Data-Informed Instruction

with Illuminate

Lin-Chiou Lee
ITEC 7445
Evaluating Emerging Technology Assessment
What is Illuminate?
 Illuminate supports the school vision
for technology use because…
 Teachers are required to utilize the prioritized
standards under the Standards Mastery Framework
(SMF) to personalize instruction and guide student
learning.
 Teachers must drive instruction, communicate student
understanding, progress, and achievement using real-
time formative and summative assessment data.
 Teachers must collaborate to develop common
assessments and gather all student data in one
central location online for administrators, students,
parents, and all other stakeholders to access at any
time.
 Illuminate is designed for all K-12 schools. Parents,
students, teachers, administrators, and all other
district personnel can access student profile,
standardized tests, teacher-generated
assessments, and a large variety of data reports
Target based on their user levels.

Population
Since Illuminate is an online assessment and data
& reporting system,1:1 device/technology model will
be most ideal to ensure that every teacher and
Equitable student has a school-issued device for ongoing
online testing and personalized instruction.
Access with
Illuminate To ensure equitable access, parents, students, and
all community members will be invited to an 1-
hour informational meeting, learning about the
platform. A beginner and all other follow-up
tutorials about Illuminate will be shared with the
community through the School Messenger system.
The Illuminate app will also be accessible 24-7 on
the Fulton County Launchpad.
 Software and Equipment Requirement

Teachers and Illuminate is Microsoft-based

students must log completely web- web browsers
into Illuminate with based. Wireless (Internet Explorer,
their school access is required Edge) are
credentials through for all computers, preferred when
the Fulton County laptops, and accessing the
Launchpad. mobile devices. Illuminate platform.

All mobile devices with Headphones for students are

built-in cameras are necessary during testing and
required for teachers to assessment re-takes. Built-in
score scantrons and tools (i.e., highlighters,
automatically upload calculators) provided by
student grades/results into Illuminate are highly
the platform. recommended.
 Technical Support with Illuminate
For Teachers:
- Initial & ongoing software training will be offered by the vendor and district instructional
technology department.
- Product training, professional learning, and all other resources can be found at
https://www.illuminateed.com/resources/.
- Direct technical support will be provided by the district technology department and
the school Vanguard technology team.
For Students:
- Face-to face training will be provided by the teachers.
- Real-time practice will be provided by the teachers.
- Technical support will be provided directly by the school student technology team.
For Administrators:
- Initial & ongoing software training will be offered by the vendor and district instructional
technology department.
- Product training, professional learning, and all other resources can be found at
https://www.illuminateed.com/resources/.
- Direct technical support will be provided by the district technology department and
the school Vanguard technology team.
 The school/district must allow Illuminate
to have full access to its current student
information system in order to build the
complete student profile and set up
classes based on all current schedules.
Limitations
with
Illuminate The building network infrastructure must
be strong to consistently support the
platform, especially during high-volume
testing season.

Systematic training must be happening

for teachers, students, and parents to
make this transition (online testing, data
reporting, and analysis) effective and
efficient.
 Cost of Illuminate
◦ The cost depends on the school or district size with the amount
of users. Be sure to request a quote and a live demo through the
website.
◦ All Illuminate purchase comes with initial face-to face software
training and then ongoing technical support.
◦ The Illuminate pricing also varies based on which component -
data and assessment, eduCLUMBER, achievement dashboard,
item bank partners, and FastBridge – is included.
 Potential Funding Sources

Reach out and Make a

Work with the
present to the presentation to the
book-keeper to
county instructional School
utilize a portion of
technology Governance
the school
department to Council (SGC) to
technology funds
seek funding seek funding

Write grant proposals

to secure funding Submit an application
from the school PTSA on DonorsChoose.org
and all other to raise funding
organizations.
 Illuminate vs. Standards
Since all online assessment items and data results are perfectly
aligned with the state content standards and county prioritized
standards based on grade levels and subject areas, teachers,
parents, administrators, and even students themselves can all have
a clear picture of what they have already mastered and what they
still need to work on to show mastery from one class to the other.
 Illuminate vs. Student Learning Goals

Based on a student’s data results from a variety of formative

and summative assessments (i.e., pre-tests, quizzes, tests, and
standardized testing), the teacher and the student can work
together to pinpoint where the misconception is and come up
with different learning strategies and remediation instruction to
ensure content mastery at the student’s own pace.
 Illuminate vs. Differentiated Instruction

After knowing which content and prioritized standards a student

has missed, the teacher can now design multiple learning paths
and enrichment activities for students to choose from. Students
can now reflect and evaluate their progress to further improve
and strengthen their own learning experience. The teacher
continues to facilitate and gauge student content mastery
through formative and summative assessments before planning
the next differentiated instruction experience.
 Illuminate vs. Communication

All student performance data now become

accurate snapshots, current, ongoing, and
transparent to all stakeholders – parents, students,
teachers, administrators, and district personnel.
With one central location, student achievement
data can finally become the sole force to drive
instruction and communicate the effectiveness of
teaching and learning.
 Research on Data-Informed Instruction
 “Teachers are typically awash in student data. The challenge
lies in collecting timely information on student performance,
organizing this information, and presenting it in a way that is
comprehensible to inform educators about instruction. A robust
data management system is critical for educators to collect
and analyze student performance data from a variety of
sources” (Balow, 2018, eSchool News).
 Illuminate makes sure that all of the data collected through
formative and summative assessments can be put to use by
teachers and administrators to inform their data-driven decision
making processes. Teachers and administrators can get class
level reports, broken down by standards or by questions, as well
as individual student performance reports. Teachers and
administrators can also pull data from across multiple reports
and assessments in order to create new reports that look at
students over a wide variety of results and indicators” (Karlin,
2018, EdTech Round Up).
 Research on Data-Informed Instruction
 “Data collection can lead to more deliberate and systematic
analysis of student work, which in turn can lead to more
differentiated approaches to instruction that highlight
individual students’ strengths while working on their
weaknesses, which can lead to greater student learning.
Data-informed instruction is intended to create a carefully
calibrated road map for instructional moves that will promote
higher achievement” (Neuman, 2016).
 Illuminate is not telling educators to “use data to motivate
students or teach to the test as test score data must be used
with caution a basic road map to determine areas that are
relatively strong and others that need strengthening”
(Neuman, 2016). Even though data is important, it does not
tell what the students are capable of. It only helps educators
make data-informed instruction to guide their students to
content mastery.
 Illuminate Implementation Plan
 The Illuminate implementation plan will be based on Jeffery
Hiatt’s ADKAR Model – Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability,
and Reinforcement – because it should all be about the
individuals who are determined to foster this school culture
change for data-informed and data-driven instruction.
 Start with passionate teachers and staff – one school
administrator with one active member from each department
(content area – English, Math, Science, Social Studies, PE, World
Language, Fine Arts, Special Education, and Career Tech) – to
form the school Data Team and collaborate with the school
Vanguard technology team.
 Illuminate Implementation Plan
The Data Team and Vanguard Team together will implement:
 Step 1 (Awareness): Analyze and present the school’s current state of data
use and the district expectation of data integration at the weekly
leadership meeting and then the monthly faculty meeting.
 Step 2 (Desire): Inspire the need for change with Illuminate using examples
and testimonials from other schools in the district. Gather feedback and
concerns from all stakeholders.
 Step 3 (Knowledge): Based on feedback and concern, develop a school-
wide plan and timeline for all stakeholders to learn how to utilize the
Illuminate platform to identify student learning problems, monitor progress,
and generate solutions to achieve academic goals.
 Step 4 (Ability): Provide systematic training and demos by subject areas.
Join each department’s PLC (Professional Learning Community) to
facilitate teachers’ data discussion and Illuminate integration.
 Step 5 (Reinforcement): Continue to set clear and adjust expectations,
gather feedback, and incentivize data-informed and data-driven
instruction.
 Reflection
Selection & Evaluation:
The purpose of selection
and evaluation is to satisfy
the need of an organization
(school) and the individual
(teachers). Whether this
need or request originates
from outside (county-wide
initiative) or within, it takes
an entire team of
passionate teachers and
staff to do the research,
pilot in the classroom, and
be the advocate and
mentor for change.
Professional Practice:
I overcame my prejudice
against the complicated
data analysis process. I
have solidified my
knowledge about
making data-informed
and data-driven
instructional decision to
deepen student learning
and motivate student
achievement while not
losing sight of the actual
student.
 Works Cited
Balow, C. (2018, May 7). 6 steps for using data to improve instruction.
Retrieved from https://www.eschoolnews.com/2018/05/07/6-steps-
for-using-data-to-improve-instruction/?all
Karlin, M. (2018, April 8). Illuminate data & assessment: The complete
education intelligence platform. Retrieved from
http://www.edtechroundup.org/reviews/ illuminate-data-
assessment-the-complete-education-intelligence-platform
Mulholland, B. (2017, July 24). 8 critical change management models to
evolve and survive. Retrieved from https://www.process.st/change-
management-models
Neuman, S. B. (2016). The danger of data-driven instruction.
Educational Leadership, 74(3), 24–29.