School Type: Public	School Setting: Suburban
Level: Elementary	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
National Awards Program for Model Professional Development

Summary

The practice: Professional development should be based on analyses of the differences between (a) actual student performance and (b) goals and standards for student learning.

• Scores in reading, language, and math rose 10% from 1995 to 1997
• The number of students scoring in the highest Stage 6 category of the state writing test increased from 8.7% to 17.5% in one year
• Out of 55 elementary schools in the system, Shallowford scored the top in both mathematics and science in 3rd and 5th grades at the end of the Pay-for-Performance program year.

Shallowford Falls is a school in Cobb County, in suburban Atlanta. With 650 students in grades K-5, the school has focused on continuous improvement since it opened in 1990. Teachers at Shallowford Falls know intimately their students' areas of strength and weakness in relationship to the district curriculum and the state assessment standards. The test utilization committee reviews students' performance data annually on several measures including state assessments and other school-based measures. Teachers whose students did not perform as well as they had hoped on state assessments seek ideas and strategies from teachers whose students performed well. From that analysis emerges the school's areas of focus for the next school year.

Individually, teachers analyze their students' performance and establish annual goals related to student achievement based on their analysis. All teachers know how to read and interpret assessment data and use data frequently to make classroom and school-based decisions. At the end of the school year, the principal meets with every teacher to review student progress, progress on the teacher's individual development plan, and explore possible areas of focus for the following year.

By using student data to establish both school goals and individual goals, teachers are more focused on the needs of their individual students and can adjust instruction to meet their needs. Teachers can also intervene more quickly to prevent students from falling behind.

Teachers at Shallowford Falls pride themselves on knowing as much about their students as possible. They seek out and use individual student data to decide how best to help students achieve at standard.

This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):

• Professional development should incorporate evaluation of multiple sources of information on (a) outcomes for students and (b) the instruction and other processes that are involved in implementing the lessons learned.   
• Professional development should provide opportunities to gain an understanding of the theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned.  
• Professional development should be connected to a comprehensive change process focused on improving student learning.  

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