Background/Purpose: This study examines the use of the Interactive Growth Guide, a structured coaching tool, within a year-long high-intensity induction program for beginning teachers. Specifically, the study investigates how the Interactive Growth Guide was integrated into the mentoring relationship between a beginning teacher and her coach and…

Coaching is a form of professional learning that can contextualize learning and personalize the development of knowledge and skills to improve professional practice and the student experience. Coaching for equity-oriented continuous improvement needs be defined differently than instructional coaching since the schools are focused on changing…

In a multiyear, multisite, randomized control trial, we examined the effects of comprehensive professional development designed to support teachers' data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive early writing needs. Teachers (N = 154; primarily special educators or intervention specialists) were assigned randomly to a treatment group (n…

This study aimed to investigate the influences instructional coaching had on middle school math teachers. Accountability demands have impacted teaching and learning, and the push to use high stakes tests to measure teacher quality and effectiveness has limited teacher autonomy, agency, and efficacy. Teachers need professional learning that…

The purpose of this logistic regression study was to identify predictors of teacher-reported sustained use of data-based instruction (DBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the extent to which the identified predictors explained teachers' sustained use after completing programmatic support for intensive early writing instruction. We surveyed…

This action research takes place at a small, New England public school system in Hopkinton, MA, and was designed to build the capacity of educators by utilizing a cycle of inquiry to improve Data-Driven Decision Making. The action steps of this study established a building-based Student Learning Team at Hopkinton Middle School which, in…

Disproportionality in exclusionary school discipline is a longstanding challenge in general and special education. To reduce disproportionality in discipline in a way that produces measurable results, federal law provides a mechanism referred to as Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS). Whether a school district has been cited for…

Improving the quality of teaching and instruction takes time and planning and may be costly and require intensive work. This is particularly true when trying to make improvements among multiple preschool sites, because preschool systems often lack a cohesive infrastructure for supporting high-quality implementation of curricula and teacher…

The purpose of this evaluation was to understand the development, implementation, and impact of Project Exc-EL (Excellence for English Learners), a school-wide intervention focused on providing teacher professional development and training to better support English learners (ELs) in New York. Project Exc-EL focuses on training teachers to use data…

Data from a small randomized control trial of teachers' use of Data-Based Instruction (DBI) for early writing were analyzed to determine the influence of teacher knowledge, skills, and treatment fidelity on student Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) slope. Participants included 11 elementary grade teachers who delivered intensive intervention in…

Low-income urban schools that have chronic student underachievement have championed instructional coaching as an effective education reform strategy. Studies have shown that instructional coaching can be a promising approach for teacher professional development aimed at building educators' capacity to use student data to inform literacy…

Few teachers receive adequate preparation to provide effective individualized instruction for children with intensive early writing needs. In this article, the authors describe an attempt to close this learning gap, by developing Data-Based Instruction-Tools, Learning, and Collaborative Support (DBI-TLC), a comprehensive professional development…

The Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework, which uses a systems approach to promote school improvement and support all students in improving academics and behavior using data-based problem-solving, is a key part of the Wake County Public Schools System (WCPSS) Strategic Plan. As of 2017-18, MTSS schools were at the initial stages of MTSS…