It’s Friday night – what what – and I’m listening to The Office (original UK version, thank you), drinking some box o’ wine, and thinking about data. What? Data? Yes. Barf.In my new job (I will continue to say ‘new’ for the rest of the year so no one expect too much of me), I am responsible for helping teachers track data and look at it to identify next steps. This was one thing when I was looking at my own 22 students, but now we’re looking at about 20 students x 6 sections x 4 grade levels. I used to be able to do that, but now I’m a literacy lead. I dumped all the math out of my brain, so I won’t do it and you can’t make me.Two words, people. Job. Description.Anyway, data is my new middle name. So now it’s Ms. Chrissy Data B. Which doesn’t even flow. Especially because this is what happens when I hear the word data in a sentence directed at me, such as, “Make sure you collect data from third grade about their last reading assessment.”In my brain, the following events occur:1. Poop. Now I have to bother third grade for their data.2. Poop. Then I have to look at the data with them and I don’t want them to feel bad if it’s not good.3. Poop. After that, I have to talk to them about what to do about the data.4. Barf.Data is a constant and ongoing conversation on our campus. We analyze data by overall average, subpopulations, specific student expectations, and the wording of the questions. We do this every time we take an assessment. And I know it’s valuable and good for us to think about and inform our instruction, but still……. barf.So we’ve decided that the big people in the room can’t be the only ones worried about thinking about data. The little people should be thinking about it a little bit, too. To help them do this, I put together some documents. The first is a basic Reading Assessment Tracker Graph. Little people can record the date and subject of their reading assessments and then color in across to record their progress. It’s also good for goal-setting. Maybe over time, our little people will be focused on making good progress in their assessments. And maybe over time, our big people will see some patterns and ways to help them do this. You can grab this one free from TPT or Teacher’s Notebook.
I used Hello, Literacy Fonts and DJ Inkers clipart cause they’re cute. Black and white for easy printing!
Since I made this, I have revised this document about twelve times, each time creating more and more work for myself and everyone else. I will eventually share the final drafts with you. However, because in Texas, we do not follow the common core because that’s how special we are. We use the TEKS. So it’s TEKS-aligned and references the TEKS for Reading. But Texas is a big state, so maybe you can use it because lots of you live here.
And then you can look at your data, too. Barf.Pin It 
I totally get your feelings about data and I only do it for my 3 reading classes. In the end it is helpful though, so I suck it up and get it done.
Can't wait to see yours with the TEKS!
I totally agree barf to data.
Jill
Every time someone says the word 'data' at school I want to scream "CHILDREN ARE NOT NUMBERS!" and then go barf. I'm going to go grade some assessments now.
Emily @ Second Grade Silliness
Thank you for sharing. I don't hate data- it can be useful- but I'm glad that my administration sees it as a tool, and not the ultimate decision-maker. I feel like it's a guide and a way for me to check my progress, but my administration also trusts my professional judgment. Thank goodness 🙂 At my last school… not so much!
Jenny
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