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Becoming a reader in 75 days

Learn how to strengthen your childs’ reading skills in 75 days!

by Learning Bar Staff
June 25, 2020
0

We are proud to announce a new course for parents and caregivers of children aged 4 to 6 who want to learn the...

Transition back to school

Overcome the impact of COVID-19 within your school community

by Learning Bar Staff
June 15, 2020
0

Stronger together Are you prepared to support the well-being and learning of staff and students as they return back to the classroom?  As...

Early Years Evaluation – Direct Assessment

Educator Insights videos: Sharing knowledge and expertise

by Learning Bar Staff
June 3, 2020
0

We have recently completed a series of interviews with our wonderful customers to explore their experiences of using The Learning Bar solutions. We...

Blog - Educational Prosperity - Looking Beyond Equality to Equity

Educational Prosperity: Looking Beyond Equality to Equity.

by Dr. Doug Willms
October 24, 2019
0

By J. Douglas Willms, President of The Learning Bar Inc. The educational prosperity framework that I introduced in a recent blog provides an...

Blog - Dr Doug Willms speaks about Educational Prosperity at the University of Luxembourg

Dr. J. Douglas Willms speaks at a seminar organised jointly by the EIB Institute and the University of Luxembourg.

by Learning Bar Staff
February 22, 2019
0

“Countries need to build strong foundations for success for each stage of children’s development if they want their education policies to be successful.”...

Early Years Evaluation - Allocate educational resources

Effective Feedback is More Than Just Correcting Student Work: How to give better feedback to improve student learning

by Learning Bar Staff
January 29, 2019
0

Teachers have never-ending opportunities to provide feedback to students. Amidst all the different sources of feedback students receive, neither marks or grades have...

Blog - Educational Prosperity - Teacher

The Educational Prosperity Framework: Helping Countries Provide Foundational Learning for All

by Dr. Doug Willms
October 5, 2018
0

By J. Douglas Willms, President of The Learning Bar Inc. On World Teachers Day, this blog presents an assessment framework, called Education Prosperity,...

Blog - Rick Hansen Foundation Logo

New collaboration aims to make learning inclusive and accessible for all students

by Learning Bar Staff
December 12, 2017
0

The Learning Bar and the Rick Hansen Foundation have teamed up to help educators assess the level of inclusivity and accessibility within their school environment. Through...

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    Request a demo

      Confident Learners Program Overview

      The Confident Learners framework was developed over the course of a three year research partnership with 32 First Nations communities to develop a scalable program, informed by best evidence, and designed to meet the literacy needs of each child, school and community. To outline some of the key challenges we addressed through our research, and evidence underlying the program’s approach and design, we have developed the Confident Learners Program Overview. To receive the Overview directly in your inbox please provide us with your contact details below.

      The Confident Learners program provides a rigorous curriculum aligned with teaching activities, assessments and quality professional development. The program covers all pre-literacy to literacy skills required to achieve reading fluency by the end of 3rd grade. The foundational model of literacy and language development that the Confident Learners Literacy Program uses, draws upon is the widely recognized and validated ‘Simple View of Reading.’ This model has two critical and complementary dimensions:

      Code-related skill: Concepts about print, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and reading fluency (decoding and spelling, recognition and spelling, speed and prosody).

      Language skill: Vocabulary, receptive language, expressive language, and written language.

      Children must master both to read proficiently.

      Click to view a Code-Related Instructional Activity  or Language-Related Instructional Activity.

      Leading indicators versus trailing Indicators

      School monitoring programs and national and international studies such as PISA provide trailing indicators of student’s outcomes. The primary aim of trailing indicators is to assess changes in system performance across schools and districts, and over time. 

      Educators need leading indicators to inform timely school policy and instructional decisions.  Leading indicator data allow you to not only focus on what is happening in your school now, but also to predict what will happen as a result (e.g. high bullying rates now will lead to high anxiety rates later). Leading indicator data are collected before learning occurs or as it is occurring. They typically employ short tests and administer surveys more frequently. The data can be used to:

      • provide a framework for intervention (i.e., a response-to-intervention (RTI) program);
      • guide school policy and practice in order to improve school climate;
      • stimulate discussion about school reform;
      • identify issues relevant to particular students or groups of students;
      • identify students who need extra support;
      • involve parents in meaningful ways; and
      • increase student and teacher engagement.

      We enable schools to continuously monitor several leading indicators that can help guide school policy and practice and assess the effects of school reforms.

      How do you make sure your data is accurate?

      High accuracy of reported measures is best achieved by having 100% of students participate.  However, a reasonable estimate can be achieved by having as few as 30 students participate.

      Click here to get more details on the data accuracy generated by the OurSCHOOL survey.

      Why do measures need to be valid?

      Validity refers to whether a set of survey questions is measuring what it is intended to measure.

      Steps for establishing the validity of an OurSCHOOL measure

      1. Determine a theoretical definition of the construct by reviewing literature, and by seeking expert opinion. 
      2. Identify the questions that reflect the construct through thorough discussions with experts, as well as teachers and students in focus groups, and a review of other instruments.

      Data are analyzed using two psychometric techniques: factor analysis and item response theory (IRT). The analysis provides an indication of how well the questions hold together to provide a measure of a single unified construct, and whether each question contributes to the reliable measurement of the construct.

      Click here to delve deeper into validity in the OurSCHOOL context.

      Why do measures need to be reliable?

      Reliability refers to the consistency of the measurement process and is one of the key criteria for a sound measure of a schooling outcome or school process. 

      • High reliability is dependent on having multiple well-formulated questions contributing to a measure.
      • Reliability is usually assessed with a coefficient that ranges from 0 to 1.0, with 1.0 being perfectly reliable. Most of the measures used in our surveys have reliability coefficients ranging from 0.80 to 0.95.
      Learn more about the level of reliability in the OurSCHOOL Survey.

      Measures versus single questions – what’s the big deal?

      The OurSCHOOL survey only uses multi-question measures, as opposed to single questions as found on most other school surveys. When developing our measures, we take steps to ensure they are the most representative of the construct under investigation. We begin with the broad construct (or domain) – for example, the concept of Anxiety – then we conduct a thorough examination of the existing literature and consult with subject matter experts. 

      A bank of questions is then developed that are intended to reflect the construct and are rigorously tested. We know that measures are more reliable when they include a number of well-formulated questions as this allows us to more accurately differentiate between students.

      Click here for a more detailed breakdown of how are measures are constructed.

      Enhance your school planning

      Join the OurSCHOOL Engagement Team in one of our personalized interactive sessions. Each session was designed to reach all levels of data literacy, meaning you don’t need to be a data expert or statistician to attend. Let our team of experts guide you in finding your data story!

      1

      PRE-SURVEY

      STRATEGY SESSION

      2

      DATA

      DEEP DIVE

      3

      ASSESSING

      YOUR IMPACT

      4

      BUILDING A

      THRIVING SCHOOL

      Explore topics such as:

      In this year-end online debrief, the

      Engagement Team will provide

      you with tips and resources you

      can use to:

      A school is thriving when teachers,

      students, parents / guardians, and

      the community are working together

      toward a common vision of success.

      Take a deep dive into your data!

      • Data-driven planning,

      • goal setting, and

      • using survey measures and

         custom questions to capture

         actionable evidence.

      Our experts will:

      • Review your data

      • present notable highlights, and

      • identify areas for further

         investigation.

      • Review your progress,

      • assess the impact of your

         implemented strategies, and

      • discuss ways to help your team

         adjust strategies and set

         priorities for the coming year.

      In this session you will:

      • Explore strategies for how to

         engage your whole school

         community and build a culture of

         consultation and collabora-tion

         between all stakeholders, and

      • learn how to triangulate the

         perspectives of students,

         teachers and parents to gain

         deep insight into your school

         communities' alignment.

      • This session is available for

         schools that use the OurSCHOOL

         suite of surveys (Student, Parent,

         and Teacher).

      Leave the session with:

      Participants will:

      • Strategies and resources to

         generate excitement for the

         OurSCHOOL survey, and

      • ideas you can use for a

         successful survey

         implementation.

      • Learn to interpret and share

         their OurSCHOOL findings,

      • identify areas to celebrate,

      • pinpoint opportunities for

         improvement, and develop

         achievable action plans

         for further success.

      Leave the session with:

      • Knowledge and resources to

         assess the impact of your

         current strategies, and

      • tips and resources for creating

         a plan before your next survey

         implementation.

       * Sessions are available in both online and in-person format with up to 50 attendees. Pricing is based on session details and availability may be limited.

      Find out how the RTI classification acts as a prediction model of a child being a successful reader at age 8 or 9.

      The RTI classification includes three tiers, which are based on a prediction model derived from longitudinal data that estimated the likelihood of a child being a successful reader at age 8 or 9, based on his or her EYE-TA domain scores. Children with a greater than 80% chance of becoming a successful reader are classified as having Tier 1 learning needs; those with a 50% to 80% chance of becoming a successful reader are classified as having Tier 2 learning needs; and those with less than a 50% chance are considered to have Tier 3 learning needs. The prediction model takes into account the age of the child at the time of the assessment and his or her skill level in each of the five domains. The results derived from the model weights some skills more heavily than others. Skills in the Cognitive and Language and Communication domains figure most prominently; children’s Awareness of Self and Environment, Social Skills and Approaches to Learning, and Fine Motor skills also contribute to the classification.

      An RTI classification is not permanent or necessarily long term, nor is it a label assigned to a child. As children are developing their literacy skills, their progress should be monitored on a regular basis, using a variety of formal and informal tests. In practice, teachers use the domain-specific results to plan their instruction. Schools with more than one kindergarten or 1st grade classroom can use the RTI score to ensure the prevalence of vulnerable children is evenly distributed among classrooms.

      Also, children with Tier 2 or Tier 3 learning needs do not necessarily have a specific learning or intellectual disability. The classification simply indicates that a child may need extra instructional time and resources during the primary school years.

      What does the EYE-TA assess?

      Awareness of Self and Environment

      A child’s understanding of the world and their ability to make

      connections with home and community experiences.

      Social Skills and Approaches to Learning

      A child’s attentiveness during classroom activities and their

      ability to interact with peers while respecting the classroom rules.

      Cognitive Skills

      A child’s basic math and pre-reading skills

      and their ability to solve problems.

      Language and Communication

      A child’s understanding of spoken language and

      their ability to express thoughts and feelings.

      Physical Development

      Fine motor: A child’s ability to perform small movements

      that require hand-eye coordination.

      Gross motor: A child’s ability to perform large movements

      that involve arms, legs, and body.

      What does the EYE-DA assess?

      Awareness of Self and Environment

      A child’s understanding of the world and his or her ability to make

      connections with home and community experiences.

      Cognitive Skills

      A child’s basic math and pre-reading skills and his or her ability to solve problems.

      Language and Communication

      A child’s understanding of spoken language and his or her ability to express thoughts and feelings.

      Physical Development

      Fine motor: A child’s ability to perform small movements that require hand-eye coordination.

      Gross motor: A child’s ability to perform large movements that involve arms, legs, and body.