Action Research Update

My action research project, Effectiveness of Pull-Outs at the High School Level, is moving along quite well.  I am focused mainly on pull-outs for mathematics, but have also received data on pull-outs that occurred in English and Science leading up to students that took the EOC retest in December.  For the action research project, my focus will be on the students that are retesting EOC and TAKS tests during the fall of 2012.  The first thing that I had to do was identify all the students that would be retaking these tests.  After identification, a schedule of when pull-outs would occur and what teacher would conduct the pull-outs needed to occur.  Once the teacher was identified, we worked together to develop a curriculum that could be used during the pull-outs.   Not all students would receive pull-out intervention.  We have a TAKS class and a support class for our math classes.  Students that were in these classes were not scheduled for pull-out as they would be receiving intervention during that class period.  In addition, we offered an after school tutorial open to all students.  A flyer was sent out to all students regarding the after school tutorials.  Besides the TAKS students that would be pulled-out, we only focused on Algebra 1 students that needed to retake the Algebra 1 EOC that were not in the supplemental class.  I individually spoke to all of the students that were going to be pulled-out of a class and spoke with them about the importance of passing the Algebra 1 EOC in regards to graduation as well as let them know that they will need to keep up with their class work in the classes that they were pulled from.  In the design of the pull-out, we only pulled students from elective classes.  I sent an email to all of the teachers that would have a student pulled from their class and explained the process.  We pulled the students for half a class period, every other class period, for approximately 6 pull-outs.  We have received all of the data and have a basic knowledge of how effective pull-outs were compared to other interventions.  I look forward to looking at the data and seeing what kind of increase the students that did not pass.  Passing the test is the ultimate goal, but growth is also an important piece of this as well.

Action Research Plan

Click on the link above to view my action research plan.

Inquiry Guiding My Action Research Project

How effective are pull-outs in a high school setting for students that either failed a math state assessment needed for graduation or currently struggling in math a class with a state assessment needed for graduation?

So Many Ideas...

Having to develop an action research topic for each of the nine different areas of passion described by Nancy  Fichtman Dana (Dana, 2009) made me realize how many different action research projects an administrator can get involved in.  The nine areas of passion are staff development, curriculum development, individual teacher(s), individual student(s), school culture/community, leadership, management, school performance, and social justice (p. 30).  An administrator needs to be focused on their inquiry because I can imagine that lack of focus can lead an administrator into multiple action research projects that can become overwhelming.

Here are three action research projects that I am considering:

How do pull-outs increase the success of students that have yet to meet the Level 2 assessments on their state assessments?  Are after school tutorials focused on the assessment or Saturday Schools focused on the assessment more effective?

In what ways can PLC data protocols of common assessments guide and improve Tier 1 instruction?

How does the DATE grant increase cross-curricular instruction on our campus?  Does cross-curricular instruction increase state assessments?  Does the concept of a stipend based on performance of students increase teacher’s instruction?


Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge, the principal as action researcher. Corwin Press.

Educational Leaders and Blogs

Blogs are a great tool for educational leaders to get information to parents and other members of their community quickly and at little to no cost.  This could include weekly newsletters, calendar of events, and emergency information.  Another great use of blogs for educational leaders is the ability to share ideas and concepts with other educational leaders.  As an educational leader you are not always able to talk with others on your campus for advice and an educational leader blog would allow you to communicate with other educational leaders regarding issues that are affecting your campus.  Blogging allows you to connect with people from around the country (world) that have gone through the same issues that you are going through and can speak to practical solutions.

What is action research and how can it be used in an educational setting?

Action research is a process in which a practitioner inquires about solutions to an issue, analyzes the data from the issue, researches and reflects on possible solutions, analyzes data from the change, reflects on the effectiveness of the change and shares the insight gained from the change with colleagues.  Action research is performed by the practitioner; in an educational setting this could be a teacher, administrator, superintendent, or other school staff.  The practitioner leads this inquiry to improve their school or teaching.  The practitioner then completes the research and analysis on their own.  This gives the practitioner a greater insight into the issue and possible solutions to the issue.  An added benefit is that the practitioner is able to share their results with their colleagues which can lead to greater buy-in from others.  There are too many times as teachers (and administrators) that we are given a new strategy that is the focus for the campus or district that has been researched by academia that is heavy on theory and not practice.  The benefit of an action research project is that the strategy or solution is being developed and tested by those in the trenches.  The results, whether good or bad, will be practical and not theoretical.

PLCs are a great place for action research to occur.  This is a great place for teachers to inquire whether their lessons are meeting the rigor of their common assessments.  Teachers can analyze their data on TEKS, as a group research and collaborate on different ways in which to teach the TEK, deliver the new method in class, and analyze the data from future assessments.  In addition, they are able to share their results with each other.  One method in which an administrator can utilize action research is through their administrative team.  An example of this method could have the administrative team analyze their attendance data, research methods on increasing attendance, implement the changes and analyze the data the data resulting from the change.  A principal can share the insight gained from the change with other principals in the district.