The PM Quickstudy Education Indicator Database is a tool that provides searchable
access to the leading and lagging indicators defined through the STTE project. The
development of these indicators, including their definitions, related metrics and
data elements, was guided by practitioners from the five STTE pilot districts and
supported by research. The indicator database was developed as a means of helping
schools and districts organize their student and school data into a comprehensive
and understandable framework. This database contains 19 indicators (10 leading and
9 lagging with a total of 177 metrics) identified and defined through a selective,
collaborative process involving practitioners and researchers.
The PM Quickstudy Education Indicator Database contains the following components:
- Definition - Each indicator is defined, and includes a checkbox for early
warning indicator status (based on research in Philadelphia and Chicago Public Schools
), and a short research description of its interrelationship with other indicators.
The purpose of this research description is not to be comprehensive; it is to show
the actionability of the indicator. That is, the purpose of this description is
to show that it is possible to take action on the indicator and, in turn, influence
other indicators.
- Metrics - Each indicator includes one or more metrics to enable educators
to look at issues from multiple perspectives. For example, a school may have performance
issues that leadership believes are partly driven by a high absence rate, but they
are unsure as to whether these issues are primarily caused by excused or unexcused
absences. By tracking both excused and unexcused absences over time in relation
to performance on interim benchmark assessments, educators can begin to see patterns
in whether excused, unexcused, or both are related to spikes or drops in interim
course performance. The indicator database, therefore, has an attendance metric
for overall, unexcused, and excused absences--in addition to data on attendance
rates. These metrics are defined at multiple levels within the education system:
student, school, and district. This organization of data enables educators to make
decisions at the necessary level and more accurately determine if an intervention
is needed at the student, school, or district level.
- Formula - Each metric has a formula, demonstrating how to calculate that
metric.
- Data Elements - Each metric is comprised of data elements, showing what data
needs to be collected or pulled to calculate a particular metric.
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