Education leaders across the nation have a new tool for strengthening teaching and learning. REL Appalachia is pleased to announce the release of the Teacher Data Use Survey (TDUS), a tool designed to help education leaders understand how teachers use data in their classrooms and what kinds of supports are needed to promote effective data use.
The three versions of the survey allow education leaders to gather information on teacher data use from three sources: teachers, instructional support staff, and administrators. The survey can also be customized to show how teachers use different types of data, such as state, local, and personal data. This allows the survey to provide a full picture of data use that reflects individual school and district needs and contexts.
The surveys, administration manual, and reporting tools are available for public use, free of charge.
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Click here to see the full infographic and learn about the survey and tools. | See a survey sample dashboard report and download the reporting tool. |
REL Appalachia is holding a four-part webinar series on the implementation and use of the TDUS and manual starting October 14. The series is designed to introduce participants to the survey and equip them to administer and apply it in their schools and districts.
Review the webinar schedule and register here.
REL Appalachia partnered with the West Virginia School Leadership Research Alliance to study retention, attrition, and mobility rates among teachers and administrators in the West Virginia public school system. The analyses are based on personnel data from the West Virginia Department of Education for 2008/09–2012/13 and district information for the same years from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data. The study describes average retention, attrition, and mobility rates and how these rates varied by teacher or administrator characteristics and by district characteristics. The report also provides average rates for each district in the state. The report, Retention, attrition, and mobility among teachers and administrators in West Virginia found that:
“This report highlights a huge priority for West Virginia right now, which is ensuring equitable access to high-quality teachers and leaders in every county in the state,” said Dr. Michael Martirano, West Virginia superintendent of schools. “Losing 10 percent of teachers equates to 2,000 West Virginia teachers each year. That number has increased since 2013, and is higher in certain parts of the state. We hope to use this report as a basis for discussing how West Virginia can get serious about improving teacher and administrator recruitment and retention.”
While the report suggests that the West Virginia educator workforce is relatively stable, policymakers may wish to consider: