Action Research Plan - Take 2

Okay - I know that I will make changes to this as I go through the process of data collection and data analysis.  I feel like I am working in a vacuum with this even though I know where to get the information.  Thanks for your feedback earlier.

As I go through this process, I realized (thanks to comments) that my first draft is just data analysis and I need to include the ACTION.  This is where I am struggling.  I know that there is more I can do from this starting point.  I just need to go through the process before I get there.  Several of the examples throughout the Dana text included questions or wonderings that turned into more action during the data analysis.
Question:  “Do students who are enrolled in CTE courses perform better on state and local assessments than their peers who are not enrolled in any of these courses?  What can CTE instructors do in their classrooms to enrich the student’s experience in the regular classroom and help increase state assessment scores?”
Goal:  To show that CTE courses enhance the learning experience in core classes and help student performance on state and local assessments.  Study will focus on freshmen (Class of 2016) and sophomores (Class of 2015) and their performance on EOC and local benchmarks.  Juniors and Seniors and TAKS testing will not be considered for this inquiry.
Action Steps:	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources:	Evaluation:
1.  Meet with counselor(s) to get list of 9th and 10th grade students enrolled in CTE courses.  Will look at students enrolled in one or more CTE courses for the fall and spring semesters for the current school year.  May be necessary to pull sophomore schedules from previous year as well.	B. Brandon School counselors	April 2013	Infinite Campus and counselor access to schedules.	Create database of students to be followed.
2.  Meet with all CTE instructors and explain inquiry.  Ask for cooperation and assistance in gathering data.	B. Brandon Site Supervisor	April 2013	List of students; copy of TEKS from each CTE course and from each Core class.	Meeting notes
3.  Meet with 9th and 10th grade core curriculum teachers and explain inquiry.  Ask for assistance and cooperation in gathering data.	B. Brandon Site Supervisor Campus Principal	April 2013	List of students; copy of TEKS from each CTE course and from each Core class.	Meeting notes – ask for benchmark results
4. Obtain local benchmark and state assessment (EOC) data for 2011-2012 school year. (10th grade only)	B. Brandon Counselor(s)	April 2013	Access to all CTE students in Aware (Eduphoria testing data)	Enter findings in database created for inquiry
5.  Create control group of 10th grade students not enrolled in CTE courses for 2011-2012 and record state assessment results	B. Brandon Counselor(s)	April-May 2013	Access to student data in Aware	Create another table in database for control group
6.  Create and distribute survey to CTE students about CTE courses and what they like/dislike about course.	B. Brandon CTE Instructors	April-May 2013	Access to student schedules (Survey Monkey – all CTE students have computer access)	Record results in database
7.  Read professional articles about CTE courses and benefits to student education.	B. Brandon	June-August 2013	Journals and online resources	Find and record thoughts about 5 articles pertaining to CTE and benefits of the program.
8.  Look at scores from 2012-2013 EOC exams for focus and control groups.  Compare to previous year’s results.	B. Brandon Counselor(s) Site supervisor	This depends on when score are available…maybe during summer 2013 or September/October 2013.	Test results	Enter data into database.  Compare to previous year and control group of non CTE students.
9.  Share results with other CTE and core curriculum instructors at faculty meeting or special meeting.	B. Brandon Site Supervisor Campus Principal	Once again, depends on score availability.  I will amend after talking to counselors.	Meeting time, test scores Power point presentation	Create database report and presentation to share findings with faculty.  Use literature review and students surveys to support findings.
10.  Survey core teachers about what CTE can do to help support CScope and core curriculum instruction.	B. Brandon Department Heads Campus Principal Curriculum Director Site Supervisor	November 2013	Survey Monkey	Share results with CTE instructors and curriculum director
11.  Using survey data from teacher survey, TEKS from core curriculum and CTE curriculum, develop collaboration/integration plan and groups.	B. Brandon Dept. Heads Curriculum Director Site Supervisor Campus Principal	November 2013-January 2014	TEKS, survey results, spreadsheet and databases	Put integration plan into action in select teachers’ classrooms.
12.  Monitor student success on benchmarks, course grades, and next year’s EOC results.	B. Brandon Counselors Site Supervisor	January 2014 – June 2014	Test results (Aware), report cards (access online – Infinite Campus)	Compare to original results from beginning of study.  Use charts and graphs.  Present to CTE instructors first for feedback.  Then present comparison to rest of faculty.  Get feedback.
This plan will be ongoing. Since our program is always reevaluated for federal funds, our contribution to student achievement is imperative.