One of the four core education reform areas in the Race to the Top program is the implementation of data systems that can measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices. To provide its schools with an integrated solution for data-driven decision making from the district level to the individual student level, Brevard Public Schools has purchased the Performance Matters™ assessment and data management system.
“We used to pull data from our student information system and a few other homegrown tools, but not everyone had access to the data they needed — particularly our teachers. We wanted to provide our teachers and principals with easy access to data that they can use to inform their instruction and make timely decisions to help their students,” said Dr. Karen Schafer, director of the office of accountability and testing for Brevard Public Schools. “The Performance Matters system is very intuitive. It organizes the data in a way that is easy to understand. I think it will make a big difference for our students, which is what it’s all about.”
To date, more than 60 percent of Florida districts have implemented Performance Matters. The web-based assessment and data management system helps providesan integrated view of student performance.On one screen, educators can compare historical data such as state test scores with current data such as local assessments. With interactive dashboards and color-coded reports, this data can be disaggregated and analyzed for any student or group. By combining past performance with current data on a single screen, educators can evaluate student progress toward grade-level standards, analyze student growth over time, and make informed decisions about the best way to improve student performance.
Brevard Public Schools plans to conduct training this spring and summer, and launch the system in the fall. The district also plans to use Performance Matters to develop, administer and score online assessments.
“We’re excited about creating assessments we can share across the district,” said Schafer. “We’re also looking forward to the release of UNIFY, which will allow groups of teachers to work together online to develop local assessments.”
UNIFY is a social platform that facilitates the collaborative development and administration of high quality assessments in any subject area. It is scheduled for release this spring.
