Reflect on Progress Toward Annual SEL Goals

Reflecting on progress means assessing whether SEL goals were achieved. This is done by reviewing how implementation is going and what impact it’s having throughout the year and at the end of the school year.  This process involves compiling, analyzing, and reflecting on data related to agreed upon SEL goals for students and adults.

The full process looks something like this: 

When district and school teams reflect on actionable data in a consistent way, they gain an understanding of what is working well with SEL implementation and what can be improved. This helps them take appropriate action to increase efficiency, improve effectiveness, and address problems of practice to ensure SEL implementation efforts translate into expected outcomes for all students. Learning from data in this way and using this information to improve practice is central to continuous improvement and supports high-quality SEL implementation.

CASEL recommends that district SEL teams engage in summative data reflections, or a comprehensive review of data, at least annually (often at the end of the academic year or grant period) to draw conclusions and make strategic decisions. In addition, schedule time for more frequent formative data reflections with real-time data throughout the year – at least quarterly to make sure plans are on track.

• Summative data reflections typically require a dedicated meeting or series of meetings that include a broader range of stakeholders to lend their perspective.  Summative reflections involve substantial preparation of data in advance and thoughtful facilitation of discussion (see the PROCESS section for more). CASEL recommends:

• • An initial, beginning of year data reflection to establish baseline data and determine milestones that will mark progress toward end-of-year goals.
  • An end-of-year data reflection when summative conclusions can be made about the effectiveness of implementation strategies.  This end-of-year reflection restarts the cycle of continuous improvement.  If SEL goals and the data used to measure progress remain the same from year to year, the data reviewed at this meeting can serve as a new baseline for the coming year.

• Formative data reflections typically are included as an agenda item within regularly scheduled team meetings, using data that are updated continuously (see the PROCESS section for more).

Staff who oversee SEL data collection and management are necessary to ensure that relevant data are compiled in an easy-to-use format and accessible to district and school teams to review.  Systems and structures for sharing data efficiently, such as data dashboards, make it much easier to get data to district and school teams. Developing and maintaining such structures may require additional district staff, such as IT or data teams.

You will also need to consider who should participate in the data reflection process. In most cases, different stakeholders will be involved at different times. District SEL team members should already be involved in frequent, formative data reflections as a regular part of team meetings. At an end-of-year data reflection meeting, bring in a wider range of stakeholders in addition to the district SEL team, including:

• Key staff members from departments that lead SEL work across the district
• Members of the district Research and Evaluation department
• School leadership and their supervisors
• Teacher representatives
• Community partners that help support SEL in the district
• Student representation, especially when reviewing districtwide data related to students’ perceptions and outcomes
• Families and caregivers

When examining SEL data it is essential to use a lens of equity – that is, ensuring inclusive data reflection and decision-making practices and addressing disparities between student groups.   Disparities among groups of students indicate a need for improvement in the practices and policies of the system, not deficiencies or failures of the students themselves. To address disparities, any conversation about improving those practices and policies must involve students who have experienced them.  Also include the input and perspective of a diverse range of stakeholders, representative of the district community, including families and caregivers, students across backgrounds, community partners, educators, and school and district leaders to make these conversations as meaningful and generative as possible. Conversations around disparities in the data seen between student groups can be sensitive and require courageous engagement from all participants.  It is important to ensure an environment that feels safe, non-judgmental, and inclusive for all.  See this recommended process for establishing norms for reviewing data for more.