Appendix

Appendix B—Creating Indicators From Unit Records and Data Elements: Some Examples

• Appendix A-Data Elements and Term Definitions
• A1. List of key questions and indicators, indexed to data elements
• A2. List of data elements, by chapter and key question/indicator within chapter
• Appendix B-Creating Indicators From Unit Records and Data Elements: Some Examples

Because the processes that lead from unit records to data elements and indicators are varied, detailing them for every data element listed in the guide would have been cumbersome and would have lengthened the volume into unintelligibility. Instead, we provide in what follows a small number of examples to illustrate these processes. We hope these will be helpful in guiding the readers as they think through issues of measurement, data collection, and interpretation of data collected.

EXAMPLE 1

Indicator: Percentage of teachers achieving acceptable performance on standards-based performance profiles of user skills.

[Chapter 7: Technology Integration. Key Question TI1. Are teachers proficient in the use of technology in the teaching/learning environment?]

Data elements: GC005, TI001.

GC005. Total number of teaching staff. Includes teachers with regular assignments as well as long-term substitutes; does not include short-term substitute teachers.

TI001. Number of teachers achieving acceptable performance on standards-based performance profiles of user skills.

Unit record: The choice of a unit record for this indicator will depend on the choice of a measure of teacher proficiency; see Chapter 7 for discussion of alternatives.

For purposes of this illustration, suppose the measurement for this indicator is based on the Fairfax County, Virginia, Public Schools approach. There are eight teacher technology competencies (see page 77, Chapter 7), and teachers are to be ratified or certified on each of them. In this case, a unit record might contain, for each teacher, a record for each competency; the record might have the following structure:

0 = teacher has not attempted to fulfill this competency;
1 = teacher has attempted, but not succeeded, to fulfill this competency; and
2 = teacher has successfully met the requirements for this competency.

Then a summary record might be created that specified that the teacher had met (or not) the technology competency. This record might be the sum of the eight individual technology competency scores, or some other approach might be taken; for example, if the sum were used, all teachers with a score of 16 would have passed all eight competencies, and any lower score would mean they had not passed all competencies.

Next, data element TI001 would be computed as the number of teachers with a score of 16 on the summary record described above.

Finally, the indicator for this key question would be the result of dividing TI001 by GC005, converted to a percentage.

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EXAMPLE 2

Indicator: Average number of computers connected to the Internet per instructional setting.

[Chapter 3: Equipment and Infrastructure. Key Question EI1. Is equipment present in instructional settings?]

Data elements: GC001, EI013

GC001. Total number of instructional settings in the school building. Includes both regular classrooms and computer laboratories.

EI013. Total number of up-to-date computers connected to the Internet in instructional settings.

Unit record. The relevant unit records for computers are specified in Chapter 3. The date of purchase or installation and the description of the network connection are the records of interest for this indicator.

[Up-to-date computers are those purchased in the five years prior to data collection. It might also be necessary to specify that computers to be included should be currently in working order, with the regular approved suite of software and systems installed, and with a currently-operating network connection.]

The indicator for this key question would be the result of dividing EI013 by GC001.

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