A data wall, or a data board, is a visual tool used to keep
up with the progress of all students in a class and, ultimately, in a school.
It keeps student progress on display at all times. We emphasize that data walls
are a teacher’s tool. It is not good practice to label students or label groups using text levels.
For teachers, however, it is important to know the instructional
levels students can currently process (and that includes the behaviors and
understandings outlined by the level of text) and to have a vision for what
teaching is needed. The data wall becomes a living document that reveals the diversity among
your students. It helps to blur grade-level lines and to remind you and
your colleagues that you need to teach students where they are but give
them impetus to go further.
For getting started with a data wall, these suggestions may
be useful:
- Convene teachers in a grade-level group (or some combined
grade levels if needed.)
- Have a large graph on the wall with text levels across the
top and blank space to place sticky notes. Create a bracket or shading to
indicate your district’s grade-level expectations.
- Each teacher brings results of the first administration of
text-based assessment, e.g., BAS, to
the meeting.
- They record the student’s first name and reading level on a
sticky note with a uniform color for each grade level.
- Add colored dots if needed for any additional information.
- Place sticky notes under the appropriate column (text level)
on the gradient.
- Create a key so that everyone recognizes the classroom or
grade level and special designations.
- Have a discussion of what you notice as you look at the data
wall and set some goals.
- Return to the data wall at regular intervals (often
quarterly) for a continuing discussion. As time goes on a student’s progress up
the ladder of text, teachers can move the sticky notes and place them at a
higher level.
As previously stated, the data wall should reside in the teacher's workroom. It is not a tool for students or families to see. It helps to create a culture of collaboration in which teachers can support each other in solving problems and have shared ownership of student outcomes. This culture forms the fabric to support a high-quality instructional program for literacy.
From Guided Reading, Second Edition by
Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Copyright (c) 2017 by Irene C. Fountas and
Gay Su Pinnell. Published by Heinemann.
