruction.
Step 3: Assessment and Progress Monitoring
Using the Assessment and Goals and Progress modules, teachers and students begin to gather timely data on writing performance. At a click, progress is viewed in graphic form, enabling the school team as well as individual teachers to view actual group competency developing over time toward the SMART Goal targets. Teachers view scores for their class and click to sort students by proficiency level, accessing instant information for grouping and providing instructional interventions. Teachers also share detailed results with individual students about their progress. From the Strategies, Activities and Resources module, teachers instantly find additional standards-aligned tools for improving writing skills.
Step 4: Reflection and Improvement
The school team uses the Courses and Guides and Calendar modules to see when and how both high and lower performing students have been engaged in writing activities — and collaboratively evaluates their effectiveness. As greater understanding of which strategies are working emerges, the team updates and refines the guides and lesson plans to include best practices for writing improvement — embedding changes in the overall curriculum and instruction blueprint.
Results
The school team meets both SMART Goal and state accountability targets. In addition, the team dynamically gathers and shares necessary assessment for learning and assessment of learning data for collaborative, ongoing improvement of curriculum, professional practice and student learning.
