Secret+Five---Transparency+Rules

The government building ceiling in Berlin is glass so the average Joe can enter and look down or observe all the government is doing...nothing should be hidden...not sure if this is in the book. It is just part I will never forget about a trip to Berlin.

So my initial statement was not too far off base, but it might come under what transparency is not. US is reporting everything under the sun...I think it is safe to say that it does not work and Fullan has a great example to start this book... (94) the leader finding weakness and using retribution hurts...US system of NCLB (95) Barber was tackling small goals for improvement...(96) providers gather data enhance best practices, apply them, and then hold accountable for the results on best practice. (97) ground rules to avoid negative side effects of publishing results to have transparency. (98) constructive transparency....this approach to data-informed development is effective....pressure on process not results of data (99) from top to bottom...sharing information about production helps build trust of all....Why Transparency rules...Openess in results...this might be the best. (101) We know people will cover up and not report problems if the culture punishes them... (102) Second paragraph is the best in the whole thing.....Leaders get better at using transparent data, two powerful outcomes transpire...Leaders Start to positively value data on how well they are doing with regard to successes and problems alike. They look forward to receiving data and learn to seek data to help them and shoe them and others what is being accomplished. Achieve personal and organizational goals....(103)

MELISSA: I have many feelings about the concept of Transparency Rules because of experiences in my own district in which administrative decisions have been clouded in secrecy. The secrecy always builds a sense of mistrust, frustration, and resentment from the faculty. A basic system at our school is that virtually all data are analyzed and processed by the admin, and teachers rarely get to see where the data comes from or how it is being used. Instead, teachers keep getting told they need to do better to raise student test scores, but we never get good accurate details about what areas students need the most support in or what strategies we might begin using district-wide to implement some goals and work to achieve them. A basic "transparency rules" system that provided teachers and librarians with a set of information about where the district currently was and a list of goals for where the district should be would be welcomed by the entire faculty.

NATALIE: I feel like this all the time when I am inundated with CSAP data: “Information overload breeds confusion and clutter, not clarity” (pg. 94). Unlike Melissa, I feel like that’s all we were given were numbers, numbers, numbers and then told to figure out what it meant and then apply it to becoming a better teacher. We completely over-tested students. With the implementation of Jeffco’s Acuity testing and six ½ days of CSAP testing and the PLACE test and the PLAN test and PSAT and … it was too much data to sift through. It is definitely partly why I decided to become a teacher-librarian. English teachers are definitely bombarded and heavily relied upon to make sure no child is left behind. Secret five is about creating effective measurements that guide and direct goals into action. There is nothing wrong with using CSAP data to measure student improvement-but individual or same categories of group growth should be the main data category analyzed. Many times data will be pulled up and they are comparing one class to another-it’s like comparing apples to oranges, in most cases. I realize the transparency rule says we need to report data and not keep it hidden, but what do you both think about ranking schools and creating a hierarchy of haves and have nots throughout the state? For me this year, I am using the data collected from a skills-based assessment given to freshmen students at the beginning of the year. Based on 12 of the questions from the test that focused on students’ ability to research and cite sources, only 18 % of the students were proficient in this area. As a school building leader, I can use the transparency rule to share this data with teachers and demonstrate to them how important it is that they create authentic research assignments and for them to collaborate with the teacher-librarian to help students bring up this skill.