The Research Review 🍀

As we transition from the cold and dreary days of February to the unpredictable Ohio weather of March, the Research and Program Evaluation team is excited to share some important updates and upcoming events.

In this month's newsletter, we will be sharing updates regarding the Semester 1 Learning Walks Data, Recommendations from the December through February Administrator Professional Development, and an important way to discuss the relationship between OST scores that can guide us toward approximated end-of-year iReady scores. These initiatives are designed to enhance our educational strategies and support our students' success.

Thank you for your continued dedication and hard work. We look forward to collaborating with you on these exciting projects.

he Division of Research and Program Evaluation has released the Learning Walks Semester 1 Final Report, providing a comprehensive analysis of instructional practices, learning conditions, and assessment strategies in Math and ELA across Columbus City Schools for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year. The report, synthesizes key findings from statistical analyses and offers actionable recommendations for improvement.

Executive Summary

The Learning Walks Tool, created in the fall of 2024, was used to gather information on the fidelity of Tier 1 reading and math curriculum implementation. The report reveals several critical areas for attention, including discrepancies in data input and uneven distribution of observations across regions and grade levels. Key findings highlight significant improvements in Math ratings from Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, particularly in Mathematical Goals, Math Discourse, and Learning Experience. However, Math Discourse remains the lowest-rated indicator, emphasizing the need for enhanced student engagement in mathematical discussions. In contrast, ELA ratings declined in key areas such as Learning Assessments, Writing, and Fundations, indicating challenges in assessment practices, phonics instruction, and text-dependent writing tasks.

Findings

The analyses revealed:

• Significant improvements in Math ratings from Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, particularly in Mathematical Goals, Math Discourse, and Learning Experience.
• Declines in ELA ratings in key areas such as Learning Assessments, Writing, and Fundations.
• Variations in ratings based on observer role, with principals and assistant principals providing higher scores than district staff.
• Regional and grade-level disparities, with certain regions scoring higher on average than others and middle school grades (6-8) scoring lower compared to other grade bands.
• Weak correlations between ELA and Math observation ratings and student growth metrics (i-Ready), suggesting that current indicators alone are not strong predictors of student growth.

Recommendations

To address these challenges, the report recommends:

• Implementing a standardized data entry protocol to ensure accuracy and consistency in data collection.
• Establishing a consistent number of observations across all regions to mitigate regional disparities.
• Developing clear guidelines and calibration exercises for observers to ensure consistent application of rating criteria.
• Providing professional development for teachers to enhance student engagement in mathematical discussions and critical thinking, as well as effective strategies for implementing text-dependent writing tasks and phonics programs.
• Encouraging greater involvement from district staff and area superintendents in classroom observations to ensure a balanced perspective.
• Refining the observation framework to emphasize high-impact instructional practices that are more closely tied to student achievement.

Conclusion

The Learning Walks Report offers valuable insights into instructional practices and areas for improvement. By implementing the recommendations, Columbus City Schools can enhance instructional quality and ultimately improve student outcomes. A collaborative and data-driven approach will be essential to achieving these goals and ensuring equitable opportunities for all students.

To access the final report, please reach out to Ashley Wright in the Division of Research and Program Evaluation.

Evaluation has compiled valuable feedback from the December-February Administrator Professional Development sessions. This data provides insights into the effectiveness of our PD programs and highlights areas for improvement.

Overview

The surveys were designed to capture PD feedback from Principals, Assistant Principals, Non-school-based Administrators, and Leadership Interns. The results include feedback from three PD sessions held between December 2024 and February 2025.

Participation was strong, with attendance numbers as follows:

• December 12, 2024: 48 participants
• February 13, 2025: 78 participants
• February 20, 2025: 55 participants

Session Attendance and Satisfaction

The PD sessions covered various topics, including Elementary Math Curriculum, Inquiry Cycle, Observation and Feedback, MS Matriculation, Secondary ESL Curriculum, and HS Matriculation.

Satisfaction levels varied across sessions, with high ratings for the goals of the sessions, organization, and presenter knowledge.

For example:

• Satisfaction with the Elementary Math Curriculum session on December 12, 2024, showed that 83% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the goals were clearly stated, and 87% felt that all necessary materials were provided
• Satisfaction with the Inquiry Cycle session on February 13, 2025, indicated that 93% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the goals were clearly stated, and 93% felt that the session improved their content knowledge

Implementation and Suggestions for Improvement

Participants shared valuable insights on strategies and ideas gained from the PD sessions that they plan to implement immediately.

Key themes included:

• Feedback: Emphasizing the importance of specific, actionable, and timely feedback to enhance teacher performance
• Observation Practices: Focusing on scripting observations and being intentional during walkthroughs to provide objective and useful feedback

Suggestions for enhancing future PD sessions included:

• Content Relevance: Tailoring PD content to be more relevant and reducing redundancy to better meet participants' needs
• Time Management: Allocating more time for in-depth discussions and practice, and balancing session lengths with breaks to maintain engagement

Recommendations

Based on the feedback, the following recommendations are proposed to improve future PD sessions:

• Increase Time Allocation: Extend the duration of PD sessions to allow for more meaningful engagement and practice
• Enhance Content Relevance: Conduct a needs assessment to identify specific areas where participants require support and tailor PD content accordingly
• Foster Collaboration Opportunities: Schedule regular breakout sessions for participants to collaborate and share ideas

As we approach the end of the academic year, principals are tasked with ensuring that students are on track to meet their learning goals. The End-of-Year i-Ready to OST Conversion Table provides a valuable tool for predicting student performance on the Ohio State Tests (OST) based on their Middle-of-Year (MOY) i-Ready scores. This conversion table, developed by the Division of Research and Program Evaluation, offers insights that can help principals and teachers make informed decisions about instruction and interventions.

Background

The conversion table was created using three years of historical data from Columbus City Schools (CCS) to predict students' OST scores based on their MOY i-Ready scores. The analysis involved training a quadratic regression model on data from the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 school years, and applying it to the 2024-25 MOY dataset.

This model provides a 68% prediction interval, meaning that for a given i-Ready score, there is a 68% chance that a student's actual OST score will fall within the predicted range.

How to Use the Conversion Table

The conversion table is designed to facilitate conversations about student growth targets and instructional planning. Here are some steps principals can take to effectively use this tool:

1. Locate the Student's i-Ready MOY Score: Find the student's MOY i-Ready score in the conversion table.
   
2. Identify the Predicted OST Score: The table provides an estimated OST score based on the i-Ready performance.
3. Understand the Score Range: Use the lower and upper bounds to understand the likely score range, recognizing that most students' actual scores will fall within this interval.
4. Set Growth Targets: Use the predicted OST scores to set realistic growth targets for students and plan instructional strategies accordingly.
5. Monitor Progress: Regularly monitor student progress and adjust instructional plans as needed to ensure students are on track to meet their targets.
6. Compare to end of year OST scores to the OST conversion article to continue planning for student success

Conclusion

The i-Ready to OST Conversion Table offers a practical tool for principals to support planning and progress monitoring. By using this tool, principals can make data-driven decisions that enhance instructional quality and improve student outcomes. A collaborative and data-driven approach will be essential to achieving these goals and ensuring equitable opportunities for all students.

For more information and access to the conversion table, please refer to the school-specific reports in the O drive or contact your school administrator.

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We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming March 28 Research Review Committee Meeting. We will be meeting in the Tree Room (Room 120 at 3700 S. High Street for the remaining meetings of the year. An advanced agenda has been linked here, as well as in the calendar invite. This meeting is packed full of excitement, with six presenters and four research proposals to review.

As always, each presenter will have 15 minutes to share their research findings. The presentations scheduled for this meeting include:

• “Focusing on Learning, Interaction and Play (FLIP) Recess for Students with Severe Disabilities” by Dr. Matthew Brock and Dr. Hannah Rogers
• “Exploring the Influence of African American Male Teachers on the Career Aspirations of African American Male Students in K-12 Education” by Dr. Ed Baker.
• “Determinants of Existential Interpretation in Typical and Atypical Child Spanish” by Dr. Pedro Antonio Ortiz Ramirez.
• “Examining Statistical Differences Between Constructed Response and Computer-Scorable Questions on an Accelerated Math Placement Test” by Dr. Steve Hiner.

Guests from Students with Exceptionalities, ESL, Whole Child, and Academics teams are being invited to attend to lend their expertise.

Please reach out with any questions prior to our March 28, 1:30-3:00 meeting.

Staff across the district may occasionally receive direct requests from researchers, graduate students, educational companies, and other individuals or organizations interested in conducting research in our schools. To ensure all research aligns with our district goals and policies, please refer any research-related inquiries to our Research Team.

For more information or to submit a research request, please submit this online application, or contact us directly at researchproposals@columbus.k12.oh.us.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us maintain a structured and effective research process across the district.

Email: researchproposalccs@columbus.k12.oh.us

Location: Columbus City Schools Southland Center, South High Street, Columbus, OH, USA

Phone: 380-997-1133