American Indian Education Knowledgbase

Using Data

Using data effectively involves understanding how to use it and being aware of the challenges that entails. The lists offered from Getting Excited About Data (2nd ed): Combining People, Passion and Proof to Maximize Student Achievement highlight how high performing schools use data, as well as listing challenges and impediments faced.

NCAI Native American Demographics

This National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) website offers a snapshot of American Indian demographics from the 2010 U.S. Census, including population, health disparities, public safety and security, energy on tribal lands, housing and infrastructure, forestry and education.

Stop-Start-Continue Worksheet

This activity adapted from "A How To Guide For School Business Partnerships" is designed to help decision makers define what is and is not working within a project and what changes should be made to the plan. The Stop-Start-Continue Worksheet can be found on page 19.

Conducting a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

This tool from the U.S. Department of Education's An Idea Book for Planning is useful for managing the data collected during the needs assessment. It consists of two parts: Data Sources Matrix and Data Collection and Analysis Plan.

"The Data Sources Matrix helps organize needs assessment data collection by identifying information sources and methods of data collection. In the matrix, fill specific sources of information you already have on hand from the school profile (e.g., student achievement data, results from a parent survey with results that are pertinent to the planning effort), so you do not duplicate efforts. Then, list any additional information the team decides to collect. Examine each focus area to make sure that there are data describing the status of major aspects of the priority focus areas."

"The Data Collection and Analysis Plan prioritizes the "focus areas" for which data will be collected and it lays out the data collection and analysis plans. First, define the team's key questions, the data collection methods (i.e., surveys, interviews, focus groups, shadowing, etc.), instruments to be used by analysis subcommittee members and summarize the plans for analysis. List two to three "focus areas" the team plans to study in order of highest (#1) to lowest priority for data gathering. Respond to the questions for each focus area."

Implementing Schoolwide Programs - Presentation

EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT (ESSA): Testing Action Plan & Assessments Under Title I; Part A & Part B

High-quality assessments are essential to effectively educating students, measuring progress and promoting equity. Done well and thoughtfully, they provide critical information for educators, families, the public and students themselves and create the basis for improving outcomes for all learners. Done poorly, in excess, or without clear purpose, however, they take valuable time away from teaching and learning, and may drain creative approaches from our classrooms. In October 2015, President Obama announced a Testing Action Plan to restore balance to America’s classrooms by ensuring fewer, better and fairer tests.

Measuring the Achievement and Experiences of American Indian and Alaska Native Youth (2015)

The National Indian Education Study (NIES) is administered as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to allow more in-depth reporting on the achievement and experiences of AI/AN students in grade 4 and 8. In order to measure the progress of education in the United States, it is important to examine equity and growth for students from many different demographic groups. The educational experiences of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth are of particular interest to educators and policymakers because of the prevalence of academic risk factors for this group.

Characteristics of American Indian and Alaska Native Education (1990 - 1994)

This Department of Education paper summarizes the findings of the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) with regard to schools that serve Native American and Alaska Native students and examines trends in Indian Education since 1990-91, when the data for the first National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) report on Indian Education were collected.

Data Analysis

The Maryland Department of Education, as part of its School Improvement in Maryland website, offers guidance on analyzing classroom data. Though oriented toward Maryland educators, the content may be useful to educators in other states.

Where American Indian Students Go to School: Enrollment in Seven Central Region States (2016)

This January 2016 report provides descriptive information about the location and native language use of schools in the REL Central Region with high enrollment of American Indian students, whether Bureau of Indian Education schools or non–Bureau of Indian Education high-density American Indian schools (schools with 25 percent or more American Indian student enrollment). Of the 208 schools with high American Indian student enrollment (33 BIE and 173 HDAI schools), 83% are located in the region’s rural areas. The schools located in counties with the highest concentration of Native North American language speakers are in South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado.

DPI to Collect Data from Schools Serving Native American Students

This September 2017 Bismarck Tribune article announces an educational survey administered by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to administrators and educators from 29 schools in the state to gauge how Native American students are being served. The Institute of Education Sciences' Regional Education Laboratory Central, which serves Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, provided assistance to DPI in enhancing the survey this year. Also this year, DPI increased the number and types of questions. It also consulted with tribal educators representing the state's five tribes.