Data Strategies to Uncover and Eliminate Hidden Inequities: The Wallpaper Effect

Most schools focus their data-based decision making efforts on standardized test score and other outcome-based, quantitative data. Outcome data have the potential to produce a misleading picture of actual conditions in schools and districts, thereby creating a wallpaper effect. Outcome data, like wallpaper, can cover up cracks or other unwanted blemishes. However, there are numerous sources of "hidden" data that have been shown to improve student achievement but are rarely analyzed and monitored. Some of these sources are non-academic, such as teacher and student attendance, school calendars, referrals, suspensions, disciplinary policies, and more. Data Strategies to Uncover and Eliminate Hidden Inequities shows educators what quantitative and qualitative data sources they should be looking at and provides activities to engage the reader. Johnson and Avelar-La Salle help educators identify the questions that get below the surface and demonstrate how powerful these data can be in answering important equity questions. With examples of schools that exemplify these data models, this book provides a springboard for explaining how to pull different data sources together into a continuous improvement plan aimed at raising the achievement of all students.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction Part I. The Need for the Other Data 1. The Wallpaper Effect: Uncovering Inequties Using the Other Data Scenario: Student Court Case Testimony Overview Key Roles for Data: Traditional and Other Data The Data Context: Unfulfilled Promises The Wallpaper Effect: Making the Invisible Visible Conclusion 2. Peeling the Wallpaper: Uncovering Inequities Scenario: Martin Luther King Jr. High School Overview Organizing for Meaningful Inquiry The Achievement Gap Peeling off Layers of Data Application of the Levels of Analysis Peeling the Data at Cortez Intermediate School Data-Bite Exercises Conclusion Part II: Peeling the Wallpaper off Everyday Inequities 3. The Journey Through School: Starting With the End in Mind Scenario: Kyle Overview Graduating and Dropping Out: The Status of the K?12 Pipeline Calculation Confusion: What Is the Real Graduation and Dropout Picture? Examining the Bottleneck Stemming the Leakages Gathering Data College Readiness College Attendance and Family Income Conclusion 4. Special Education and Gifted and Talented Scenario: Precious Cantor Overview Students Receiving Special Education Services: The Broad Context Windows Into Belief Systems: The Inevitability Assumption and the Normalization of Failure Changing Expectations and Behaviors, Changing Outcomes Time in General Education Disproportionate Representation Peeling Back to Examine Other Data A Discussion About Culture Service Not Labels Students Receiving Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Services Conclusion 5. English Learners Overview Challenging Conventional Wisdom about Programs for EL Students A Case on Transforming the Status Quo Profile of BAUSD EL Students Peeling Off the Layers Data as an Instigator of Equity-Minded Action Conclusion 6. Nonacademic Indicators Associated With Achievement Outcomes Scenario: Titan Middle School Overview Rethinking Time Discipline: Exclusion and Loss of Learning Time Attendance Extracurricular Participation Facilities and Program Quality Student Voice and Social Networks Conclusion 7. Systemic Inequties: Structures, Policies, and Practices Scenario: Award Winning School District Overview Common Roots of Systemic Challenges to Equity and Achievement Conclusion Part III: Changing Our Current Normal 8. Increasing Equity Muscle Overview The Context: The Need to Increase Equity Muscle Reframing and Challenging What Appears "Normal" and Natural The Need for Dialogue Organizing to Use the Other Data The Need For Culturally Responsive Systems The Need for Leadership The Need for Student Advocacy Who Is Missing From the Table? Conclusion Appendix A: Overview of Other Data Appendix B: Sample Data-Bite Resonses (Chapter 2) Appendix C: Summary of Main Points Gathered Through Interviews (Chapter 7) Annotated Resources References Index

About the Author :
Ruth S. Johnson is a professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles. She has served in a variety of educational settings in New Jersey and California. Ruth received her Ed.D. in 1985 from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her dissertation was titled An Exploratory Study of Academic Labeling, Student Achievement and Student Ethnographic Characteristics. At the K–12 level, she served as a classroom teacher, an instructional consultant, a director of elementary education, an analyst, an assistant superintendent of schools in the areas of curriculum and business, and as a superintendent of schools. She initiated efforts that resulted in raising academic standards and student achievement in low performing school districts. She served as an education consultant for the New Jersey Department of Education and as a director for two non-profit organizations in California which focused on raising student achievement in underserved student populations. Her major scholarly interests and publications focus on processes related to changing the academic culture of urban schools, with an emphasis on access and equity. In addition to her four published books, she has written numerous book chapters, articles, editorials, research reports, and manuscript reviews. As a recognized speaker, she has presented nationally to scholarly and professional audiences and serves as a consultant to schools and districts. Robin Avelar La Salle grew up in Echo Park, near downtown Los Angeles. Avelar La Salle holds a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University with emphasis on Language, Literacy and Culture. She taught elementary, middle, high school and university students in Southern and Northern California. Avelar La Salle spent years as the Administrator for Curriculum, Staff Development and Assessment at a school district outside of Los Angeles. She has held numerous positions in research and consulting focused on advancing academic success for historically underperforming students. Currently, Avelar La Salle is co-founder and Chief Program Officer for PRINCIPAL’s Exchange, a California State-approved external evaluation firm dedicated to improving schools and districts serving high-poverty, high-minority communities.

Review :
"Systemic barriers inhibiting progress for culturally and linguistically diverse students do exist. The 'Other Data' found in this book will spark the necessary inquiry to surface the roots of these challenges and ultimately lead to the elimination of inequitable outcomes plaguing our schools. Equity warriors everywhere will find this useful resource packed with effective strategies, user-friendly processes, and helpful tools." -- Jennifer Frentress, Director of Teaching and Learning "This book provides numerous and explicit examples of ways to use hidden data to reveal the other truths behind student achievement and to inform decision-making processes. The authors spell out for practitioners the 'So what?' and 'What now?' aspects that many practitioners find challenging after analyzing data. I highly recommend this book for teachers, counselors, site and district administrators, parents, and any other stakeholders interested in using data as a tool to identify gaps in access and opportunities for success in school and beyond." -- Tonia Causey-Bush, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Accountability "This easily digestible guide takes a real-world approach at revealing the truth behind student and school assessments. The 'Your Turn' activities are elegant in their flexibility and simplicity. The Wallpaper Effect should be required reading for both novice and veteran educators." -- Keisha L. Bentley, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology "This volume provides an energizing alternative to accounts that press for even more attention to numbers. The 'wallpaper' metaphor offers powerful suggestions for uncovering inequities, and the rich portrayals offer words of advice to those who care about the education of our nation's children." -- Robert Calfee, Professor Emeritus "My teachers and I have used Dr. Johnson's previous work to dramatically increase student outcomes at the elementary and high school level. Data Strategies recognizes the complexity of the context of student learning and how effective schools use more than just "snap shot" data sources to reveal what impacts student learning the most in your specific school. Data Strategies gives real-world examples and step-by-step strategies for involving students, families, teachers, and principals in culturally responsive leadership. Using data to uncover inequities in our schools is a powerful, transformative, and critical strategy for the long-term success of all our children. Data Strategies provides hope for all our schools in a compelling, thoughtful way." -- Deborah Peterson, Retired Principal "Dr. Johnson brings together compelling evidence to create understanding and urgency around improving learning for ALL students. The book's case studies and charts provide undeniable evidence that disparities do exist, but also offer hope through powerful real-life success stories." -- Sara Arispe, Executive Director, Accountability and Data Quality "Schools can't make up for the fact that we as a society have left many of our children behind. But schools can make a difference for a lot more children than they currently do. Ruth Johnson and Robin Avelar La Salle provide a comprehensive overview of how to use data to provoke questions that lead to the kind of quality education that all students deserve. This book should be required reading in every school district." -- Gary Anderson, Professor "It serves as a valuable resource for educational leaders striving to be both fluent with accountability discourse and sophisticated in tackling educational inequities. Rather than denouncing what is weak, Johnson and La Salle provide guidance to help educators take seriously their obligation to craft effective teaching and learning environments and to do so with transparency and aplomb." -- Martin Scanlan The Journal of Educational Research, 2012