Using Student Goals as Data
From LiteracyTentWiki
Back to Assessment Information
Back to Using Data for Program Improvement
Back to Full Discussion by Threads
Using Student Goals as Data
Hi everyone,
Wow, what a super discussion! So rich and full of great ideas, interesting comments, excellent questions, and thoughtful challenges. I usually contribute more myself but I’m just reading and soaking it in at this point. I am cutting and pasting the discussion into a user-friendly document, which I will make available once our Guest Panel concludes tomorrow.
We are really covering a lot of ground here! Just curious (because it is a focus on mine within the realm of accountability): a number of folks have discussed issues of retention and the types of strategies that they employ in their programming, but I don’t think that anyone has mentioned if they use student-stated goals to track retention, trends in learning or program offerings, etc. Perhaps the use of student goals is more easily applicable at the classroom/teaching level (not sure!), but I just wanted to know if anyone out there makes programmatic decisions based in part on the reasons why students come to your programs. I am not referring to learning gains (reading, writing, math, ESOL, etc), but rather to students’ ultimate purposes for attending, like getting a better job, helping kids with homework, buying a home, becoming a citizen, etc.
Thoughts on this?
Thanks!
Marie Cora
Hello all!
I've been trying to keep up with this discussion as best I can.
As a teacher, I use the test data given to me by my program along with my own needs assessments (what the students know and what they want to know) to plan my lessons. Typically my students want to get a better job, help kids with school work, and be able to live in the US. The test data shows their strengths and weakness. By combining the this information, I can design lessons that target the language used in these everyday situations: reading an apartment ad, answering and asking questions in an interview, making a doctor's appointment over the phone, etc.
Bryan Woerner
Hi Marie:
Great point---
As I just stated in my last email, our primary focus is how the information we derive from our data can benefit our students.
We recently completed a two year study on learner goals, and completely revised our goal setting process.
In the beginning of the year, students select at least 3 goals that they want to work on. (We use pictures for beginner ESOL students and more advanced students who can help translate.) The process is somewhat driven by the DOE mandates, but we pride ourselves in having an entire page of “other” goals that students can identify. While the DOE requirements provide the basic structure for our goal setting process, we are not limited by it. Each month, students answer three questions in their blue books around the goals they have selected:
1. What they did in the past month towards meeting their goals
2. What they plan to do in the upcoming month to meet their goals
3. What we can do to assist them.
Instructors collect the goals books each month and review them. We work as a team to assist students where we can. When a student meets a goal, the instructor notifies the office staff (there is a paper trail) so we can enter it into the system (or not depending on the goal and student authorization to release the information). This allows us to quantify our learner’s progress towards their goals in a data base that yields useful information.
In the beginning of the year, when instructors collect the goals books for the first time, they review the information around what goals students have set. This allows them to integrate goals into the curriculum and instruction, and provides administrative staff with information to help planning for the year. For example, many students this year have selected health-related goals, so we have the Director of Interpreter Services from our local hospital coming to speak with students around patient rights and access to health care resources in the community.
We also have conversation classes that allow us to focus on clusters of goals. For example, we might do a series on Citizenship if we have several students with that goal.
In many ways, helping our students articulate and achieve their goals relates directly to the retention and attendance issue. The best way to retain students is when they see a direct result from their participation that is relevant to their daily lives.
At the end of the year, we collate all the information around student goal achievement. We have an annual year-end student achievement ceremony, and on each table we place a tent card. On the outside it says simply “Did you know that…” and on the inside, we include information about student goal achievements. For example, it might say that 6 students became American citizens, or 5 students bought new homes, or 12 students got raises.
This helps communicate the impact of our program to our community partners and funders in a real and meaningful way.
This is a great example of how we are able to serve our funders (by quantifying data to meet the state accountability standard around student goal setting) in a way that truly focuses on meeting our students’ needs.
Luanne Teller
When a student comes to an adult ed program, it's usually "to learn English," or "to learn to read." It can take a lot of probing to elicit more specific reasons from students: Where/when do you need to speak English, or to speak it better, with whom? What do you do now? Is that working? So goal-setting can and should be an important part of an intake interview, and, as was mentioned, an ongoing component of a classroom situation to track progress and benchmarks, especially since students can plateau and take a long time to "progress." I like the question about whether specific goals are related to better retention, or the sense of community in the classroom, extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation, "tangible" progress etc. There would be lots of ways, perhaps, to obtain data on these elements.
Thanks for the discussion. I think it ranges far wider than just ESOL students to the differentiated classroom in general, as well as questions of attrition/retention, which, as has been pointed out, can be systemic, and not program-related at all, but to the multiple barriers adults face.
Bonnie Odiorne, Director
Writing Center, Post University
Hi,
I've been following along. Thank you all for the great comments.
We do ask for student goals on entry into the program but the goal is broad in order to meet the reporting needs to the State. However the teachers are asked to do a more specific student survey in the classroom at the beginning of the semester and a follow-up one at the end of the semester to learn the more specific goals of the students and whether they think their needs are met.
Questions on the survey are simple and may be:
Where do you want to use your English?
Name three places where you use English
Name three places where you need to use English
Where are you afraid to speak English?
The teacher's can adjust the questions to meet their perceived classroom needs.
There is also a Student Self-Evaluation where students rate their improvement on speaking, understanding, writing, reading, grammar, pronunciation and any other teaching focus areas . They can say: improved a lot, improved a little, did not improve, got worse and explain their comments. They are also asked to rate questions on a scale of 1 to 5, such as: I come to class regularly. I come to class on time. I do my homework. Homework helps me learn English. I understand my teacher. I understand my classmates when they speak to me. I speak English in class. I speak English outside of class. I practice what I learn in class every day. The final questions is: My goal is to speak English 15, 30, 45, 60, 60+ minutes a day.
This self-evaluation helps the students to become more aware of their active role in learning English.
Unfortunately this is all for the awareness of the teacher and the student which helps improve classroom teaching and learning, but can't be reported as an assessment tool.
Jo Pamment
Director Adult Ed. ESL
Haslett Public Schools
1118 S. Harrison
East Lansing, Michigan 48823
TEL: 517 337-8353
FAX: 517 337-3195
E-Mail: pammenjk@haslett.k12.mi.us
Hi,
In Massachusetts we just developed a goals cube in Cognos, our third party reporting tool. This cube allows teachers/directors to look at class level data as well as site level data so teachers can review the goals set by their students and incorporate the goals into the curriculum. Teachers have requested this information to help them better meet the needs of their students.
Donna Cornellier
