Conducting a Needs Assessment - 3 Recommendations

  1. Spend LESS TIME on state assessment data.  There is very little research, if any, that state assessments improve teaching and learning.  There is growing research on the impact of interim assessments and a plethora of research supporting the positive impact of formative assessment on teaching and learning.  View the short video utilizing the BEST TWO TOOLS publicly available (RNN Data Tool and Parent Dashboard) to quickly analyze state assessment data. For more information, visit the Accountability page, Reading Now Data Tool page, and/or continue with the CNA.                                                                                      
  2. Consider non-cognitive measures that are often neglected when assessing the needs of a child or a school system.  Non-cognitive abilities such as self-efficacy, motivation, effort, and inter-personal skills, have a strong correlation with behavioral and academic success.  Read the article by Farzad Eskafi who features the graphic on the right and explore some of the free resources featured on the Non-cognitive support page, featuring ASCD and others.                                                                       
  3. Remember the four types of data in the Comprehensive Needs Assessment.  Utilize the wealth of resources and tools available to look at perception data, process data, demographic data, and, of course, achievement data (see #1).  Look below on this page to see a wealth of resources for understanding and completing a CNA.  When considering achievement data, focus more on local interim assessment data than state test data (see #1).  Does your local data align well with state data or is there a disconnect in standards or rigor?  Have you considered the intersections of the four types of data?

What is a Comprehensive Needs Assessment?
1. Brief video to spend less time on state data:
2. Consider non-cognitive measures as well
3. Remember the Four Types of Date of the CNA
The MDE expects that "Every school will conduct a Comprehensive Needs Assessment to study their resources and data, to find their school’s needs and gaps, and develop a School Improvement Plan, based on the results of that process."  Completing a CNA answers two very important questions:
"Is what we're doing working?" and "How do we know?"
The basic steps for completing the CNA are listed on a separate page to provide a better overview of the process. This may be used in conjunction with MAS/FPS CNA collection documents and the MAS/FPS CNA Checklist.  MDE also created a comprehensive rubric for the CNA process. You may also choose to click the Digging Deeper tab for suggested practices when analyzing  M-STEP data.

How do I best complete a CNA for my school/district?

Completing, using, and reporting on a CNA is a year-long process that should be embedded into the School and District Improvement Processes.  The Month-to-Month Checklist contains activities for SI Teams to complete each month.  If the checklist is utilzed, a CNA will be completed in time to inform the School and District Improvement Plans prior to required submission.  The CNA Calendar and Sources is aligned to the Checklist and links to resources to collect and document data.

Choice of Processes

Recommended - The CNA Calendar and Sources and CNA Guidance Document leads teams through collecting, analyzing, and summarizing the four types of data.  Completing this process will fulfill your requirements for completing a CNA for all school improvement and state and federal program processes.  Schools can simply summarize the data on the Guidance document or in ASSIST. 
OR The SDA Diagnostic is still available in ASSIST and can be updated by teams through analyzing the four types of data.  Additional support pages available for both Process Data and Perception Data.

Team Processes

Schools should consider utilizing a process to analyze the data such as the Data-Driven Dialogue Protocol adopted from Bruce Wellman and Laura Lipton's Data-Driven Dialogue: A Facilitator’s Guide.  This may guide subject area dialogue to discover strengths, challenges, trends and how a school might respond with adjustments in their School Improvement Plan.
While there has been a de-emphasis from the MDE on requirements for submitting diagnostics in ASSIST, it is important to note that completing a CNA has always been, and still remains, an annual requirement.  Michigan's plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), highlights that every school will conduct a CNA.