Practical Measurement for Continuous Improvement in the Classroom: A Toolkit for Educators

This toolkit guides educators in developing and improving practical measurement instruments for use in networked improvement communities (NICs) and other education contexts in which principles of continuous improvement are in use. Continuous improvement includes distinct repeating processes: understanding the problem, identifying specific targets for improvement, determining the change to introduce, implementing the change, and evaluating if and how the change led to improvements.

This toolkit is designed to help a team of educators with the final process in the cycle, which includes collecting data to measure the implementation of changes (such as new instructional strategies) and their intended outcomes and then using the data to inform future action. The toolkit focuses on the creation of instruments that are practical to use in classrooms, such as short surveys, checklists, rubrics, exit tickets, or quizzes aimed at measuring improved instruction. A team of educators ready to introduce and test a change can use this toolkit to identify what to measure; develop, evaluate, and refine instruments; plan data collection routines; and plan for discussions to interpret the data and inform action.

REL Southwest developed this toolkit in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education team working with the Oklahoma Excel NICs. Examples of processes and measures developed for the Oklahoma Excel NICs are included in the toolkit.

View and download the toolkit: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/Products/Publication/100841

Related resources:

• Video: Partners in Continuous Improvement: Oklahoma Excel Networked Improvement Communities (February 10, 2022)