HUTTO — The Hutto Independent School District is introducing data-driven instruction to classrooms this fall with its new high-tech viewing platform.
With Abre, a kindergarten to 12th grade data solutions service, the school district hopes to utilize in-depth student data to inform its teaching practices and improve student achievement, educators said.
“We have this strategic plan now, but we have to use data along the way to make sure what course adjustments we need,” Brittany Swanson, associate superintendent for instruction and innovation, told trustees at a Sept. 12 board workshop meeting.
Faculty and staff were introduced to the platform this fall after Swanson’s department worked with Abre to build it this past spring and summer.
Teachers can view data collected from inside the classroom, such as attendance, assessment results, grades and behavior, as well as thirdparty data, including results from standardized tests such as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, Advance Placement and college-admission exams.
Beyond teachers and staff, Abre provides administrators and district leaders access to information on enrollment, behavior and intervention, graduation readiness, family engagement and more.
To identify trends and areas of improvement, educators can take a deep dive into the material, breaking it down by demographics or grade level, and even focus on an individual student.
The district also hopes the all-in-one platform will streamline data viewing and improve efficiency.
Before, educators said that if they wanted to analyze their students’ data, they would have to compile it themselves from various sources.
“It seems to me that this is allowing everybody to have the same information in front of them at a real time and … (teachers) can immediately start offering … feedback and that kind of stuff,” board President Billie Logiudice said.
The district is working on incorporating common benchmark assessments and college, career and military readiness data into the platform.
In the spring, Hutto ISD plans to roll out access to parents, who will be able to monitor their child’s progress and have access to their schedules. Soon after, students themselves will be able to use Abre to see their grades and other academic results.
Other dashboards the community can view include bond project finance reports and strategic plan progress.
Parents will be able to hear feedback based on the data from teachers at parent-teacher conferences in November.
“It enables us to have really powerful conversations about trends and about data,” Swanson said.
