Guidelines for Developing an Effective District Literacy Action Plan
16 Version 1.1 – March 2010
Making Your Case with the Data
Possible Literacy Issue Based
on the Aggregated Data
Questions to Probe the Data Further
Suggestion for Displaying the Data and
Making the Case
scores indicate district average
is below the state average.
• Are 80% or more scoring at the
proficient level?
• Have prior classes kept their
achievement constant or does analysis
of past cohorts indicate predictable dips?
• Is performance steady across socio-
economic lines?
• Do newer teachers who did not participate
in district based reading professional
development have different results?
Display total results then display charts
that answer these other questions.
Always connect the data to implications or
questions the data raise about the
district’s program, equity of access to high
expectations and adequate support, or
issues of whether more support is needed
at the higher grade levels. Announce that
the literacy improvement initiative will
incorporate a Tiered System of
Interventions beginning with a focus on
Tier I Core Instruction.
6
grade nonfiction reading and
science scores taper off
similarly and this has been a
trend for the past three years.
• What is the ratio of fiction to nonfiction
reading in the ELA curriculum for 5th
and 6
th
grade?
• How much of the dip in reading scores
is also reflected in the science scores?
• What kinds of scientific reading and
writing are students required to do in 6th
grade?
• Are all students equally impacted or are
there achievement gaps?
• What will the district need to do to
Show trend lines. Point out that students
did not make a year’s worth of gains in 6
th
grade. Show using a trend line how, if
students make a year’s worth of gains
each year, they will still not catch up. Use
the data from the Reading Between the
Lines
5
District writing prompts show
student writing is not improving
and MCAS writing prompts are
below the state average.
report to show the overlap between
reading and science. Cite the district’s
STEM initiative and show how critical a
focus on literacy improvement will be to
the success of the STEM initiative.
• Is the issue topic development or
conventions or both?
• Do different types of prompts
(expository, narrative, persuasive)
generate different results?
• How much practice are students getting
with writing to prompts that relate to the
content being studied?
Show the district writing prompt results at
different grade levels. Show how scores
for topic development compares with
conventions. Show the MCAS results
juxtaposed over the district results. Share
data from Writing: A ticket to work or a
ticket out?
6
SAT critical reading scores
indicate that passing marks on
the 10
th
grade MCAS do not
always translate to high marks
on the SAT.
Announce that the district
literacy initiative will include a major focus
• How much reading are students doing
at the higher grades?
• What kinds of items on the MCAS tend
to be missed by 10
th
graders?
• Are these items that require critical
thinking? Or require the sophisticated
use of text?
• How could teacher professional
development be provided in order to
ensure that students are getting
instruction on how to do critical reading
Display SAT Critical Reading and MCAS
score trends for 10
th
grade ELA on the
chart. Point out that this is skewed since
not all students take the SAT. Explain
what the two tests assess in terms of
reading. Juxtapose the data with the
Reading Between the Lines
7
5
ACT. (2006).
data.
Announce that the District Literacy
Improvement Initiative will include a focus
on content literacy in all middle and high
schools.
6
National Commission on Writing (2004, September).
7
ACT. (2006).