Data Collection
School/Student data collection
Tau Beta Pi will continuously track student progress to determine whether the program is having the desired effect. If the students are not achieving the desired outcome, it may be necessary to improve or change the approach being used. Therefore, assessment and evaluation is critical to the success of the MindSET program. The program development plan includes standard metrics; however, chapters may add other metrics to provide additional performance data, and assist in determining program effectiveness.
The standard metrics we use for assessment in the middle and upper grades are
the number of students who pass Algebra 1 by 8th grade,
the number who pass Calculus by 12th grade, and
student performance on standardized state tests.
We collect benchmark data at the initiation of a program. We use past and present data to compare students’ progress and achievement level with 1) their school’s average achievement level, and 2) their achievement levels prior to attending the program. We obtain student information by having parents sign a consent form that allows the school district to release information. You can then find the information with the help of your county math director. It will be necessary to work very closely with the schools and school districts, and to track regularly-published state data for each school. The data collection template can be found on the documents page and should be submitted to TBPMindSET@tbp.org every semester.
School districts are usually very helpful with data collection. Seek to work closely with your partner school district for this information. Depending on the state, all the data needed may be online; however, the school district will most likely have the information in a form that can be easily entered into the TBP data collection template.
The data needed falls into 3 categories:
Start up data
Benchmark data for target School District and School
Student session data
Attendance record for each student session
Feedback from students, parents, and volunteers
Semester end
Math and Science performance for each student participant
Qualitative feedback from students and parents on student sessions
Feedback from teachers using kinesthetics in the classroom
Each chapter must also complete a MindSET progress report (available on the documents page) at the end of each semester. This report includes a summary of MindSET activities that semester, including the number of participating students and parents at each activity.
Collecting start-up data
In this section you will find suggested methods to gather the start up data on your selected school district and schools.
Obtain a list of the schools in your county
To obtain a list of all the schools in your county and/or to find school location, contact info, grade level, and total enrollment:
Go to the National Center for Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/
From the CCD Data Tools, choose Build a table
In build a table section, go to Most Requested Tables tab
Choose school level: Contact info, total enrollment, total teachers, grade span
Go to Select Table Filters
Row Variable: Select your state
Other Filters:
Select County Name (School)
Select Years: All years
Column: Contains (enter school district name ex: Hillsborough)
Click Save Filter
Click view table
Click Excel
Click Download to Excel File
Save file as NCES_Report_state_county_chapter.xls (ex: NCES_Report_FL_ Hillsborough_FL_Gamma.xls)
Select a high school and middle school and collect basic enrollment information
Select schools from the list you obtained
Search for school specific info: Go to Data Tools
Visit Search for Public Schools
Enter School name, State, County of District
Click Search
Enter the information from this search into the MindSET data collection template, Section 1
Visit your state department of education site to collect more specific information
Find your state’s website here:
http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/org_list.cfm?category_ID=SEA
Go to your state’s website
Find your state’s school accountability reports (ex: http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/default.asp)
Select your school
Enter the standardized test info in Section 2 of the MindSET data collection template
Find your district’s school accountability reports.
Enter the standardized test info in Section 3 of the MindSET data collection template.
Contact your selected school – do this step only AFTER meeting with the school district officials (see the section on selecting a school district)
Obtain info on the number of 8th graders completing Algebra and/or the number of 12th graders completing Calculus.
Enter the data in Section 4 of the MindSET data collection template
Send information to TBP Headquarters
E-mail completed template to TBPMindSET@tbp.org
Other sites/methods
Click on Data and Statistics
http://www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/naeptools.asp
Click on State Profiles
Choose your state from the map
Collecting student session data
New students: Registration forms for new participants include contact information (including parent and emergency contact information), the student’s school, and the mathematics course that the student is taking that year. A sample registration form is provided on the documents page.
Student sign-in: There should be a check-in desk at every Saturday Session. Students should sign in with uniquely-identifiable information so that their attendance and progress can be tracked.
Feedback forms: Have students, parents, and volunteers fill out feedback forms for the sessions.
The MindSET coordinator should collect all feedback forms and sign in sheets and scan or enter the information for the MindSET program’s records. Suggestions for improvement should be compiled and reviewed with your Chapter Implementation Team and, if applicable, the MindSET National Management Committee (TBPMindSET@tbp.org).