A Professional Learning
Community
Thomas W. Many, Ed. D.
[email protected]
Track Your Progress Professional Learning Communities Shade each rectangle to show your current level of understanding for each target of today’s workshop. Not Getting 1. Articulate the fundamental purpose of a Professional Learning Community. 2. Identify the three Big Ideas of a Professional Learning Community and describe the component parts of each. 3. Describe the six Essential Elements of a Professional Learning Community using examples to illustrate how each is present in my school. 4. Relate the four Critical Questions of Learning in a Professional Learning Community to structures in my classroom. Sure There Got it! Questions I have at the beginning of today’s workshop … Fundamental Assumptions
Improving Schools
1.  We can make a difference: Our
schools can be more effective.
2.  Improving our people is the key
to improving our schools.
3.  Significant school improvement
will impact teaching and
learning.
Classrooms, schools, and school systems can
and do improve, and the factors facilitating
improvement are neither so exotic, unusual, or
expensive that they are beyond the grasp of
ordinary schools.”
Need for a
Collaborative Culture
What lies within ….
… Improving schools requires the creation
of collaborative cultures. Without the
collaborative skills and relationships, it is
not possible to learn and to continue to
learn as much as you need to know to
improve.
Michael Fullan
Clark, Lotto, & Astuto, (1984). Effective Schools and School
Improvement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 20(3), 59.
… The prescriptions for improving
schools must not come primarily from
outside of schools. The most lasting and
important changes will come from within
and will draw on the great resources
within schools.
Roland Barth
1
Time
Loose-Tight Leadership
… The one commodity that teachers and
administrators say they do not have
enough of, even more than money, is
time; time to teach, time to converse, time
to think, time to plan, time to talk, even
time to go to the restroom or have a cup
of coffee. Time is indeed precious in
school.
… Effective leaders don t simply encourage
schools to go off and do whatever they want,
but rather establish clear parameters and
priorities that enable schools to work within
established boundaries in a creative and
autonomous way.
Richard DuFour
Schlecty (1990)
Structure vs. Culture
… if you want to change and improve the
climate and outcomes of schooling - both for
students and teachers, there are features of
the school culture that have to be changed,
and if they are not changed, your wellintended efforts will be defeated.
Seymore Sarason (1996)
We Know What Matters
The importance of a guaranteed and viable curriculum, common forma6ve assessments, and systema6c pyramids of interven6on are not up for debate. Neither is the idea that teachers should work together interdependently on collabora6ve teams. These are not an op6onal ac6vi6es—they are expected. There has never been a clearer consensus or greater agreement on what schools should do to posi6vely impact student learning. 2
The Big Ideas of a
Professional Learning
Community
The essence of a Professional Learning
Community is captured in the following big ideas:
A Focus on Learning
We have argued that a school committed to
helping all students learn would engage
collaborative teams of teachers in a process to:
1.  Clarify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions all students
must acquire.
A Focus on Learning
2.  Monitor the learning of each student on a timely basis.
3.  Provide systematic, timely, and directive interventions
A Collaborative Culture
4.  Develop strategies to enrich and extend the learning for
A Results Orientation
when students don t learn.
students who are proficient.
Source: R. DuFour, Schaumburg, Illinois, PLC Audit Project, 2007
A Collaborative Culture
The fundamental building block of a PLC is a
collaborative team in which members are working
together interdependently to achieve a common
goal or goals for which they are mutually
accountable. Staff members in a PLC work together
collaboratively and collectively to help all students
learn.
Source: R. DuFour, Schaumburg, Illinois, PLC Audit Project, 2007
A Results Orientation
A PLC has a results orientation and is constantly
seeking evidence of the results it seeks—high levels
of student learning.
Members then use that evidence of learning as part
of a continuous improvement process designed to
improve results for individual teachers, for the team,
and for the school.
Source: R. DuFour, Schaumburg, Illinois, PLC Audit Project, 2007
3
Best Practices/Tom W. Many, Ed.D.
What’s on Your Refrigerator Door?
Clarifying What Really Matters in Your School
Here’s a question: When was the last time you
looked—I mean really looked—at what’s on the door
of your kitchen refrigerator? My guess is that most
refrigerator doors probably look a lot alike, busy and
covered with papers, pictures and notes. Although
you might characterize it as clutter, in fact, you can
tell a lot about what is important to someone simply
by seeing what is on his or her refrigerator door.
For a moment, extend the metaphor of the refrigerator door to your school. Obviously, we are not talking about what’s on the door of the refrigerator in the
teachers’ lounge, but about using the metaphor to
examine what is important in your school. For example, does a look at the refrigerator door reveal that
your school values teaching or learning? Working in
isolation or on collaborative teams? What really matters
in your school?
Defining What is Important
Becoming a Professional Learning Community (PLC)
is not something a faculty engages in for a year or
two, only to abandon before moving on to a new
initiative. Principals recognize that becoming a PLC
cannot be reduced to a recipe or a prescriptive set of
activities. As Andy Hargraeves observed, “Becoming
a PLC [is a process that] creates an ethos that permeates a school.” Simply put, becoming a PLC is not
something you do; it is something you are.
Schools working to become PLCs
are clear about what is important. Principals in these schools
focus on the essence of a PLC
as captured in three big ideas:
a focus on learning, a collaborative culture, and a results
orientation. Rick and Becky
DuFour have created a set of
operational definitions for
each of these big ideas that
principals can use to reflect
on what is important in
their schools.
A school with a focus on learning is committed to
helping all students learn to high levels. This principal
engages teachers in a collaborative process of seeking
answers to the critical questions of learning. Teachers in these schools work to 1) clarify the knowledge,
skills and dispositions all students must acquire; 2)
monitor each student’s learning on a timely basis; 3)
provide systematic, timely and directive interventions
when students do not learn; and 4) develop strategies
to enrich and extend the learning for students who are
proficient. They search for answers to the critical questions of learning.
Principals working to foster a more collaborative
culture in their schools realize that the fundamental building block of a PLC is a team of teachers “in
which members work together interdependently to
achieve a common goal for which they are mutually
accountable.” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker and Many,
Learning By Doing, p. 98.) In schools with collaborative cultures, teacher teams focus on clarifying the
essential outcomes by grade or course. They develop
common assessments and establish learning targets.
They analyze assessment results and plan for interventions. They draft SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic, Timely) goals as a team and create schedules that support protected time for teacher
collaboration during the regular school day.
Schools in which principals have created a results
orientation constantly seek evidence that students are learning at high levels. Faculty members
encourage the efficient and effective use of data as
part of a continuous improvement process—a process solely devoted and designed to provide timely
and accurate information about student learning to
individual teachers, teacher teams and the school.
Teachers in schools with a results orientation
embrace the belief that their policies, practices and
procedures are aligned to promote the idea that all
students can learn.
Clarifying What is Important
Sometimes principals assume the PLC model is
more deeply embedded than it really is. By gathering
8 www.tepsa.org
November/December 2009
work products and producing a portfolio of artifacts,
a principal can become more aware of the level of
implementation of PLCs in his or her school. Here
again, the DuFours have provided a valuable list of
specific work samples or artifacts that reflect a commitment to and an understanding of each of the big
ideas. By collecting and reviewing these products,
principals can confirm the current reality of their
school’s development as a PLC.
Artifacts principals can collect as evidence of a focus
on learning include a list of the essential outcomes for
each grade level in reading, writing and math, teamdeveloped pacing guides and common assessments.
Principals may also ask teachers for a description of
how each team is systematically providing time for
intervention and enrichment.
Principals can identify the current reality of the
collaborative relationships in their schools by collecting the meeting agenda, norms and SMART
goals created by each team or gathering evidence of
how teams are organized, when they are provided
with time to meet, and how the work of the teams is
monitored and supported.
Finally, principals can assess their school’s results
orientation by collecting descriptions of how data
generated by common assessments is presented to
each teacher, by reviewing analysis sheets indicating
team conclusions and strategies for improvement,
and by seeking evidence that teacher teams are using
protocols that promote the efficient and effective
analysis of data.
As Dennis Sparks said, understanding what really is
important in your school “is essential because individuals and organizations move toward that which
they are clearest about. It is very difficult for leaders to lead in the creation of that which they cannot
describe in some detail.” (Dennis Sparks, Leading for
Results, 2004, p. 148.) Having evidence—in the form
of products that support the presence of each of these
big ideas—helps principals clarify how deeply each is
embedded in their schools.
TEPSA News
So what’s on the refrigerator door?
Focusing effort and energy on looking—really
looking—at what your school values is worth doing.
By first defining what is important (the three big
ideas) and then clarifying the level of implementation by gathering products or artifacts related to
the big ideas, Rick and Becky DuFour have given
principals the tools to cut through confusing clutter
on the “refrigerator door” and clearly articulate what
really matters in their school. 
During the course of a career spanning more than 30
years, Dr. Tom W. Many has served as a classroom
teacher, principal and superintendent—all at the
elementary level.
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9
The Importance of Being Clear
About What Is Important
Being clear about what is really important in
your school …is essential because individuals
and organizations move toward that which they
are clearest about. It is very difficult for leaders
to lead in the creation of that which they cannot
describe in some detail.
Sparks, Leading for Results (2004), p. 148
Critical Questions
of Learning
1.  What knowledge and skills should every student
2. 
3. 
4. 
acquire as a result of this class, course or grade
level ?
How will we know each student has acquired the
essential knowledge and skills?
How will we respond when some students do not
learn?
How will we respond when some students have
clearly achieved the intended outcomes?
DuFour et al, LBD, p 21
Creating a
Focus on Learning
… The questions of Learn what and
How will we know are two of the most
significant questions a PLC will consider,
the very basis of the collective inquiry that
drives the work of collaborative teams.
DuFour et al, LBD, p 44
… teachers from any discipline
benefit when they have a
curricular map that clarifies
what has been taught before
and what will be taught after
their course or grade level.
Jacobs (1997)
4
Marzano and Kendall s
Analysis of Time
The Importance of a Guaranteed
and Viable Curriculum
The standard K-12 education would need to become a K-22 experience:
One of educa6on s best kept secrets is that kids will learn what we teach them. Larry LezoBe 14 subjects
255 standards
3,500 benchmarks
13,000 hours (k-12 @ 6 hours per day)
9,000 hours (70% of total time)
15,500 hours
A Guaranteed and
Viable Curriculum
A Guaranteed and
Viable Curriculum
What do researchers say is the state of curriculum
alignment in schools across North America?
Bob Marzano suggests this area represents the number one
opportunity to raise the level of student achievement.
Essential Skills
Clear and Focused Academic Goals
Power Standards
A self-selected jumble of standards
Rosenholtz
Total incoherence from one teacher to the next
Berliner and Walberg
Curricular chaos in English and language arts.
Little, Sizer, Allington and Calkins.
DuFour
Lezotte
Reeves
Whatever you call this, it needs to be in place for our schools to be
successful.
5
Guaranteed and Viable
The what (learning) vs
the how of (teaching)
Guaranteed No maBer who teaches a given course or grade-­‐
level, certain topics will be adequately addressed . Viable Few enough learning targets to ensure that the process of teaching & learning the targets is viable: teachers can adequately address them in the 6me available to them !
!
!!
School func6oning as PLCs agree on what students need to learn to be successful. These schools create an environment in which teachers embrace leadership responsibili6es centering on curriculum and instruc6on trus6ng they have the freedom to do what is best for students. As one teacher said, they don t tell me how to teach. I know I can change what needs to be changed to benefit students.
!
! !!!
!
! !!!
!
! !!!Marzano, 2003 Oliver and Kiefer-Hipp, 9/08
Steps to Create a
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
1.  Unpack To iden6fy concepts and skills (TARGETS) embedded in each standard. Fosters deep understanding of standard before determining if it is essen6al. 2.  Power Iden6fy the essen6al skills and knowledge all students should have by content and grade-­‐level. These become the Power or Priority Targets 3.  Scale To iden6fy learning targets indica6ng higher and lower levels of proficiency aligned to the power targets. 4.  Create Pacing Guides To determine when each Power Standard will be taught !
Steps to Create a
Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
5.  Create Assessments (CFA and/or DBA) To measure progress on the power standards 6.  Teach the unwrapped concepts and skills 7.  Give periodic CFA (ideally every 3 weeks) To measure progress during instruc6on and to intervene where students are struggling prior to the end of the instruc6onal cycle. 8.  Give DBA (end of grading period) To measure student progress on power standards within grade, department, school, and district. 9.  Analyze data, plan interven6ons and repeat instruc6onal cycle. !
6
Promoting Collaboration
in schools
… We must begin to
make systematic use
of simple tools that
promote both alignment
and collaboration. "
"
"
"
"
"
"
"M. Schmoker, 2002"
Promote A Guaranteed and
Viable Curriculum
Mike Schmoker suggests a monthly show and tell
strategy as a way to monitor the Guaranteed and
Viable Curriculum in your school. Each month
teacher teams should:
ü  Analyze student work
ü  Compare assessment results
ü  Review pacing of instruction
Aligning the Curriculum
… The ideal number of
standards is between 8 and 10
per subject, per semester.
Becky DuFour!
Keep,
Drop, and
Create!
7
What does proficient student
work look like? Provide an
example and/or description.
What is the essential standard to
be learned? Describe in studentfriendly vocabulary.
Semester
Example Rigor
Subject:
Standard Description
Grade:
Common
Assessment
What prior knowledge, skills,
and/or vocabulary is/are
What assessment(s) will be used
needed for a student to master to measure student mastery?
this standard?
Prerequisite Skills
Team
Members:
What will we do when students
have learned the essential
standard(s)?
Extension Standards
Buffum/Mattos/Weber, 2011
When will this standard
be taught?
When Taught?
Essential Standards Chart: What is it we expect students to learn?
Well-Structured Learning Goals?
Well-structured learning goals make assessment tasks easier to construct.
Well-­‐structured learning goals (targets) make assessment tasks easier to construct, and well-­‐constructed assessment tasks help opera6onalize learning goals (targets). Marzano, R. J. (2009). Designing & teaching learning goals & objectives (p. 19).
Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
Evolving Thinking
About Assessment
… Ideas about assessment have undergone
important changes in recent years. In the new view,
assessment and learning are two sides of the same
coin. Assessment provides an operational definition
of standards in that they define in measurable terms
what teachers should teach and students should
learn.
Sam Redding, The Mega System page 86, 2006
Best Practice
Teachers and administrators
absolutely must be
assessment literate
Research consistently shows
that regular, high-quality
Formative Assessments
increase student achievement.
8
Research Support
for Formative Assessment
Research Support
for Formative Assessment
“In reviewing 250 studies from around the world,
published between 1987 and 1998, we found that a
focus by teachers on assessment for learning, as
opposed to assessment of learning, produced a
substantial increase in students’ achievement.”
“Reviews of research in this area by Natriello (1987)
and Crooks (1988) were updated by Black & Wiliam
(1998) who concluded that regular use of classroom
formative assessment would raise student achievement
by 0.4 to 0.7 standard deviations - enough to raise the
United States to the top five in international rankings.”
Black & Wiliam, Assessment and Classroom Learning, Assessment in Education:
Principles, Policy, and Practice (1998), 5(1), 7–73.
Research Support
for Formative Assessment
“In other words, formative assessment, effectively
implemented, can do as much or more to improve
student achievement than any of the most powerful
instructional interventions (such as) intensive reading
instruction, one-on-one tutoring and the like.”
Darling-Hammond & Bransford, (Eds.), Preparing Teachers
for a Changing World (2005), p. 277
Wiliam, Content Then Process: Teacher Learning Communities in the
Service of Formative Assessment (2007) (Unpublished manuscript)
Why it is so important …
… Five reviews of the research in this area (Black
and Wiliam, 1998, Crooks, 1988, Kluger and
DeNist, 1996, Natriello, 1987, and Nyquist, 2003)
synthesized a total of more than 4,000 research
studies undertaken during the 40 years. The
conclusion was clear: When implemented well,
formative assessment can effectively double the
speed of student learning.
D. Wiliam, 2007
9
Why we need to do it well
You can enhance or destroy students desire to
succeed in school more quickly and permanently
through your use of assessment than with any other
tools you have at your disposal.
Research Support
for Formative Assessment
Bloom (1984)
Mastery Learning Research
 1.0 Standard Deviation Gain
 Rivals Impact of One-on-One Tutoring
Black & Wiliam (1998)
International Research Review
Rick Stiggins, Assessment Trainers Institute
 .5 to 1.0 Standard Deviation Score Gain
 Largest Gain for Low Achievers
Research Support
for Formative Assessment
Meisels, et al. (2003)
Creating a system of accountability:The impact
of instructional assessment on elementary
children's achievement test scores"
 .7 to 1.5 Standard Deviation Score Gain
Rodriguez (2004)
Role of Classroom Assessment in Student
Performance on TIMSS
1.0 Standard Deviation?
30+ Percentile Points On ITBS (middle of score range)
4 Grade Equivalents
100 SAT Score Points
6 ACT Score Points
Unprecedented Achievement Gains!
  .5 to 1.8 Standard Deviation Score Gain
10
Crucial Distinction
The Age-Old Argument
We can choose to ignore the evidence, but the
consensus has never been more clear.
Research consistently demonstrates:
The effective regular use of high-quality formative
assessments increases student achievement.
Summative Assessment
Summative assessment is the attempt
to summarize student learning at some
point in time, say the end of a course.
[Summative assessments] are not
designed to give feedback useful to
teachers and students during the
learning process.
--FairTest Examiner, Winter 1999
Assessment OF Learning (summa6ve): How much have students learned as of a par6cular point in 6me? Assessment FOR Learning (forma6ve): How can we use assessment to help students learn more? Formative Assessment
All those activities undertaken by
teachers and by their students [that]
provide information to be used as
feedback to modify the teaching and
learning activities in which they are
engaged.
--Black & William, 1998
11
Crucial Distinction
Formative Assessment
An assessment can be either forma6ve or summa6ve. In fact, teams oben use the same assessment in both forma6ve and summa6ve ways. It is what a team does with the data that determines if an assessment is either forma6ve or summa6ve. Assessment OF Learning (summa6ve): If the data is used to prove what has already been learned, it is summa6ve. Assessment FOR Learning (forma6ve): If the data is used to improve the learning, it is forma6ve. Rick DuFour, 2011
Formative Assessment
Formative Assessment
From a student s perspec6ve, an assessment is forma6ve if it meets the following criteria: From a teacher s perspec6ve, an assessment is forma6ve if it meets the following criteria: 1.  The data is used to iden6fy areas where students need more 6me and support, 2.  The data is used to target the strategies used to help students learn, and 3.  Students are given another opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the content. 1.  The data is used by individual teachers to iden6fy specific skills where students did not perform as well as expected, and 2.  The data is used by the team as a whole to iden6fy areas of instruc6on that need improvement across the en6re team. 12
Formative Assessment
Aber discussing the results of common forma6ve assessments, teachers provide more 6me and support based on the results. Effec6ve interven6ons possess three essen6al characteris6cs: 1. 
2. 
3. 
They present the concepts differently, Engage students differently, Provide students with successful learning experiences. Common Assessment
Schools with the greatest improvements in student achievement consistently used common assessments. Reeves, Accountability in Action (2004)
Thomas R. Guskey, Forma6ve Assessment: The Contribu6on of Benjamin S Bloom. (2009) Support for Using
Common Assessments
According to Doug Reeves, Rick S6ggins, Rick DuFour, Dylan Wiliam, and others, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests using common assessments that reflect the essen6al curriculum in combina6on with providing students with more 6me and support can help all students learn to high levels. Benefits of Team Developed
Common Assessments
The use of common, forma6ve assessments enables teachers to share results of their instruc6on. When based on the results of common assessments, job-­‐alike mee6ngs provide an opportunity for teachers to learn from one another which is one of the best sources for discovering strategies that work. 13
Benefits of Team Developed
Common Assessments
Reviewing assessments results leads to
professional conversations about:
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
Have we taught this skill or concept?
What type of instruction seems most effective?
What misconceptions are forming?
Is the assessment appropriate?
Who needs additional support or instruction?
Benefits of Team Developed
Common Assessments
When teams create common, forma6ve assessments they introduce a kind of professional dissonance into team mee6ngs that is healthy. The simple act of crea6ng a common assessment requires teachers to reflect upon and examine their prac6ce. Benefits of Team Developed
Common Assessments
1.  Improve level of student achievement. 2.  Clarify curriculum, instruc6onal strategies, and interven6on plans. 3.  Enhance communica6on between teachers about student learning. 4.  Create opportuni6es for teachers to sharpen pedagogy and deepen understanding of content. Definition of Common
Assessments
… assessments collaboratively designed by
a grade level or department that are
administered to students by each participating
teacher periodically throughout the year.
Larry Ainsworth, 2006, pg 3
14
Discuss the implications
of the following statement
Common, team-­‐developed frequent forma6ve assessments are such a powerful tool in school improvement that, once again, no team of teachers should be allowed to opt out of crea6ng them. -­‐ Learning by Doing Break down the following phrase
and examine each key word
“Common, team-­‐developed, frequent, and forma6ve assessments” §  Common §  Team-­‐developed §  Frequent §  Forma6ve Discuss the implications
of the following statement
Common (1), team-­‐developed(2) frequent (3) forma6ve (4) assessments are such a powerful tool in school improvement that, once again, no team of teachers should be allowed to opt out of crea6ng them. -­‐ Learning by Doing …Relying on any one model would be
seriously flawed assessment strategy.
Assessment of a student s work should
provide a rich array of information on his
or her progress and achievement. The
challenge is to match appropriate
assessment strategies to curricular goals
and instructional methodologies.
DuFour and Eaker, (2003)!
15
Diagnostic and
Prescriptive
Ongoing
Student
VV and Teacher
Formative Assessment
Unit
Identify Students Eligible for
Support in a Pyramid of
Interventions
Collaboratively Developed
CFAs
Weekly
More Formative
Most Formative
Daily
Common
Assessments
Classroom
Assessments
Semester
Identify Students Eligible for
Ongoing Remedial and
Programmatic Support
Calibrate and Pace
the Curriculum
Collaboratively Developed
DBAs
Monthly
More Summative
District Level
Assessments
A Balanced and Coherent
System of Assessment
 Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96
May not be reprinted without written permission
Annual
State Mandated
Summative Assessment
Annual
Most Summative
External
Assessments
The Model
Literate users rely on continuous
assessment FOR learning, marked
with periodic assessments OF
learning, using the full range of
methods.
Four
Categories
Of Assessment
Diagnostic
Prescriptive
Embedded
Diagnostic-Prescriptive Assessments
Learning
Form of
Assessment
Periodic
Annual
Diagnostic-prescriptive assessments are quick
diagnostic tests used to prescribe appropriate learning
activities for a student or group of students. The test may
be pencil-and-paper test, oral quizzes, or show-me
assessments that a teacher can quickly and conveniently
administer to determine each student s level of mastery
of the lesson s objectives.
Redding, The Mega System (2006), p. 86
Redding, The Mega System (2006), p. 86
16
Embedded Assessments
Periodic Assessments
Embedded assessments are learning activities aligned to
objectives with criteria for mastery which enable a teacher
to check mastery within the context of instruction. By
completing these assigned activities, students demonstrate
a level of mastery of the objectives the activities are
designed to teach or to reinforce.
Periodic assessments, administered for each grade level
two to four times a year, enable the teacher teams to see
how students are progressing towards mastery of
standards that will be included on state assessments. The
periodic assessments help bring a closer alignment
between instruction and annual standards-based
assessments.
Redding, The Mega System (2006), p. 86
Redding, The Mega System (2006), p. 86
The Age-Old Argument (Again!)
Annual Assessments
Annual assessments include state assessments and
norm-referenced achievement tests and provide an
annual assessment of each student s progress and the
school s progress by subject area and grade level.
These assessments are most useful in making
programmatic and placement decisions.
Tes6ng advocates argued that more frequent tes6ng would increase instruc6onal effec6veness. Others noted that frequent tes6ng could take 6me away from instruc6on. Banget-­‐Drowns, Kulik, & Kulik, Effect of Frequent Classroom Tes6ng, Journal of Educa6onal Research (November–December, 1991) Redding, The Mega System (2006), p. 86
17
A Balanced and Coherent
System of Assessment
Classroom
Assessments
Common
Assessment
District Level
Assessments
External
Assessments
Based on your
understanding of
a balanced and
coherent system
of assessment,
list (by name) the
assessments
presently used in
your school
under the
appropriate
category.
 Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96
May not be reprinted without written permission
BASRC Findings
Thirty-two matched pairs of schools
1.  Schools frequently assessed student progress.
2.  Teachers learned how to analyze data.
3.  Clear and focused goals centered on improving
student achievement.
BASRC Findings
High achieving schools
1.  Never tested or
tested only a few
times a year - 36%
2.  Tested a few times a
month or as often as
weekly - 64%
Low achieving schools
1.  Never tested or
tested only a few
times a year - 79%
2.  Tested a few times a
month or as often as
weekly - 21%
(Bay Area School Reform Project, 2003)
Impact of
Frequent Assessment
Twenty-nine of thirty-five studies found positive
effects from frequent testing. Six found negative
results. Thirteen of the twenty-nine studies with
positive results reported statistically significant
results.
Banget-Drowns, Kulik, and Kulik.
Effect of Frequent Classroom Testing J. Ed Research, Nov/Dec, 1991
Impact of
Frequent Assessment
Interim assessments should be given often
enough so teachers get timely feedback on
student learning, but spaced widely enough so
there is time for instruction to take hold and
produce measurable progress before the next
assessment.
Kim Marshall,.
Interim Assessment: Keys to Successful Implementation (2006)
18
Achievement Gains Associated With
Number of Assessments Over 15 Weeks
# of Assessments
Effect Size
Frequency of Assessments
Percentile Gain
0
0
0
1
0.34
13.5
5
0.53
20.0
10
0.60
22.5
15
0.66
24.5
20
0.71
26.0
25
0.78
28.5
30
0.82
29.0
0
Bangent-Drowns, Kulik & Kulik, 1991, as reported in Marzano, The Art and Science of Teaching, 2007.
Summary of Research on
Frequency of Assessment
1.  The frequent use of classroom testing
increases achievement but at a diminishing
rate of return.
2.  Superior performance was obtained from
students who answered questions on a large
number of short tests rather than a small
number of long tests.
1
5
1
0
15
Bangent-Drowns, Kulik & Kulik, 1991, as reported in Marzano, The Art and Science of Teaching, 2007.
Summary of Research on
Frequency of Assessment
1.  The frequent use of classroom testing increases
achievement but at a diminishing rate of return.
2.  Superior performance was obtained from students
who answered questions on a large number of short
tests rather than a small number of long tests.
Banget-Drowns, Kulik, and Kulik.
Effect of Frequent Classroom Testing J. Ed Research, Nov/Dec, 1991
Banget-Drowns, Kulik, and Kulik.
Effect of Frequent Classroom Testing J. Ed Research, Nov/Dec, 1991
19
Implications for Practice
A formative assessment over fewer standards taken
more frequently is more likely to result in higher levels
of student learning.
An assessment covering two or three standards using four or
five items per standard generates more information about the
learner than an assessment covering eight to ten standards
using one or two questions per standard.
Smaller chunks generate deeper understanding of the
learning, catch potential problems early, and focus the
intervention.
BASRC Findings
Thirty-two matched pairs of schools
1.  Schools frequently assessed student progress.
2.  Teachers learned how to analyze data.
3.  Clear and focused goals centered on improving
student achievement.
We often hear that
people want to make
their schools more
results oriented but
the problem is that
schools are not
results oriented,
people are….
Rick DuFour, 2005
D. R. I. P.
Schools are often data rich but information
poor. Data are not information; translating
fact into new understandings means
relating data to something you know and
can visualize. Typically, this requires
comparison.
(Bay Area School Reform Project, 2003)
20
D. R. I. P.
“It is not so much a lack of data, but an
absence of analysis, and a even greater
absence of actions driven by the data.”
- White, Beyond the Numbers: Making Data
Work for Teachers and School Leaders (2005)
D. R. I. P.
Teams can avoid “Analysis Paralysis” by:
1.  Moving to action regarding the data,
2.  Spending twenty-five percent of the time on
analysis and,
3.  Seventy five percent of the time on action
with a collaborative focus on instruction.
D. R. I. P.
The challenge faced by teacher leaders and
principals alike is …finding ways to foster this
quality of relentless follow-up in every classroom,
every grade level team, and every department.
K. Marshall, New Leaders for New Schools, (2006)
Interim Assessments: Keys to Successful Implementation
Using Data in a PLC
In a Professional Learning Community, data
must meet the following criteria. Data must be:
1.  Easily accessible,
2.  Purposely arranged, and
3.  Publicly discussed.
Damon Lopez, 2004
- Heather Friziellie, (2012)
21
Best Practices/Tom W. Many, Ed.D.
Three Rules Help Manage Assessment Data
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age
of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...”
-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
We live in the Information Age,
when never before has so much
data on student learning been
so readily available. It is the
best of times...
And yet, to harried principals
struggling to make sense of the
mountains of assessment data,
the Information Age may feel like
the worst of times...
Mining those data mountains for
information that teachers can use
to improve student learning is
a daily challenge for principals.
The problem is not a lack of
data, but rather managing all the
data in a way that is meaningful
to teachers. I am not aware of
any guidelines about how to
process all the information—
that is, how to decide exactly
what information is needed
or who needs the information
to make decisions; however, I
did encounter “rules” for using
data during a conversation with
Damon Lopez, former principal
of Los Penasquitos Elementary
School in San Diego.
Lopez believes that in order
for teachers to maximize the
impact of data gleaned from
assessments, principals should
honor three rules and ensure
that data is 1) easily accessible,
2) purposefully arranged, and
3) publicly discussed. In those
schools where “making meaning”
of assessment data is a powerful
experience, principals take
responsibility for creating the
necessary structures associated
TEPSA News
with the first two rules and insist
that teachers commit to the last.
Rather than working individually
to make meaning of assessment
data, the most successful principals
have discovered it is far more
productive to create the conditions
under which teams of teachers can
make meaning of the data.
enrichment programs among
teachers on the team. To improve
the accessibility of data, principals
need to shorten the turnaround
time for reporting data. ► page 9
Easy Access
During the course of a career
spanning more than 30 years,
Dr. Tom W. Many has served as
a classroom teacher, principal
and superintendent—all at the
elementary level. With a passion
for promoting the development
of high performing schools, his
district was recently recognized
as one of the highest achieving lowest spending elementary school
districts in Illinois.
For data to add value to our
efforts to improve student
learning, teachers’ access to the
data must be timely. In addition
to figuring out who needs to know
what and when, the key question
for principals to ask is, “What
is the most efficient way to get
assessment data back to teachers?”
As Kim Marshall, publisher of the
highly regarded Marshall
Memo, suggests, “When
turnaround time after
interim assessments is
long, the results are stale
and outdated by the time
teachers sit down and
discuss them.” Data loses
its impact whenever it takes
more than 48 hours to return
the results of a common
assessment to teachers.
Outdated information
makes it more difficult
for teachers to be
effective in adjusting
instruction, identifying
students who need
more time and
support or
coordinating
remedial or
www.tepsa.org
www.tepsa.org
7
► Manage Assessment Data continued from page 7
Purposeful Arrangement
The second rule for maximizing
the impact of data calls
for assessment data to be
purposefully arranged, that is,
for the assessment data delivered to teacher teams to
be presented in a format that is complete, accurate,
and straight-forward.
Data should be organized in simple—not simplistic—
ways. There are many software packages that quickly,
almost instantaneously, provide assessment results
in tables, charts, or graphs and make it easy for
teachers to digest the results of interim assessments.
Author D. M. Griffith observed, “If the message the
information is trying to communicate fails to get
through to the reader, [the information] is useless.
It’s better to be simple and understood than complex
and ignored.” What is important is that the data is
returned to teachers in a format conducive to further
discussion.
From time to time, teachers may create their own
tables or graphs or request additional formats
for organizing assessment results, but the initial
data should be received in an arrangement that
allows teachers to focus on the results—not the
presentation format.
Public Discussion
While principals can address the logistics of making
data easily accessible and arranging it purposefully,
teacher teams are uniquely equipped to meaningfully
engage in the public discussion of assessment data.
Indeed, teachers and principals need to embrace the
critical importance of publicly discussing the results
of assessments. Each time they discuss an assessment
together, teachers benefit from the collective wisdom
of their team. Not only do they gain deeper insight
into how their students are learning, but also
reviewing results as a team has the added benefits of
allowing teachers to deepen their content knowledge
and to sharpen their pedagogy.
To paraphrase Griffith, assessment data and
information on student achievement are relevant,
and therefore needed, only if they are used to make
a decision. In fact, nothing justifies the giving of
an interim assessment—and with it the associated
loss of instructional time—unless teachers discuss
the results of the assessment and adjust their
instruction accordingly.
The Age of Wisdom or Foolishness?
To be sure, the ready availability and discerning
management of assessment data can go a long way
in contributing to making this the Age of Wisdom
for educators seeking to improve students’ learning.
Principals who are successful focus their energies on
ensuring that the data is 1) easily accessible and 2)
purposefully arranged and insist that teachers spend
their time 3) publicly discussing the results to ensure
that all students learn. 
References
Marshall, K. (2008, September). “Interim Assessments:
A User’s Guide.” Phi Delta Kappan. pp.64-68.
Griffiths, D. M. (2006, March). “Are You Drowning
in a Sea of Information? Managing Information:
A Practical Guide.” Available at www.managinginformation.org.uk.
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9
Purpose of Protocols
The existence of a protocols -- structures
that everyone understands and has agreed
to use -- permits the kinds of conversations
which teams are not in the habit of having.
Protocols help teams analyze data from common,
formative assessments more efficiently and effectively.
The Benefits of Protocols
1.  Creates the structure that makes it safe to ask
challenging questions.
2.  Ensures equity and parity in terms of how each
person's issues are attended to.
3.  Builds in a space for listening giving people
permission to listen without having to respond.
4.  Are a way to make the most of the time people have.
5.  Promote in-depth, insightful, conversations about
teaching and learning.
Sampling of Data Protocols
Using Data in a PLC
Here are a few examples of protocols teams can
use to facilitate data conversations.
1.  S.O.A.P. Notes
2.  Here s what, So what, Now what
3.  Stop light highlighting
4.  Tuning Protocol (Descriptive Review)
5.  S.C.O.O.P. Protocol
Here s what,
So what, and
Now what!
6.  Data Teams
22
TEPSA News
Texas Elementary Principals
& Supervisors Association
Serving Texas PreK-8 School Leaders March/April 2014 Vol. 71, No. 2 www.tepsa.org
Best Practices/Tom W. Many, Ed.D. and Benjamin Thomas Many
SOAP notes can provide similar benefits in schools. In
education, much like in medicine, improving student
learning is an extremely complex process involving many
variables that are difficult to track and resolve. Likewise,
improving communication between the teachers responsible
for improving student learning will lead to higher levels of
collaboration. Teams that adopt the SOAP noting technique as
one of their primary methods of documenting and reflecting
on assessment data could improve their communication,
documentation and planning for student learning.
SOAP
Notes
A Tool to Promote
Reflective Dialogue
About Student
Learning
S
OAP noting is a simple yet comprehensive technique
developed by the medical profession in the late 1960s.
Doctors use SOAP notes to document a patient’s
symptoms, observations, assessments and treatment plans.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM), one of the major benefits of SOAP noting is that
it organizes extremely complex problems into simpler tasks
that are more easily tracked and solved. The use of SOAP
notes has also been shown to improve communication
between those responsible for the well being of a patient.
Today, the practice of SOAP noting is used around the world
by nurses, pharmacists, occupational and physical therapists,
dieticians, social workers, psychiatrists and physicians.
Benefits of SOAP Noting
The practice of SOAP noting is a data driven process that
emphasizes the natural progression from collection of
relevant data, to the assessment of the learning problem, to
development of a plan of how to proceed. There are a number
of benefits to regularly using SOAP notes.
The SOAP noting process provides teachers with a
consistent method of compiling relevant information about
how students are progressing through the curriculum.
SOAP notes improve communication, help teachers
identify obstacles and provide a structure for developing
plans to assist students in achieving their goals. SOAP
noting also provides an efficient, standardized method for
reflecting on student progress that is simple, concise and
compatible with data from common assessments.
SOAP notes provide teachers with a tool for managing
the progress of all students, not just special populations.
Teachers can customize their SOAP notes and use them as
a way to track interventions or any factor that directly or
indirectly impacts student learning. Finally, SOAP notes
capture concrete evidence of progress that teachers can
share with other teachers, administrators, parents and
students. These notes provide a longitudinal record of
teachers’ collective efforts to improve student learning.
How do you write a SOAP note?
The SOAP acronym stands for Subjective, Objective,
Assessment and Plan. The written comments within a
SOAP note can vary from teacher to teacher, but the
general principle remains the same: to record the progress
of the student(s).
proficient, the class is ready to move on to adding fractions
with unlike denominators.”
Subjective: Subjective description of student progress as
reported by the teacher.
This first section of the SOAP note calls for teachers to
describe the progress students are making based on their
observation of students. The most common mistake teachers
make in this section is moving from description to judgment
(student was too tired to test well) or adding irrelevant
information (room was too hot during testing period).
Plan: What you plan to do next to ensure all students
master the learning target.
This section can include specific interventions, homework
assignments or plans for using a new approach or teaching
technique. When writing this section, teachers should
ask themselves, “In order to reach mastery, what do I
want to do with these students?” or “What do I want to
cover with them next week?” The most common mistake
teachers make in this section is failing to be specific when
describing the recommended interventiuons. For example,
writing “the student should continue to practice adding
fractions” would not be sufficient.
An example of what teachers write in the Subjective
section might be, “Based on what I see when I check for
understanding using the white boards, most of the students
understand the concept of adding fractions with like
denominators. A handful of students are still struggling,
but overall, it would appear that the majority of students
are proficient in adding fractions with like denominators.”
Objective: An objective account of the student’s
performance based on data.
Teacher judgement is usually accurate, but information
in this section should be objective and contain limited
analysis and/or judgment by the teacher. When done well,
the Objective section is data driven, provides a measurable
description of the students’ progress, and should align with
the teacher’s Subjective observations. The most common
mistakes teachers make in this section are being too global
and failing to provide enough detail to define the learning
issues students are experiencing.
An example of what teachers write in this section of
the SOAP note might look something like, “The three
students who had difficulty with addition would probably
have gotten the correct answer had they shown their
work and reviewed it before turning in the assessment.
These students will redo the problems they missed while
verbally explaining the steps taken to solve the problem.
The remaining four who were not proficient will review
the algorithm for adding fractions with like denominators
using manipulatives. After reviewing and reteaching the
concept of adding fractions with like denominators, each
non-proficient students will be given an opportunity to
retake an alternate form of the assessment.”
SOAP notes are not meant to be as detailed as a Progress
Report and should fit on a single page. The length of a
SOAP note will differ from teacher to teacher but a short,
precise SOAP note is always preferred over one that is too
long. Abbreviations and partial sentences are acceptable
assuming the abbreviations and shorthand notations are
understood and can be easily interpreted by other members
of the faculty and staff. In the beginning, SOAP notes may
be a little longer but they typically become more concise as
teachers gain more experience with the technique.
For the Objective section a teacher might write, “In my
class, 25 of 32 students scored 80% or higher on the last
common assessment which tested their understanding of
adding fractions with like denominators. All seven nonproficient students scored less than 50% on the assessment.
Three of the seven students who were not proficient did not
show their work and made basic arithmatic mistakes when
adding the numerators. The remaining four students who
did not demonstrate mastery added both the numerator
and denominator.”
A Well-Written SOAP Note Tells a Story
Assessment: Clearly articulate your understanding of the
student(s) needs.
For this section, the teacher combines the subjective
description as observed in the classroom with the objective
data gathered from a common assessment and consolidates
them into a short, concise and factual appraisal of the
situation. The most common mistake teachers make here is
being too vague when describing the evidence upon which
their appraisal of the student(s) needs is based.
Dr. Tom Many is an author and consultant. His career in
education spans more than 30 years.
As an examples for this section, a teacher might write,
“With the exception of the seven students who were not
TEPSA News
When done well, the SOAP noting technique is a simple
and effective way to promote reflective dialogue about
student progress. SOAP notes improve communication,
encourage the effective use of data and document our
collective efforts to help all students learn to high levels. 
Benjamin Thomas Many is medical student at the University
of Illinois Chicago.
www.tepsa.org
2
When Teams Analyze
Common Assessments
§  Focus instruction
§  Reinforce common core curriculum
§  Emphasize common learning
§  Create better tests
§  Identify of curricular areas needing attention
§  Provide objective indicators of effectiveness
§  Promote collaboration
Interim
Assessments
The Age-Old Argument
An argument can now be made that interim
assessments represent the most powerful
entry point for those determined to improve
instruction and boost student achievement.
Marshall, Interim Assessment: Keys to Successful Implementation (2006)
Implementing
Interim Assessments
Of all the ways that a school or district can
intervene to improve student achievement, interim
assessments are the most powerful. The effective
use of interim assessments helps principals see
the results of what teachers do in the classroom
rather than looking only at the process of
instruction.
K. Marshall, New Leaders for New Schools, (2006)
© Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96
May not be reprinted without written permission
Interim Assessments: Keys to Successful Implementation
23
What happens in our school when a student
does not learn? We consider this question to
be the fork in the road - the one question more
than any other that will demonstrate a school s
commitment to learning for all students and its
progress on the road to becoming a PLC.
- Whatever It Takes
Professional learning communities create a
systematic process of interventions to ensure
students receive additional time and support for
learning when they experience difficulty. The
intervention process is timely and students are
directed rather than invited to utilize the system
of time and support.
- Learning by Doing
What Makes A Difference
What Makes A Difference
By itself, the feedback offered through regular
classroom formative assessment does little to
improve student learning. In other words, formative
assessments alone yield little if any improvement.
Regardless of their form, structure, or quality,
formative assessments simple measure student
learning - they do not improve it.
The best ideas for effective corrective activities interventions - generally come from fellow teachers.
Teaching colleagues often can offer new ways of
presenting concepts, different examples, and
alternative materials. Professional opportunities that
provide teachers with time for such sharing reduce the
workload of individual teachers and typically yield
higher quality activities.
Thomas R. Guskey,
Formative Assessment: The Contribution of Benjamin S Bloom. (2009)
Thomas R. Guskey,
Formative Assessment: The Contribution of Benjamin S Bloom. (2009)
24
What Makes A Difference
What Makes A Difference
It s not whether schools test students but what they
do with the results that make the difference. Schools
that are closing the achievement gap tested their
students more often and used the results to make
changes in their instructional programs. The schools
that were closing the gap changed schedules or
made other arrangements to give teachers time to
discuss the results.
After discussing the results of formative
assessments, teachers provide more time and
support based on the results. Effective
interventions possess three essential
characteristics:
1. 
2. 
3. 
They present the concepts differently,
Engage students differently,
Provide students with successful learning experiences.
Thomas R. Guskey,
Formative Assessment: The Contribution of Benjamin S Bloom. (2009)
Interventions
Traditional school
Typically occurs as
re-teaching for the
whole class.
PLC school
Occurs individually or
with small groups of
students.
Interventions
Traditional school
Interventions occur
whenever the teacher
feels help is needed.
PLC school
Intervention occurs in
response to student
performance on common
assessments.
25
Interventions
Traditional school
Failure IS an option
(kids suffer natural
consequences).
PLC school
Formula for Success
Time
+ Support
Student Learning
Failure IS NOT an
option (extra time and
support ensures that
students all learn).
Time and Support
In the factory model of schooling, quality was
the variable; time was constant. Students were
given a set amount of work to do in a set period
of time, then graded on the quality of what was
accomplished. We held time constant and
allowed quality to vary. We must turn that on its
head and hold quality constant, and
allow time to vary.
Looking at Time Differently
In tradi6onal schools, 6me is a fixed resource. The length of the school day, the number of minutes per class, and the number of days in the school year are all rigidly set. When 6me is up, it is 6me to move on. - Whatever It Takes
Cole and Schlechty, 1993
26
Looking at Time Differently
In a PLC, 6me is considered a cri6cal component in learning, and the school becomes resourceful in providing addi6onal 6me for students who need it. If learning is to be the constant for all students, 6me must become a variable. - Whatever It Takes
Creating Commitment to
Interventions
Necessary Cultural Shifts:
1.  From a focus on teaching to a focus on learning
2.  From fixed time to flexible time
3.  From average learning to individual learning
4.  From punitive to positive
5.  From recognizing the elite to creating opportunities for
many winners
Adapted from R. DuFour, On Common Ground
Steps to Building
a Pyramid of Interventions
ü  Provide support for academic subjects as well as
ü 
ü 
ü 
ü 
organization and support,
Ensure best instruction in the classroom,
Identify eligible students based on results of
common assessments,
Use the incremental, pyramid approach,
Clarify roles in intervention programs.
Interventions for “failed learners.”
Those that can’t do the work.
1.  Provide additional time and support
2.  Fill learning gaps (prerequisite skills)
3.  Provide ‘different’ instruction
Interventions for “intentional nonlearners.” Those that won’t do the work.
1.  Make them do the work!
2.  Care more about them doing the work than they care about
not doing it
3.  Tight, timely process of accountability
A. Buffum and M. Mattos, 2009
27
What is an Intervention?
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
An intervention is a specific and
systematic response to a student need.
Process Intervention Decisions
§  What kind of interventions will you implement (study
Can be academic or social/emotional
Can be short term or long term
Can be organizational help
Can be adult support/supervision
Academic Intervention Decisions
§  How will you structure interventions so that an accurate
Individual Teacher Intervention
Strategies Should
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
Types of Intervention Decisions
Find the root cause of the lack of success
Identify the student s learning stage
Match students to the appropriate level of instruction
Adopt evidence based interventions strategies
Require active student response
Review, review and review
Monitor student progress frequently
Adapted from Wright, Intervention Ideas that Really Work, Principal, December, 2005
hall, tutoring, double dosing, etc.) ?
§  Will there be a behavior or a learning focus?
diagnosis of learning issues is done and instruction is
provided that addresses specific instructional needs?
Guidelines for Interventions
1.  Offer interventions during the school day
2.  Make interventions mandatory !
§  Students cannot opt out,
§  Teachers and parents can not wavier out.
3.  Make interventions flexible
§  Students need an incentive to work
their way out of the intervention,
§  Flexible interventions serve more
students
28
Intervention Criteria
Identification
The Need for Speed
§  Based upon a data driven
There is no easy
recipe. The language of
interventions must be
developed locally so
that teachers,
principals and parents
are comfortable.
conversation
§  Utilizes the results of
Common Assessments
§  Includes opportunities for
teacher input
§  Doesn t duplicate other
services
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Paul Joens-Poulton
Director, Curriculum and Instruction
Mendocino County Office of Education
When a school has developed a system of
interventions, the goal is to provide the
services only until students demonstrate
they are ready to assume greater
responsibility for their learning. The focus
is on gradually weaning the student from
the extra time and support as the student
becomes successful in classes. The
interventions then serve as a safety net if
the student should falter, but they are not
intended to be a permanent crutch.
- Whatever It Takes
29
Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96
Intervention Criteria
The following criteria should be used as a guide when evaluating
the appropriateness of an intervention strategy. Reflect on the
intervention plans for your school using the SPEED criteria.
Systematic
The intervention plan is school-wide, independent of the individual teacher, and
communicated in writing (who, why, how, where, and when) to everyone: staff, parents, and
students
Practical
The intervention plan is affordable with the school’s available resources (time, space, staff
and materials). The plan must be sustainable and replicable so that its programs and
strategies can be used in other schools.
Effective
The intervention plan needs to be effective and available and operational early enough in the
school year to make a difference for the student. It should have flexible entrance and exit
criteria designed to respond to the ever-changing needs of students.
Essential
The intervention plan should focus on agreed upon standards and the essential outcomes of
the district’s curriculum and be targeted to a student’s specific learning needs as determined
by formative and summative assessments.
Directive
The intervention plan should be directive. It should be mandatory – not invitational – and a
part of the student’s regular school day. Students should not be able to opt out, and parents
and teachers cannot waive the student’s participation in the intervention program.
Fn: intervention criteria
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Texas Elementary Principals
& Supervisors Association
Serving Texas PreK-8 School Leaders January/February 2011 Vol. 68, No. 1 www.tepsa.org
Best Practices/Tom W. Many, Ed.D.
The Need for SPEED
Criteria for Designing Effective Pyramids of Intervention
“What happens in our school when a student does not learn? We consider this question to be the fork in the
road—the one question more than any other that will demonstrate a school’s commitment to learning for all
students and its progress on the road to becoming a PLC.” -Whatever It Takes
Are you overwhelmed trying to meet the needs of every learner in your school? When students struggle, do your teams
struggle with how to help? Principals often ask for help in
designing effective ways to provide students with more time
and support. The desire to help all kids learn created the need
for criteria to guide the development of appropriate pyramids
of intervention; it created the need for speed.
The SPEED criteria were developed as a guide for designing appropriate pyramids of intervention. The acronym
stands for Systematic, Practical, Effective, Essential, and
Directive. We have learned that when schools develop
pyramids of intervention that meet the SPEED criteria
they create ownership on the part of the faculty, meet the
needs of individual learners, and maximize the school’s
available resources.
The SPEED Criteria
Systematic: To be systematic, a pyramid of
intervention must be schoolwide, independent
of the individual teacher, and communicated
in writing (who, why, how, where, and
when) to everyone; the staff, parents, and
students. Every school in District 96 has
designed a brochure that is revised
annually and made available to parents at the start of each year. The
brochure describes the system
of interventions in enough
detail that when students
need more time and support
to learn, teachers and parents
know exactly what is available, what needs to happen
D
E
E
P
S
based on data, who can provide the instruction and when in
the school day it can be offered. (To view copies of intervention brochures visit www.district96.k12.il.us.)
Systematic and schoolwide pyramids of intervention provide
tiered instruction of increasing time and intensity to support struggling students. Effective pyramids begin with
differentiated classroom (core) instruction and increase
in time and intensity based on learner’s needs. The vast
majority of resources are allocated to the core curriculum,
as helping all learners initially will surely limit the number
of students who need interventions later.
Practical: To be practical, a pyramid of intervention must be
affordable given the school’s available resources (time, space,
staff and materials). Intervention plans don’t need to cost
a lot of money nor do they have to come in a box. Instead,
teams need to first think about how to use or reallocate existing resources to fully utilize what is already available.
Time is one of a school’s biggest resources and the daily
schedule represents an opportunity to maximize the impact of
interventions. Rick and Becky DuFour suggest that teachers
consider three questions when thinking about their schedules.
First, do we believe it is the purpose of our school to ensure
all students learn to high levels? Second, do we acknowledge
that students learn at different rates with differing levels of
support? And finally, have we created a schedule that guarantees students will receive additional opportunities to learn
through extra time and support in a systematic way, regardless of who their teacher might be? If the answer to these
questions is ‘yes’, the schedule can be reorganized to create
time during the day when every available person becomes
part of the pyramid of interventions.
At Woodlawn and Twin Groves Middle Schools, a 30-minute intervention block is built into the school day. The
intervention block represents dedicated and protected time
that guarantees students access to more time and support.
Teams decide which students will participate in which interventions at the beginning of each week based on formative
assessment data. This embedded time during the school day
is a sacred time during which interventions are provided to
students who have gone through a problem-solving process.
Effective: To be effective, the pyramid of intervention needs
to be accessible, available and operational early enough in
the school year to make a difference for students. This component of the SPEED criteria rejects the traditional notion
that schools wait for a student to fail before we intervene.
Intervention plans should have flexible entrance and exit
criteria designed to be responsive to the needs of students.
DuFour et. al. define the goal of an effective pyramid of
interventions as providing additional time and support as
necessary until “students demonstrate they are ready to
assume greater responsibility for their learning. The focus
is on gradually weaning the student from the extra time
and support as the student becomes successful in classes.
The interventions then serve as a safety net if the student
should falter, but they are not intended to be a permanent
crutch.” (Whatever It Takes) This goal is only possible when
the faculty has developed clear criteria that move students
from one tier to another until the student has demonstrated
mastery and eventually exits from the intervention.
sential standards and analyze assessment data together in
order to purposefully plan and target their instruction.
Directive: To be directive, a pyramid of intervention must
be mandatory – not invitational – and a part of the student’s regular school day. At Willow Grove Kindergarten
and Early Childhood Center teachers use the very beginning of each school day to deliver specific interventions
to specific students while the remainder of the students
focus on “welcome work” that extends and reinforces their
learning. Students are not able to opt out, and parents and
teachers cannot waive students’ participation in the intervention programs. Learning is not an optional activity and
school leaders must remain resolute in their responsibility
to respond when students don’t learn.
As DuFour has suggested, “It is disingenuous for any
school to claim its purpose is to help all students learn
at high levels and fail to create a system of interventions
to give struggling learners additional time and support
for learning.” (Learning by Doing) In District 96, we took
that message to heart and embraced the SPEED criteria to
insure our pyramids of intervention were on target when
answering the question, “How does our school respond
when student’s don’t learn?” 
During the course of a career spanning more than 30 years,
Dr. Tom W. Many has served as a classroom teacher, principal and superintendent—all at the elementary level.
Essential: To be essential, the pyramid of intervention must
focus on the essential outcomes of the district’s curriculum
and be targeted at a student’s specific learning. Using data,
teachers regroup students based on the identified outcomes to
provide the appropriate intervention focused on the specific
area of need for that group of learners. At Kildeer Countryside
Elementary School, the Math Lab provides target-aligned support to help students master specific skills using a prescription
sheet completed by the collaborative team.
Heather Friziellie is principal of Kildeer Countryside Elementary in Long Grove, IL.
After discussing the results of formative assessments,
teachers are better able to provide targeted time and support. According to Guskey, effective interventions possess
three essential characteristics: 1) they present concepts
differently, 2) they engage students differently, and 3) they
provide students with successful experiences. (Formative
Assessment: The Contribution of Benjamin S. Bloom, 2009)
It is critical that teacher teams collaboratively identify es-
Resources
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R. & Karhanek, G. (2004). Whatever it takes: How a professional learning community responds
when kids don’t learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R. & Many, T. (2006). Learning
by doing: a handbook for professional learning communities at
work™. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Guskey, T. (2009). "Formative assessment: The contribution of
Benjamin S. Bloom."
TEPSA News
Barb Cirigliano is principal of Willow Grove Kindergarten
and Early Childhood Center in Buffalo Grove, IL.
Julie Schmidt is Superintendent of Schools in Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96.
www.tepsa.org
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Pyramid of
Intervention Strategies
Process to create pyramid
§  Brainstorm a list of all possible
Most
Restrictive
Least Restrictive
Example of Interventions
Ongoing diagnosis of progress every 3 weeks based
on best instructional practices in the classroom.
For students who are not successful:
ü  At 3 weeks: teacher conference, upperclassman mentor,
offer of intervention services, offer of peer tutoring at
grade level or across grade levels, ZAP support.
ü  At 6 weeks: mandatory intervention program
participation, weekly progress reports, parent
conferences/contracts, mandatory tutoring after school.
ü  At 12 weeks: double dose classes, mandatory Saturday
school, special programmatic assignments for remainder
of semester.
intervention strategies,
§  Determine whether intervention
is systematic or individual,
§  Rank the intervention in order of
intensity,
§  Look for patterns, duplications,
or gaps.
§  Eliminate duplication and
develop new interventions
to fill the gaps.
Hoffman Estates High School
HEHS Math Department s response to the
key corollary questions of a Professional
Learning Community was to create the Hawk
Potential Center (HPC) program.
Any student receiving a D was assigned to
guided study hall. Any student receiving an
F was assigned to the Hawk Potential
Center (1 to 5 student tutorial).
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Pyramid of Interventions
Results of creating the HPC
ü  Previous data showed that 100+ students
Resource
Room
dropped the math course after the first
quarter. Implementation of the HPC reduced
the drop rate to 11 students.
Mandatory
Study Hall
ü  Data showed 44 students were failing the
Lean On Me Club
course after first quarter. Participation in the
HPC program reduced failures to 1 student
by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Study Island
Classroom Interventions
Finding Time for
Interventions
The key question the staff of any school must
consider in assessing the appropriateness and
effectiveness of their daily schedule is, Does
the schedule provide access to students who
need additional time and support during the
school day in a way that does not require them
to miss new direct instruction?
USING A 9:1 MODEL TO
CREATE TIME FOR
INTERVENTIONS
ONGOING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
CFA
1
FLEX
TEAM
MEETING
31
ACTIVITIES
DURING
FLEX DAY
USING A 14:1 MODEL TO
CREATE TIME FOR
INTERVENTIONS
ENRICH
ONGOING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
EXTEND
EXTEND
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1
CFA
FLEX
TEAM
MEETING
INTERVENTION
USING A 14:1 MODEL TO
CREATE TIME FOR
INTERVENTIONS
Intervention Strategies
ONGOING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
READING
1
WRITING
MATHEMATICS
2
3
1
2
1
4
5
3
4
2
3
6
5
4
6
5
6
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
§ 
Catch-up Café (Homework completion)
Lunch Bunch (Tutorial support)
Lunch and Learn (Mandatory Study Hall)
Lean on Me Club (Peer Tutoring)
ZAP (Zeros Aren t Permitted)
Learning Buddies (High School Tutors)
Double Dose (Extended Day kindergarten)
ASAP (After School Advantage Program), 2004
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Intervention Strategies
Intervention Strategies
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
Floating tutors
Peer Tutoring/Buddy Programs
Student Advocacy (SOS) Programs
Parent Education Programs
Special Education Teachers
Prescriptive Learning Centers
Whatever It Takes, DuFour, DuFour and Eaker, 2004
Roles in an
Intervention Program
§  Administration protects and promotes the importance
of school-wide, systematic interventions.
§  Leadership team designs the intervention structure.
§  Teams of practitioners implement the interventions,
keeps track of which students are getting what
interventions, and make decisions on necessary
realignment of students and interventions.
§  Parents support the intervention programs.
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
Impact Teacher Groups
Math Booster Clubs
After School Tutoring
Extended Day Programming (6 to 6)
Counseling
Mentoring/Peer Tutoring
Volunteers and Community Partnerships
Whatever It Takes, DuFour, DuFour and Eaker, 2004
Administrative Support for
Interventions
§  Secure the necessary resources - time, money,
space and personnel.
§  Ensure access to ongoing, accurate data
§  Provide TIME for teachers to create appropriate
groupings of students and design effective
support to meet the identified needs.
§  Maintain the guidelines when parents and
students object to participation in the
Intervention.
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