Achievement Teams

<p><strong>What if you had a collaborative process of looking at student data that could pinpoint student gaps in learning and suggest effective strategies to close those gaps?</strong> What if you knew not only what you should start doing to enhance student learning but also what you should stop doing because it hasn't given you the hoped-for results?<p>Enter Achievement Teams. This is not another program that's here today and gone tomorrow; it's a timeless approach that any school or district can replicate that focuses on the most significant variable in student achievement: teaching. In <em>Achievement Teams</em> Steve Ventura and Michelle Ventura offer a framework based on John Hattie's Visible Learning research that makes teacher collaboration more efficient rigorous satisfying and effective. Think of it as a systematic treasure hunt for best practices using real data on your students.<p>The authors walk you through the Achievement Teams four-step meeting protocol: <p>* In Step 1 teams focus on the evidence from a pre-assessment to provide specific feedback to students and teachers about concepts and skills that students did and did not learn.<br>* In Step 2 teams use that evidence to establish SMART goals for both teachers and students.<br>* In Step 3 teams summarize the collected data and make inferences around students' mastery levels.<br>* In Step 4 teachers select high-impact strategies directly targeted to student needs. A post-assessment reveals what did and didn't work.<p>The authors provide a plethora of resources along the way including reflection activities to extend your thinking and a variety of helpful downloadable templates designed to facilitate the work. If you're a teacher or leader who is interested in maximizing student achievement this book is for you.