FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

                    ABOUT DATA COLLECTION

Each grant application contained assurances that the granted schools signed and agreed to comply with.  The assurances state that EISS grant funded schools would comply with the data collection process as directed by the EISS office.  This document has been created to clarify the data collection process and answer common questions from grant participants.

QI. Do the teachers have to complete a continuum for all their students?  

A1.Yes. It has always been the EISS expectation that teachers would complete a

continuum for each student.  

Beginning with Cycle III, EISS teachers are responsible for data reporting for ALL students.  It was written in their grant and is one of the assurances they signed that they would comply with over the next two years.  

Q2. What data does EISS require?

A2. EISS is a state grant with reporting and accountability requirements. We must have data on all EISS students.  EISS reports to the state, shares results related to ALL children, including those with IEPs.

Q3. What about Cycle II (2007-2009)?  Last year participants only had to report on 

  their lowest quartile—is that going to change?

A3. Cycle II is responsible for reporting on their lowest quartile as that is what their assurances stated.  However, it is the expectation of EISS that teachers are completing a continuum for all students and using that data to guide instruction and share with their PLC.

Q4. Do I complete a continuum for students with active IEPs?

A4. When a teacher is recording demographic information about each 

student on the spreadsheet, there is a column to mark if a student has an IEP.

Q5. If a new student comes into my classroom, do I need to have a continuum for

that student?

A5. If the student has been enrolled long enough to require a report card, teachers are required to report EISS continuum data as well. There is a column on the spreadsheet to report student entry date.

Q6. If teachers are sharing a contract, do they both report data?

A6. Both teachers will be collecting the data and will work together to record student progress on the continuum.  However, for reporting purposes, please choose one name to report the data under and use that name all year.

Q7. What if the classroom teacher leaves mid-year? What happens to the data?

A7. It is the responsibility of the EISS Site Coordinator to report the change of teacher to the EISS office and ensure that the new teacher is trained.  There is a field in the spreadsheet to report a change of teacher.

Q8. What do I do with the continuum at the end of the year?

A8. The continuum is a living document and a powerful tool to support instructional decisions as well as individual student progress.  The continuum is kept at your school and passed to the next teacher.  As a professional learning community, you will be devising a plan to send the continuums on to the next teacher.

Q9. What is my responsibility as a teacher when the EISS staff comes to visit?

A9. The EISS site visit is a validation visit.  The EISS staff will be looking at your continuums and your documentation (student work, assessments, etc.) of how you determined student progress for the continuum. The site visitor will spend time in each classroom and will want to see your continuums and hear about how you are using the continuum to guide instruction. There will also be a short informal meeting with all site staff participating in the EISS grant.

Q10. How do I share the continuum information with parents?

A10. Continuum information should be shared with parents during regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences. This will support parent awareness when they are asked to complete the parent survey at the end of each grant year.