As part of its internal planning, BPE has committed to becoming more data driven. By investing more time and resources in data development, BPE has been able to evaluate its own initiatives and its work with the district and to use findings to more precisely inform decision-making on long-term planning, mid-project corrections, and new initiatives.

Data Support to Schools

Increasingly, BPE’s Research & Evaluation team is supporting staff in schools that work with the Boston Plan as they learn to gather, evaluate, and use data to inform their planning and instruction. As part of that work, BPE has developed and is piloting the Composite Learning Index (CLI) to help school staff identify the students most in need of urgent intervention and target the academic and/or behavioral areas for which they need support. The tool is easily adaptable to other schools and districts. For more, e-mail cli@bpe.org or call 617-227-8055 x346.

Internal Evaluation Activities

BPE’s Research & Evaluation team provides evaluation support to all of the organization’s programs: creating evaluation plans, designing data collection instruments, and collecting and analyzing data. The team also works with external research organizations who conduct qualitative and quantitative evaluations of key initiatives.

• FAST-R (Formative Assessment for Student Thinking and Reading)

FAST-R is a series of formative assessments being used in several BPS schools with the support of three BPE-provided data coaches. BPE has engaged with an external firm, MDRC, to conduct an impact and process evaluation of FAST-R’s effect on student achievement and teacher practice. This 17-month study is funded by the Hewlett Foundation; a final report is expected spring 2008. Prior work has included qualitative evaluations of FAST-R (2004, 2005, 2006) by Education Matters, teacher surveys administered and analyzed by BPE, and coach focus groups conducted by BPE.

• Boston Teacher Residency (BTR)

BTR is a one-year teacher preparation and certification program run by BPE. BTR is engaging with Harvard University's Project in Policy Innovation in Education (PPIE) to assess BTR-trained teachers’ impact on student achievement. BTR also tracks retention of its teachers and collects principal assessments on the effectiveness of BTR-trained teachers. In addition to these activities, BPE is also examining the impact of the program on the “teachers in training” in all Urban Teacher Residency coalition sites through administering pre- and post-surveys, is administering surveys to mentors, and will also be surveying the first cohort of BTR teachers now in their third year in BPS.

• General Data Analysis

This data analysis is typically for the purposes of informing staff knowledge on a particular topic. Analyses may also be geared toward a larger piece of writing by the executive director, such as a report on students with disabilities written last year for the Rennie Center. BPE’s Research & Evaluation team also houses a longitudinal student-level database used to respond to data inquiries.

External Research & Evaluation Activities

BPE’s Research & Evaluation team also examines key issues facing the district to provide data and policy-relevant findings. BPE’s external work focuses on the following:

• Resource Action Team (REACT)

BPE supports the policy team in their work through REACT, a team comprised of key district leadership working together to improve central office operations and accountability. BPE has administered principal surveys to gauge their levels of satisfaction with central office departments. BPE has also administered surveys to high school students to assess the impact of start time on student outcomes. The Research & Evaluation team has also examined data to build the case for student-based budgeting.

• New Teachers

BPE is in its sixth year of annually surveying all new-to-BPS teachers; two reports have been produced to date. Updates and data tables are provided to relevant BPS departments after each survey. This research is currently being augmented with data from focus groups with new black male teachers and Latino male teachers.The team recently presented its findings on new teachers at the New Teacher Center Symposium at UC Santa Cruz.

• Resigning Teachers

In fall 2006, BPE began gathering data through phone interviews and paper surveys from all resigning BPS teachers – novice and veteran alike – to provide BPS with data on who leaves the district and why. These data continue ot be collected, and are used for internal purposes by BPS’s Office of Human Resources.

• Professional Development for Teachers

BPE has engaged in research on the courses teachers take for salary advancement. The Research & Evaluation team also supported evaluation efforts focused on the district’s professional development model, Collaborative Coaching & Learning (CCL), through working with external researchers studying this topic and through administering end-of-year surveys to literacy coaches. The Research & Evaluation team also completed a brief report for the Gates Foundation around implementation of CCL at the high school level and developed instruments for CCL administrators to routinely gather data on the program.