It Takes More Than Test Scores to Improve a School
 

Victoria L. Bernhardt, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Education for the Future Initiative, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to build the capacity of learning organizations at all levels to gather, analyze, and use data to continuously improve learning for all students.  She is also a Professor (currently on leave) in the Department of Professional Studies in Education, College of Communication and Education, at California State University, Chico. 

Dr. Bernhardt is passionate about her mission of helping all educators continuously improve student learning in classrooms, schools, districts, states, provinces, and countries by gathering, analyzing, and using actual data-—as opposed to using hunches and “gut-level” feelings.  In this session, It Takes More Than Test Scores to Improve a School, Dr. Bernhardt will share what data make the difference.

Dr. Bernhardt is author of the several books including:
  •  Translating Data into Information to Improve Teaching and Learning (2007) helps educators think through the selection of meaningful data elements and effective data tools and strengthens their understanding of how to increase the quality of data and data reports at each educational level.
  • A four-book collection of using data to improve student learning—Using Data to Improve Student Learning in Elementary Schools (2003), Using Data to Improve Student Learning in Middle Schools (2004), Using Data to Improve Student Learning in High Schools (2005) and Using Data to Improve Student Learning in School Districts (2006). Each book shows real analyses focused on one education organizational level and provides templates on an accompanying CD-Rom for leaders to use for gathering, graphing, and analyzing data in their own learning organizations.

  • Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement (First Edition, 1998; Second Edition, 2004) helps learning organizations use data to determine where they are, where they want to be, and how to get there—sensibly, painlessly, and effectively.

  • The School Portfolio Toolkit: A Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation Guide for Continuous School Improvement, and CD-Rom (2002), is a compilation of over 500 examples, suggestions, activities, tools, strategies, and templates for producing school portfolios that will lead to continuous school improvement.