You Have Your Scores… Now What?

Now that you have your students’ assessment scores as a marker of where they are in their learning, what should you do with this data? 

While our students’ learning—and thus their test scores—have been impacted by the changes we experienced last year, now is a great opportunity to use that data to accelerate learning!

In our recent webinar, “You Have Your Scores... Now What?” our Chief Mathematics Officer, Sandy Bartle Finocchi, shared her insight on the matter. Here’s what you should keep in mind as you develop action plans so that you can give your students the best possible learning experiences this year. 

Maintain an Asset-Based Mindset

Resist the temptation to get fixated on what students haven’t learned, even if their assessment scores are lower than you’d like. After all, these scores are only one source of data from one point in time. Our students have learned a lot!

Ask the Right Questions

As you analyze the data, ask these four questions to jumpstart meaningful dialogue with your instructional team and other staff about what the data can really tell us about our students.

Speak with a Growth Mindset

Words are powerful. No matter what stories the assessment scores tell you and your students, you can help shape your students’ perception of their own capabilities by incorporating “yet” into your vocabulary. Remind students they just haven’t mastered it all yet.

It’s Not Just about the Scores

Yes, we want our students to master grade-level content. Yes, we want their assessment scores to go up. At the same time, we’re teaching the whole child, not just the parts of their brain that memorize formulas or learn vocabulary. And it turns out that when we support their growth as people, they usually end up excelling academically, too.

Watch the full webinar, “You Have Your Scores... Now What?” to learn more about what you can do to use assessment scores to make a real impact on your students this year.