DAIT Frequently Asked Questions

DataWORKS consultants have a vast educational background. Most hold masters or doctorate degrees in education. They have prior experience as classroom teachers, principals, district administrators, and assistant superintendents. On the average, they have about 15 years as of experience as school administrators. However, DataWORKS provides a wide range of company-developed and proven processes and services that do not depend on the personalities of a specific consultant.

As a company, DataWORKS is 12 years old. We were one of the first companies to help schools throughout the state to analyze student achievement using multiple measures. (Multiple measures analysis was required by the state before the development of the STAR testing program.) We wrote Multiple Measures, published by Corwin Press in 2000, which described the methodology involved. Our process was included in the California Department of Education's Taking Center Stage (CDE Press, 2001). Over the years, we have provided testing analysis for about 600 schools. Although most school now have in-house assessment databases, we still provide services to schools to disaggregate, interpret, and use state test results to improve instruction for students.

DataWORKS is registered with the Department of Education as an External Evaluator, SAIT provider, DAIT provider, and English Learner Profession Development provider.

Although our initial area of expertise was helping schools analyze student achievement data, we soon shifted our efforts into analyzing teaching processes. We developed very specific processes to quantifiably measure classroom productivity at schools. Our Classroom Productivity Index methodology is patented with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To work with classroom data, we developed and provide our schools with a web-based database to record and track the classroom measurements which are used to make data-driven decisions for school reform. These processes include instructional inputs of

1. time on task,
2. percentage of alignment of student assignments to the standards,
3. percentage of coverage of the breadth of the standards, and
4. teachers' instructional effectiveness.

We focus on measuring and improving instructional input processes that directly affect student achievement. The improvement of instructional inputs is what improves the outputs of student achievement.

DataWORKS was the first external evaluator to recognize and systematically quantify the gaps between the grade level of assignments given to students and the grade-level standards the students were supposed to be taught. This process, called Curriculum Calibration, was included in the Department of Education's Taking Center Stage (CDE Press, 2001, p. 48).

Following our analysis of student assignments, we went into classrooms to quantify how students were being taught. We have observed over 25,000 teachers during classroom observations which revealed that not all teachers are using effective research-based practices with their students. For example, only 25%-30% of teachers have a clear Learning Objective for a lesson.

We have made major shifts in our reform efforts over the years. We now almost exclusively focus on improving how students are taught. The bulk of our time is spent providing professional development to teachers and administrators in Explicit Direct Instruction and how to teach English Learners. We wrote Explicit Direct Instruction: The Power of the Well-Crafted, Well-Taught Lesson (Corwin Press, 2009) describing in detail the use of research-based lesson design components and lesson delivery strategies. To support the implementation of our trainings, we have developed extensive classroom coaching processes including teaching lessons ourselves at schools. In addition, we provide a wide range of instructional leadership trainings showing administrators how to sustain school reform and how to go beyond managing the school's buildings to managing the school's instructional program.

We have developed several other services that help schools, including our own benchmark tests, CST readiness tests, pacing calendars, and textbook alignment guides (showing alignment of textbook assignments to state standards). Last year we wrote and published CAHSEE Math Prep for Independent Study (DataWORKS, 2008), and this year we published Algebra I for Independent Study (DataWORKS, 2009). These two courses are specifically designed for students to work on successfully by themselves in independent study programs where a teacher does not directly teach students. Some schools are using the programs as intervention or supplemental materials.