It doesn’t seem possible, but the end of the school year is closing in fast.

Before you close the books on this year, some year-end reflection can help you build on your successes heading into next year. Using assessment data, teachers can identify trends—and help answer three questions that most teachers have at this time of the year. Let’s break down these three questions and how best to address them.

Were my efforts to support student growth this year successful?

Tackling the first question, many teachers have three primary areas of interest. They want to know how their students performed, how can they adjust their instructional practices in the classroom to better support their students, and determine how to continuing developing their craft of teaching.

The MAP® Growth™ Class Breakdown reports can help teachers gain insights on student performance and what they can adjust. It shows assessment results grouped by both student scores and their goals. This can help teachers spot trends easily, and it can provide instructional grouping recommendations so teachers can set up learning groups based on common needs.

As far as professional development, don’t be afraid to ask for additional services, applications, or ongoing learning at the end of the year. Here’s a common example… Many teachers often seek guidance when it comes to building instructional practices around data. The reports give them a clear indication of how their students performed, as well as recommendations on how to group them, but they’re seeking classroom management strategies. In those instances, we often find that engaging with NWEA Professional Learning opportunities like our Formative Instructional Practice workshop series makes a big difference when it comes to practical application of data. It consists of five workshops that focus on research-based practices that can be applied immediately.

Does the data highlight any opportunities to celebrate success?

One thing that needs to be stressed is that teacher successes can and should be celebrated as much as student successes! The MAP Growth Class Report provides a great opportunity to see which classrooms saw significant growth – so teachers can replicate those practices or start to investigate what made those classes so successful. It helps keep the focus on growth and informs conversations when teachers start planning instruction for the coming year.

What can the data tell me about how to maintain or improve successes next year?

Teachers typically only have students for one year, so they need to think about how particular instructional areas were successful and how to best replicate success for the new students in the coming year. Using MAP Growth reports, teachers can quickly identify their kids who grew in a particular area, and begin asking questions like:

• Did I approach these areas differently?
• Did I have lesson particularly successful lesson plans?
• Was this instructional area a priority for the class?
• Did I use differentiation or whole group?
• What would I keep for next year? What would I discard or change?

These three questions are common for teachers to contemplate, but they are also questions that many students and parents have as well. In an upcoming post, we’ll share how teachers can communicate with students and parents to help them celebrate success in the school year and plan for the coming year using assessment data. Or, you can take a deeper dive with our recorded on-demand webinar “3 Must-Do’s for Year-End Review.”