The Teacher Data Use Survey in Nebraska

• In Event: Using the Teacher Data Use Survey in a Variety of Settings

Abstract

The Nebraska State Board of Education has identified implementation of a balanced assessment systems as a top priority for the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE). NDE defines a balanced assessment system as consisting of formative, interim, and summative assessment systems that teachers use to inform instruction, monitor progress, and evaluate student learning for all disciplines and grade levels. Understanding teacher use of balanced assessment data is a priority not only for Nebraska but for all states (Gong, 2010). Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states have more autonomy and flexibility in their assessment systems than they had under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. ESSA represents a shift away from a single measure of student learning and emphasizes the use of balanced assessment system involving multiple assessment measures, including summative, interim, and formative assessments to support teaching and learning. With this opportunity to rethink state assessment systems, a need has arisen for data and research to help all assessment stakeholders understand the use and value of the different types and purposes of assessments that support teaching and learning (Northwest Evaluation Association, 2016).

NDE identified the Teacher Data Use Survey (TDUS; Wayman, Wilkerson, Cho, Mandinach, & Supovitz, 2016) as an instrument to measure teacher use of summative, interim, and formative data within the state’s balanced assessment system. During spring of 2019, NDE received completed TDUS surveys from 5,586 teachers, 230 school administrators, and 99 instructional support staff.

This presentation will discuss how NDE used TDUS results to provide schools, districts, and NDE staff with data on (1) teachers’ use of data to inform practice, (2) perceptions of teachers’ competence in using data, (3) teachers’ attitudes toward data use, and (4) perceptions of the organizational supports available to help teachers use data. The presentation will provide insight into how assessment stakeholders—including teachers, administrators, and instructional support staff—perceive and use different types of assessments for different instructional purposes. It also will provide information about how teacher data use varies by assessment type, teacher characteristics, and Nebraska school accountability classifications. Presenters will discuss how NDE used results to determine how they can support efforts to improve teacher use of balanced systems of assessments. The study results for Nebraska could be relevant to stakeholders in other states as they consider collecting data to measure how teachers use and perceive balanced assessment data and where they might need additional support.

Authors

• Stephanie B. Wilkerson, Magnolia Consulting, LLC.

• Matthew Hastings, Nebraska Department of Education