The SEC data collection and reporting system produces a wide variety of data sets that provide reliable, comparable information about content on instruction taught in classrooms, instructional strategies and practices, content of standards and assessment, teacher preparation and needs of teachers, school and classroom conditions and other information. These data are reported at the group level (e.g., school, district, region) with groups defined by the SEC project coordinator. The data within a group can be disaggregated in several ways to answer a variety of research questions.

The data reporting displays are organized to meet the program purpose of each project, and given the richness of the data and the reporting possibilities, states and local districts are using the data and charts from the SEC in a variety of ways. Some of the more common educational applications to date include the following:

Alignment of Instruction, Standards, Assessments

Some states and districts are using the SEC to explore the alignment of their instruction with the state standards and/or assessments. The enacted curriculum surveys can provide a database for monitoring the degree to which classroom instruction is moving toward the standards. States and districts can also use the SEC tools to analyze the degree of intersection between what is taught and what is tested on the state assessments. This application assists SEC users in answering the following types of questions:

• To Is the content being taught with sufficient rigor or depth?
• Are the expectations for students, as reported by their teachers, consistent with the defined expectations on the state assessment?
• To what degree might the misalignment of instruction be related to lower student achievement?

Teachers might ask:

• Is the content that I am teaching aligned with the state standards and assessment expectations for these students?
• At what level of cognitive demand am I challenging my students?

Program Evaluation

The enacted curriculum surveys provide a tool for evaluating the effects of initiatives aimed toward improving teaching practices and increasing student learning. Many states are using SEC to evaluate their Math Science Partnership grant activities. Questions that SEC users can address for this purpose include

• Did the professional development treatment result in improved alignment of teaching with content standards?
• Do the data show changes in instructional practice that our grant activities were promoting?

Needs Assessment

Frequently states and districts turn to the SEC as a tool for identifying areas of instructional strengths and weaknesses particularly for schools not meeting AYP. For this purpose, SEC users often address specific educational questions such as

• What do the data suggest about the current status of teaching and learning in classrooms across the state and/or district?
• In which content areas are teachers showing strength or weakness?
• Which instructional strategies are demonstrated and used well and which are not?
• Where do the professional development efforts need to focus?

Monitoring Change on Specific Indicators Some state or district projects use SEC data to monitor change toward a specific goal or improvement in instructional practices and achievement over time. For example, a school or district may focus on whether increasing student engagement in science laboratory experiences or having students work in groups to solve problems results in improved student achievement. Or states may use SEC to identify progress against specific benchmarks such as those established for Reading First. Questions that are addressed for this purpose include: · What goal(s) is being targeted and what specific data should be reviewed to identify progress toward this goal? · What do the selected indicators reveal relative to the effects of improvement projects or initiatives on improving instruction across a sample of teachers?

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