In a study of teacher participation in professional development activities (Parsad, Lewis, & Farris, 2001), the National Center for Education Statistics found that teachers were most likely to have taken part in professional development that focused on integrating education technology into the grade or subject taught (74 percent), studying in depth the subject area of the main teaching assignment (72 percent), and implementing new methods of teaching (72 percent). At the time of the survey three years ago, the list of common topics for professional development did not indicate a focus on helping teachers use student achievement data to improve instruction.
Changes Needed in Response to Accountability
With No Child Left Behind adding momentum to state accountability efforts, some researchers suggest that the focus of professional development needs to change. Schools need to use student assessment results systematically to identify professional development needs and to design professional development opportunities accordingly. In addition, schools need to help teachers learn how to use student assessment results to modify and target their own classroom instruction.
According to Guskey (2003), NCLB demands that school leaders plan backward and think in terms of the student learning goals that they want to attain. The process must begin, he suggests, with gathering and analyzing relevant data to set priorities and establish goals for professional development activities.
Black and Wiliam (1998) maintain that the prime focus for raising standards is the classroom. Policymakers who establish standards and accountability systems often fail to recognize the importance of the teacher's actions or to provide the support that teachers need to improve student achievement. “It seems strange, even unfair, to leave the most difficult piece of the standards-raising puzzle entirely to teachers,” these researchers assert (p. 140). On the basis of their review of the research, they conclude that schools can improve student achievement by training teachers in how to use formative assessment results to gear instruction to individual students' needs.
Movement in the Right Direction
Fortunately, many school districts have begun to pay more attention to student performance data, and many administrators are now using these data as they plan professional development to improve classroom practice. Sanborn (2002) points to a growing recognition among school district administrators that random acts of professional development do not lead to sustained school improvement. These education leaders are turning to professional development based on data-based decision making.
In one district studied by Sanborn, for example, test results showed that only 30 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in early reading skills. On the basis of this evidence, the district created a focused action plan that included professional development activities designed to show teachers new instructional strategies that were closely aligned with the learning needs of the students. One year later, 80 percent of the students scored at or above the proficient level.
Mizel (2003) believes that for schools to educate all students to higher levels, educators must think of professional development as a sequential process that begins with engaging educators in learning experiences and culminates with specific benefits to students. The learning process for adults continues as educators have a chance to analyze the effects of staff development on students. This researcher also found that both teachers and school leaders place more value on staff development if the training is clearly linked to improved student learning.
- Focus on assessed standards;
- Review achievement data to target learning gaps; and
- Regularly design and assess instructional strategies to target the specific standards that students are not meeting, according to the assessment data.
Dougherty (1998) studied one district that used student performance to establish a baseline for tracking student progress as the district put new approaches and practices in place. This process became a professional development strategy and a way to monitor school reform efforts. By seeking evidence of learning and determining ways to address gaps in learning, the district was able to narrow the achievement gap. As the scores of both groups rose, the percentage point difference between white and Latino students' scores on the state reading assessment in grades 3–8 narrowed from an average of 27 points in 1992–1993 to an average of 3 points in 1997–1998.
The Power of Student Achievement Datya
These researchers agree that evidence of student learning, as collected in both formative and summative assessments, can be a powerful tool to guide professional development and teacher collaboration. Using performance data allows educators to focus their valuable and limited professional development resources on the specific learning needs of students. Professional development centered on student achievement goals is meaningful to teachers, enabling them to base their instructional decisions on solid evidence of what students need. More important, such professional development supports the goal of ensuring the success of all students.
