Software for hard data: it can be difficult to transform the mountains of data school leaders are faced with into valuable information. Quality school portfolio is a free software program that can help teachers and administrators analyze and report data, set goals and maintain a student database.

Data-driven decision-making is on the national agenda for teachers and policy-makers alike. President Bush's No Child Left Behind reform calls for annual academic assessments, with results compared from year to year. No Child Left Behind also requires districts to report student assessment results to parents "disaggregated by race, gender, English language proficiency, disability and socio-economic status."

However, with so much data from the SAT-9, exit exams, class grades and other evaluations, it can be difficult to transform this data into valuable information. Few schools and districts have sufficient software to generate the reports that would allow school leaders to examine and make conclusions based on such data, and with limited funds they may not be able to afford new software.

However, it is becoming more and more imperative that all schools have the ability to disaggregate student data. For instance, starting in 2004, students in our state will be required to pass the High School Exit Exam to graduate. As educators, how can we look at student data to help instruct and guide our students to pass such exams? Once our students take these exams and we have access to the results, what next?

One answer to these questions is the Quality School Portfolio, a free program that is being used in thousands of schools in 48 states. QSP was developed by the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA, which is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

CRESST understands the importance of data, accountability and setting high standards for all schools. CRESST also understands how difficult it can be for districts and schools to analyze student data to be used to improve student learning.

The program

Quality School Portfolio software has two main components -- the Data Manager and the Resource Kit.

The Data Manager provides a way for the school to import traditional data from various sources. Our newest version (2.0) allows for the importing of different types of data, using a pre-designed, question-driven interface to build "one-click" reports and complete integration with state assessment systems and standards. The user can disaggregate as well as aggregate data to allow for multiple levels of analysis and the ability to report to different audiences with the appropriate information.

The Resource Kit allows schools to conduct surveys and interviews, use observation protocols and administer questionnaires to gather data about school climate and instructional practices. Tools for probing aspects of safety and security, parental involvement, professional development, curriculum and instruction, technology and innovation and special programs are included, along with instructions for their use.

With QSP, educators can look at student data in many different ways. For instance, a math teacher or principal can use QSP to see which students are having problems by using an advanced table or individual student report. Since students are allowed to take the High School Exit Exam more than once to pass, educators can use results from the exam to analyze where problem areas may lie and prepare students to do better on future tests.

QSP has 14 report objects to choose from, including an Individual Student Report function and a Question Driven Interface. The ISR gives educators reports on a single student. This allows teachers to see exactly how a particular student is doing in comparison with other measurements. These reports can also be used in parent-teacher conferences.

The Question Driven Interface is a very user friendly feature. Teachers can simply click on a question in the QDI and reports will be generated to answer the question. For example, if teachers want to know more about how their students are doing in math and English to prepare them for the High School Exit Exam, they can choose the question, "How are students in different grade levels performing in math and reading?" Once this option is chosen, QSP will generate multiple report objects.

QSP also has a goals menu that allows teachers to set educational objectives for their school. For instance, a school could set a goal for 90 percent of the students to pass the High School Exit Exam. The goals menu allows the school to set up objectives involving student test data, and the plans section allows the users to see how goals will be met.

Downloading a copy

QSP has the capability to analyze student data, set educational goals for educators, supply measurements to provide valuable information and to act as a student database for the school. QSP is also user friendly and is free to any school that wishes to use it. To download a free copy of QSP simply go to http://qsp.cse.ucla.edu. The computer requirements to use this software include:

* PC compatible computer

* Pentium 166 or faster

* Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000

* 32 MB RAM or more

* Scanner preferred (to aid in data entry)

If you have a Macintosh, you may be able to run QSP in an emulated PC environment, but your Macintosh needs to be a PowerMac or higher. Go to our homepage for more details. It is our hope that every school will have the capability of looking at, analyzing and understanding student data.

References

U.S. Department of Education (2001). No Child Left Behind. Titles I-VII.

Benjamin Eller and John Lee are with the UCLA National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing.