Program Tailors School Instruction

By Erin Elaine Mosely, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.

Apr. 13–WETUMPKA — Elmore County Public Schools have started an 18-month program in which teachers will take state assessment data and student grades and then let a computer program customize classroom instruction.

The data are gathered through the federal No Child Left Behind Act that requires states and individual schools to collect and break down student information into subgroups such as gender and race to go along with test scores.

The project takes the information and puts it into an educational management computer program. With the click of a mouse, the software allows the system to create tests and also look at information on a district, classroom, school and even individual student performance level.

Now, the school system can identify more specifically which area students need help, said Davis Brock, technology coordinator for Elmore County Public Schools.

Previously, Brock said the district did not have a place it could go to for that kind of detailed information.

“Our schools, especially the elementary ones, have done a good job of looking at data and making changes to instruction,” he said. “We didn’t have anything at the district level for looking at data. It was kind of hit or miss.”

Brock said the school system in previous years had to wait until as late as August to make decisions on curriculum and instruction.

Elmore County Superintendent of Education Jeff Langham said the plan allows the district to “pinpoint inefficiency.”

“This will help us fine tune instruction, so now more than ever we’ll see what kids really need,” he said. “We’ll be able to identify gaps before we get to the test (Alabama Reading and Math and Alabama High School Graduation Exam) instead of groaning after we had the test.”

Part of the plan includes giving students district-generated tests throughout the year. In February the district tested students in the ninth and 10th grades in math, science, English and social studies prior to a March state assessment.

Student scores are entered into the software, and the district can view the district average as well as compare schools to each other.

Richard Dennis, principal at Wetumpka High School, said using testing data makes sense.

“(A student) can be passing a course, but are they meeting the standard?” Dennis said. “We don’t want to restrict the teacher’s approach or how they present the material, but you do want to make sure they align it with the state objectives.”

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