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Analyzing and using data

Schools can analyze information gathered in the initial assessment stage to determine where they need to focus their attention. Some schools may find they are doing just fine, and can therefore focus on how to make their school culture even stronger. As schools implement their plans, they will continue to use data collection systems to measure progress over time.

Data from office referrals

Office referral data is useful for identifying:

  • student discipline patterns
  • the effects of school-wide and classroom interventions
  • staff training needs.

In many schools, office discipline referrals are the main method of monitoring disruptive behaviour. Referrals are an index, not only of student behaviour, but also of the consistency and quality of the school discipline system. These types of referral systems help school administrators document whether or not interventions are producing positive changes over time.

Cautions12

Be cautious how you use discipline referral data, particularly when comparing one school to another. Keep in mind that:

  • each school defines and applies referral procedures differently. A high rate of referrals does not necessarily mean that students at one school are less well-behaved than students at another school with fewer referrals
  • the same student may evoke different responses from different teachers
  • varying relationships between teachers and administrators may be the reason for one school to have more referrals than another.

Effective use of data12

Discipline referral data can provide useful information about individual student performance, and about problems in the whole school or a particular classroom. However, the data will be useful only if:

  • school staff have a common understanding of its purpose
  • there is an effective and efficient system for collecting, managing and reporting this data.
Tool Tool 6: Student Referral Form in Appendix A is a sample template for collecting and organizing office referral data.

Many schools successfully use referral data for decision making. They use regular cycles of data collection and reporting. For example:

  • recording referrals every day
  • providing feedback to staff once a month
  • creating a school profile summarizing data once a year.

It is important to keep the data-collection system efficient and low-cost in terms of effort, time and actual dollars.

Types of data13

Schools might collect the following types of office referral data:

  • total number of office discipline referrals
  • referrals per student
  • average referrals per school day or per month
  • location of behaviour resulting in referrals (e.g., common areas or classrooms)
  • percentage of students with none or one referral
  • percentage of students with two to six referrals
  • percentage of students with seven or more referrals.

Analyzing data13

Following are some guidelines for analyzing office referral data.

  • A high number of referrals per year and per student indicate a need for school-wide improvement.
  • A high number of referrals from a specific area of the school indicate a need for improvement in that area.
  • Improved classroom management is needed when:
    • more referrals are coming from all classrooms
    • specific classrooms have more referrals.
  • Individual student improvement is needed when:
    • a high proportion of students have two to six referrals
    • some students have received more than six referrals
    • many students are being suspended and expelled.

Assessing effectiveness of office referrals13

To assess the effectiveness of their office referral practices, schools might consider these points.

  • How is discipline referral data used in the school?
  • Are there concerns about using discipline referrals to make school discipline decisions?
  • How often does the administrator provide information about discipline?
  • How do we need to improve the current office discipline referral system?

Using data to make decisions

We are in our fourth year of using effective behaviour supports. It is a regular item on our monthly staff meeting agenda. Graphs identify students who have had multiple incidents, the type of difficulty (e.g., swearing, physical altercations, rough play, etc.) and the areas of the school where these behaviours happen most frequently. We use hard data to identify the problem, rather than relying on people’s opinions about what might be the problem. This helps us focus our energies more effectively and creates a shared understanding of what behaviour we are aiming for.

At staff meetings, we discuss and share ideas about how to address the problem behaviours and reinforce the positive ones. We review our progress month by month and, when an approach doesn’t work, we’re always willing to go back to the drawing board and try something new.

To raise awareness and gather input from parents, we conduct surveys on specific topics throughout the year. For example, we find out information about self-control by asking parents, “How does your child demonstrate this skill at home?” We can then use this information to plan lessons and create structured opportunities for practising self-control at school.

– Principal, junior high school

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12. Adapted with permission from Sopris West Educational Services. Best Behavior: Building Positive Behavior Support in Schools by Jeff Sprague © 2005, p. 94.
13. Adapted with permission from Sopris West Educational Services. Best Behavior: Building Positive Behavior Support in Schools by Jeff Sprague © 2005, pp. 95, 96.
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