Results Driven Accountability. Everyone can agree that it’s a good idea in theory. Of course we should focus on the quality of education for students with special needs rather than whether teachers and administrators can fill out the correct compliance paperwork.
But how do we ensure appropriate education and get results?
The Office of Special Education Programs has clear indicators that outline what schools need to do to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This is a great first step to ensure that all students in the United States and its territories are receiving the education they deserve. But to get a real picture of education, teachers and administrators need a way to examine more deeply how their district stacks up against the targets set in these indicators. They need to be able to see whether their district is just below indicator targets and improving from previous years, or whether they are far from their goals and need to make large-scale changes.
In short, there needs to be a way to get past the binary “compliant / non-compliant” indicators to understand where districts need to change their plans to encompass improvement.
Stepwell provides visibility into both the inputs and outputs of the improvement process. With powerful performance analytics, users are able to better understand how their district is doing beyond simple indicators. Customizable Data Bytes on the homepage give users a quick glance at what insights they choose to focus on the most. District administrators can examine visual displays of data and get an accurate picture of their compliance and performance.
After districts come up with results action plans that fit their unique situations, they can easily collaborate and document their progress within the Stepwell system. Making the results action plans visible keeps everyone on the same page as they implement their planned actions to generate results and ultimately meet students’ needs.
Stepwell’s secure communication and documentation also allows state administrators to focus on districts that need support implementing their action plans. With the ability to see the larger picture of compliance, they can avoid making unnecessary checkups on districts that are on track with implementing their plans. Stepwell’s integrated workflows also ensure that action plans are developed to improve results for students, rather than just to meet indicator targets.
By providing visibility into the detailed data that underlie districts’ performance in important indicators and supporting collaboration to implement high-quality results action plans, Stepwell alleviates the stress of the details. It allows administrators to spend their time working to truly improve education for students with special needs.