Data Folders

Hi Friends!

As teachers we have to collect lots of data on our students throughout the year.  This data

drives our instruction.  I work in a district that requires teachers to have a data center board

and data folders showing student growth.  The data center board can be simple or elaborate. 

Mine is somewhere in between.  The data center board shows class goals and

 averages, not individual scores. Today I'd like to share the folders that my students use

to store data about their own growth.  At conference time, students share what's inside their

data folder with their parents.  In my district we have student-led conferences.  This basically means

that students come to the conference with their parents and they must share their work with

their parents.  As a first grade teacher, I have my kids share parts of their data folders and

I discuss other parts.  My kids do really well, but we practice a few times before the actual

conference so they know exactly what to do.  Here are some pictures of my data folders.

I use a plastic 8 pocket organizer.  I add a piece of decorative
computer paper on the inside pocket for the cover. I put
student's picture under the title.

The first pocket holds a behavior graph.

The second pocket holds the spelling graph. Kids
graph their spelling test scores every week & then place
the test behind the graph. 

The third pocket holds writing samples to be
shared at conference time.

The fourth pocket hold a leveled reading graph.  I fill this out a
and share it with parents so they can see where our district
expects a first grader to be reading each quarter to "meet" expectations.

Pocket 5 holds a list of district sight words that students are expected to know each quarter.
Pocket 6 holds Math tests which are graphed by students.

Pocket 7 holds Math Fact tests which are graphed by students.

Pocket 8 holds a homework graph.  Students have to color in a box
if they don't return their homework.  Students get a homework grade
on their report card, so I use this for a grade.

This is the the brand of folders I use.

***Click {Here} to see data sheets.***

Above is a link to the forms I put in my student Data Folders.  Some of them are generic in form and can be used by anyone.  Others are specific to my district and would have to be modified.  Here’s what’s included and a short explanation of each.

Behavior graph:  My school has the same classroom rules for every classroom.  You’ll see them listed below the graph.  Purple should be on the list for “Complete your homework” but I use a different graph for that, so I didn’t include it here.  I have a behavior “caterpillar” in my classroom with these rules written on it.  If a student breaks a rule, he writes his name on the segment of the caterpillar with that rule.  At the end of the day, I pull the student’s behavior graph and write the date above that color on his graph. I keep all of my students’ graphs on a clip board for easy access.  At the end of the quarter, students must color their graphs only where dates have been written above the color word.  The bar graph then shows what specific behaviors are problematic.  Some teachers may have their students color in their graphs daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.  There is a new graph for each quarter.  I copy this sheet for each quarter on regular copy paper.

My Spelling Progress Chart:  In first grade in my district, there are 34 spelling tests for the whole year.  On this graph, students must record the date next to the list (test) number and then color horizontally the number of boxes to represent how many words they spelled correctly on that particular test.  This graph on has enough room to graph 28 tests.  I copy the graph back to back on cardstock.  I got this form at a workshop many years ago.  I don’t know who created it.

My First Grade Writing Rubric:  This is a form I use to evaluate a student’s writing.  I take 4 samples throughout each quarter which is about every 2 weeks.  When the quarter is over, I use this sheet along with a current writing sample to come up with a grade.  This was created by a teacher in my district named Becky Comp.  The letters at the bottom of each rubric mean (BE) Below Expectations, (ME) Meets Expectations, and (EE) Exceeds Expectations. The numbers next to each quarter represent the number of points need to “meet expectations” for each quarter.  This is still a work in progress.  I copy this on regular copy paper.

My Reading Progress Chart:  This represents Fountas & Pinnell guided reading levels for each quarter for first grade.  A students “meets expectations” if she is reading at a level where the stars are for each quarter.  I copy this on cardstock.

District Sight Word Chart:  My district has sight words for each quarter.  This is a sample of Quarter 1 sight word list. 

My Math Progress Chart:  This is used to record Written Assessments Scores in Math.  I copy this back to back on cardstock.

My Math Facts Chart:  This is used to record Math FACT Tests.  I copy this back to back on cardstock.

Homework Chart:  This is very specific to my classroom.  I have to make a new one every year.  When a student doesn’t return her homework, she must color in the box for that day.  At the end of the quarter, I use this information to give her a grade on her report card.  I copy this back to back on cardstock.

I hope this has been helpful.