Using Data to Make Decisions

OUTCOMES SYSTEMS DATA PRACTICES Using Data to Make Decisions Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Joan Ledvina Parr jparr@bcps.org 410-887-1103

Objectives • Review the components of the STARS Discipline Module • Office Discipline Referrals (Majors) • Teacher Referrals (Minors) • Discuss the importance of using data to make decisions • Learn how to create the PBIS Big 5 Reports • Learn how to construct a Variable Report

Data Can Be Your Friend • Key Features of Data Systems that Work: • Data are accurate • Data are easy to collect • Data are used for decision making • Data must be available when decisions need to be made • Difference between data needs at a school building vs. data needs for the school system • People who collect the data must see the information used for decision making

What Data Should be Collected for Decision Making: Use What You Have • Office Discipline Referrals • Measure of overall environment— • Referrals are affected by: • Student behavior • Staff behavior • Administrative context • Teacher Referrals (Minors, Focus Room, etc.) • Attendance • Suspensions

Office Discipline Referral Process/Form • Coherent system in place to collect office discipline referral data • Faculty and staff agree on categories • Faculty and staff agree on process • Office Discipline Referral Form should include needed information: • Name, Date, Time, Staff Referring • Problem Behavior, Location, Motivation • Others Involved, Detailed Information as needed

STARS for BCPS • STARS begins third year of operation • All school use STARS as their data system • STARS discipline module is integrated with the Student Enrollment, Attendance, Grades, and Tienet components • Security clearance and permission to use component parts of STARS

STARS Discipline Module • Data Entry • Office Discipline Referrals (Majors) • Teacher Referrals (Minors) • Reports • PBIS Reports: The Big 5 • Location • Problem Behavior • Staff • Student • Time of Day • Referrals per Day by Month • Variable Reports

What systems are problematic? Referrals by location? Are there specific problem locations? Referrals by problem behavior? What problem behaviors are most common? Referrals by student? Are there many students receiving referrals or only a small number of students with many referrals? Referrals by time of day? Are there specific times when problems occur?

What Does the Data Tell Us If many students are making same mistake, consider changing system….not students Start by teaching, monitoring & rewarding…before increasing punishment Guidelines:

Location Problem Behavior Staff (optional) Time of Day Date Range From ……To Referral Type All (major and minor) Major Minor Show All Categories with _____ or more referrals STARS—Big 5 Reports

Student Date Range Referral Type Show All Students with _____ or more referrals Sort on: Student name Age Grade Section Major Minor STARS—Big 5 Reports

Student Report—Factors to Sort on • Student Name—Lists students alphabetically • Age—Lists by age of students • Grade—Lists by grade of students • Section—Lists by section of students • Majors—Lists students’ names in order according to their number of majors • Minors—Lists students’ names in order according to their number of minors ** You can limit your list by requesting only students with _____ or more referrals or by asking for only majors or only minors

STARS—Big 5 Report • Average Referrals per Day by Month • Provides a chart with the number of days school was in session, number of referrals (majors and/or minors), as well as the calculation of Referrals per Day by Month

Create Graphs from Excel or Power Point Applications Average Referrals to Support Room per Day per Month

STARS and Variable Reports • Create a Report Title • Create a Report Description to elaborate details • Portrait or Landscape Categories Add

Add Categories—Usually Will Be: Student Demographics Discipline Details Discipline Summary

Category— Student Demographics Includes: • First Last • Last First • Race • Grade • Gender • Etc……

Action Action Type Days Out Incident Date Incident Location Incident Notes Incident Time Incident Type Minutes Out Offense Offense Category Offense Subcategory Periods Out Police Involved Primary Charge Student Charged Category— Discipline Details Includes:

Category— Discipline Summary Includes: • Major Incidents • Minor Incidents • Total Days/Suspensions • Total Incidents

Order the Columns • Select the order in which you want the columns to appear • Consider the number of columns and their width when determining the importance of criteria for your report

Selection Criteria and Sort On • Determine the Selection Criteria • You can identify the criteria on which to sort— based on the fields you have identified

Word of Warning Be patient and think it through!!!!

For additional information: Joan Ledvina Parr, Ph.D. jparr@bcps.org 410-887-1103

Using Data to Make Decisions