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District and teachers showcase Performance Matters tool to track learning and target supports
Summary
Everett presenters showed how Performance Matters — an assessment and analytics platform — is being used to design common and classroom-based assessments, provide rapid feedback, and guide interventions; teacher and principal panelists described day-to-day use and implementation hurdles, especially at the secondary level.
Everett Public Schools staff and a panel of principals and teachers described Jan. 26 how the district is implementing Performance Matters, an integrated assessment, delivery and analytics platform intended to help teachers design assessments, analyze results and target instruction.
Dr. Catherine Matthews, who led the update, said the district has translated 243 assessments from instructional maps into the tool and that teachers have built 81 new assessments in the system this year. "Performance Matters is an integrated data analytics and assessment design, delivery and analysis tool," Matthews said, outlining a phased professional-development plan that starts with early adopters and scales building-level training.
Classroom practitioners said the platform speeds feedback and supports intervention. Cascade High teacher Trish Percival told the board she can grade assessments quickly and provide next-day feedback: "The turnaround time is probably the next day," she said, noting students can access results in their portal and reflect on learning.
Elementary literacy coach Jamie Klontz said the district uses Performance Matters for foundational assessments (letter names, phonological awareness) that paras administer one-on-one; the system helps get data to teachers quickly so they can plan tier-2 interventions. "Performance Matters allows us to have all the data in one place so that it's easy to share with stakeholders," Klontz said.
Principals emphasized the system’s value for school improvement planning and for integrating multiple data sources. Mitch Entler, a middle-school principal, said the platform has expanded leaders' ability to target instruction: "We're seeing real-time progress on standards, and the informative data that we're getting, you know, we're excited about it." Cedarwood principal Bruce Rhodes said the tool made it easier for coaches and administrators to dig into needs and set school-improvement goals.
District metrics presented to the board showed user and usage patterns across levels (elementary, middle, high and district). Matthews acknowledged adoption at the high-school level lags and said the district will intensify training for secondary staff to increase usage. Board members asked whether Performance Matters can identify students whose performance drops systematically across multiple classes; panelists said the system can be used longitudinally and that, as data grows, administrators expect to run cross-course analyses.
Next steps include increasing the number of teachers using assessment design and reporting, bringing more central-office staff into reporting functions and expanding student access to portals; the district plans ongoing professional development focused on analytics and formative assessment.
The board praised the mix of practitioner testimony and data visuals and left time for follow-up questions on scaling and cross-course analyses.
